Caulking expansion joints as part of a new commercial project is something we are often asked to do. The expansion joints are vertical joints running from ground to roof on Cinder Block walls (other types of walls as well).

When doing this type of work the three most important things to have are

1. The right type of caulk.

2. Backing rod.

3. A caulk gun that can handle urethane caulk. It’s thick and hard to gun.

This is the backing rod and caulk we are using. Sometimes the backing rod needed gets pretty big.

We are doing an addition to the Omaha Carmax . They are adding a photo booth (building) in which they can take photos of their cars. Doing this type of work in the winter can be a challenge. Fortunately the weather this week is good. We should be able to complete what we need to before it gets cold again. At least the exterior work.

Cold tubes of urethane caulk are a nightmare to deal with. Even with it being in the 50’s it will be difficult to gun.

We did get everything caulked as needed and went straight into blockfiller. Blockfiller is a masonry primer that fills in the pin holes and crevices on the masonry block. It is very thick and takes a big pump to gun it.

The inside of this building is interesting. the ceiling in the photobooth area looks like a saucer. The floor, which is covered up in the last photo, is a big turntable.

Start to finish we completed our work in a week. It was a team effort and everyone worked overtime getting it done. While the commercial caulking was a small part of the job it was a a difficult task with the colder temps.