Mark Meshulam is an expert witness and consultant for window sealant failures.

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Once your survey is complete, you will then work to analyze the information. Since sealant (caulk) is usually the primary means of sealing elements of a window system together and to the surrounding condition, sealant failures are often part of a window leakage problem.

To the uninitiated, sealant is gooey stuff you buy in a tube at Home Depot and smear on cracks. To window-ologists, however, sealant is a science.

Window leaks related to sealant failures

1. Perimeter sealant (caulk) leaks.
Windows must be caulked to the surrounding conditions or they will surely leak. I did see a job once where an inventive contractor tried to use the EFIS coating of the exterior wall overlapped onto the edge of the window, instead of using caulk. Of course this brittle material cracked at the first thermal movement. Water leaks in this building filled 5 gallon buckets and the wall became the worst mold colony I ever saw. Lesson: use caulk around your windows, not creativity.

2. Sealant deterioration or reversion
In this situation, old caulk or a “bad batch” of caulk never fully cures. It might have a gummy quality, or turn into a disgusting liquid. This is a bad problem and will require removal and cleaning or full encapsulation to rectify it.

3. Sealant adhesive failure
In this case, the sealant does not stick to one or both substrates. Ironically, the adhesive bond can release days, weeks or even months after application. It probably will not be known during application. The best way to prevent this serious problem is to perform adhesion tests on substrates before performing all of the caulk work. Perform the tests with and without the recommended primers. This will flesh out potential adhesive incompatibilities. Equally important is the use of proper cleaning techniques immediately prior to sealant application. And always “tool” the joints! Carefully follow manufacturer instructions and recommendations for cleaning methods and follow them religiously.

4. Sealant cohesive failure
Cohesive failure is when the caulk shows a rupture or tear within its boundaries as opposed to where it sticks to something else. Cohesive failure can occur as a result of sealant deterioration or poor joint design. Caulk joints must be installed according to manufacturer-approved designs in order to function well. Generally, the design will include the use of a foam backer rod, creation of an hourglass shaped sealant cross section, a specified ratio of width to thickness, a minimum amount of area of adhesion at each substrate, and “tooling” of the joints.

5. Sealant discontinuity
Sealant is only as good as the person who installs it, and the substrate being sealed. If the caulker misses a spot, even a small one, the building will leak and possibly quite a bit. Sometimes the window, flashing, or adjacent wall has overlaps or cracks which penetrate the caulk joint. These cracks or overlaps will conduct water into the building even with a world-class caulker on the job.

6. Sealant immersion
Unless your building is caulked with aquarium sealer, I would be willing to bet that your warranty will be void, and your caulk will fail prematurely, if the caulk is subjected to immersion in water. The most classic example of this is at “back-pitched” sills or balconies. If you see your sealant joints immersed in puddles of water, find a way to either correct the pitch (slope) of the sill, or create a drainage path which will carry water away from the caulk.

7. Sealant incompatibility
Caulk utilizes fairly complex chemistry which includes the actual solids involved, the cure chemistry, the crosslinking of molecules as cure takes place, the release of by-products of cure, the development of adhesion, etc. If the caulk is in the presence of other materials which also have an active or reactive nature (as opposed to being inert), you might find that these two materials will react to one another, and probably not in a good way. They might degrade one another, or fail to adhere to one another, or prevent the cure of one or both materials. Or, they might simply discolor one another while continuing to otherwise perform.

Take sealant compatibility very seriously and test all substrates with the caulk you want to use. Also be sure to use the cleaning solvent which is compatible with the sealant. Do not improvise with your solvent selection. If the instructions say to use isopropyl alcohol (IPA) for example, don’t use denatured alcohol, grain alcohol or vodka. Use what the manufacturer specifies. The wrong solvent can be incompatible with and harm the caulk.

Separating incompatible sealants

One of the frustrating ironies of waterproofing is that the two best and most frequently used waterproofing materials don’t like each other. I am referring to the silicones, which are generally regarded as the best sealants, with the bitumastic family, frequently used on roofs and flashings.

Bitumastic, or bituminous materials are derived from coal or oil. They are almost always black. They might be in a liquid or mastic form, or heated and rolled on, or manufactured into a roll with an adhesive backing. They are great waterproofers because they repel water, but tend to either remain in a somewhat liquid state, or release oil at their surface, and few caulks will stick to them as a result.

I have spent many sessions with design professionals who grapple with this incompatibility. They generally devise an intermediate substrate that both sealants will adhere to, such as a metal flashing. This approach can yield success, however it can also fail. Failures will typically occur at corners, splices or intersections of the flashing, where maintaining sealant continuity (while also maintaining separation) through that location is nearly impossible.

For a good sealant job, involve an expert

If you have a project which involves either failures involving sealant, or a project which will utilize a significant amount of sealant, make sure you are doing it right. A good sealant job will last 20 years or more. A bad job can fail during the next rainfall. It does not cost much more to do a good job. Involve an expert (call me, for instance) to ensure that your sealant performs and gives you the value and water-tightness you bought.

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