Caulking is not decoration
Every joint on the list is a joint water can use.
In short: Caulking and sealing items from Riverstone handover reports, and what each one is holding out.
Windows first
Caulking required to the top and sides of windows came up repeatedly on these jobs. That bead is the seal between the frame and the wall, and an unsealed head is a direct path for water at the point rain hits hardest.
The slab and driveway join
Where the driveway meets the slab edge, the joint moves. Sealing it keeps water out of the gap and out of the ground immediately beside the footing.
Wet areas
Sealing and caulking to floors and walls, and a shower screen still to be sealed. These are the last line before water gets behind tiling and into a wall cavity.
Service penetrations
Every pipe and cable through a wall leaves a hole. Sealed, the wall does its job. Unsealed, it is a path for water, air and in a rated wall for fire.
Rough is not the same as sealed
One of these was recorded as rough sealant. A bead that is present but poorly formed can still fail, and it is worth distinguishing from one that was never applied.
Written by the Owner Inspections team from inspections carried out in Riverstone. Licensed building practitioners, NSW Fair Trading licence 366177C.
