Sealants

I dropped past a new supplier today, while I was there I asked about what sealants they had. They gave me two tubes to try. 1st, is Geocel 2300, it is a Tripolymer sealant. The 2nd, is OSI Quad Max. Both are toolable and the Quadmax claims it stretches 5X. Have any of you tried these, or do you use a product other than solar seal?

What are you using it for ?

Bat Exclusions

They look expensive!

We use silicone.

So do we and when it's on sale we buy a skid load.

We use osi, or lexel if it's not too warm out, lexel is a touch too
Runny in the heat and osi is a little too stiff in the cold.

Over the last six months I have researched and tested a variety of different caulks and sealants to try on our bat removal and exclusion jobs. The Geocell you have listed was one of the products I tested and found I do not like it. My records show it came out like honey and did not tool well at all. I am also not a fan of paper tubes as they burst easily and if they get wet bad things can happen. I tried other OSI products in the past and disliked them so much I didn't even put them in my latest test. I have not tried the Quad max so I may try that one for completeness.

Jacob
Barnes Wildlife Control

What was the best one out of the one you have tested ...and why?

Steve,

I will PM you that answer as I am considering writing this up for WCT.

Thanks

Jacob

I've been using solar seal, but I am looking for a product that is available locally. My solar seal supplier that is within 1 day shipping range of me always seems to take two to three days and is never available when I call. Friday was the 2nd day I have called, was transferred to internet/phone sales, did the voicemail routine, and never heard back. Now it's new supplier time. WCS is excellent on price, but is still a three day wait due to distance.

Mr. Barnes, I am looking forward to your article on caulking in WCT. I don't even know which end of the caulking gun the stuff runs

out of, but I'm still in charge of buying it. After looking at the above picture, I feel a lot better. I recognized the boxes in the

background immediately. Red Devil usually sells for $2.97 a tube. Last year Menards had a it on sale for 97 cents. I bought a skid!

Wow, I have only found it 2/$3.00, or $1.50/tube but I bought 3 skids

They have 11% off this week so I plan to stock up on hardware.

Yep; so far 2 for $3.00 is the best I've seen this year. I am fortunate to have 3 Menards stores in my area. I seem to spend more

time there than some of their employees. If they ever expand their sporting goods and food departments, I won't have to go anywhere

else. For those of you that don't have a Menards, I hope you get one soon. Great prices and pleasant employees!

Greg,

There is an article on sealants in the November/December 2014 WCT Magazine.,

I absolutely hate menards lol but I have no choice
And the main reason is the employees never know
Anything about there department, that and they don't
Carry name brand products. Rant over.
That do come In handy for simple building materials
Though!

Kasey, apparently not all Menards stores and employees are created equal. I spend so much time in ours that the employees ask me

where stuff is. I'm not sure what you mean by brand names though. Yeah, they carry a lot of Chinese stuff to keep the prices low but

most of the brand name stuff is now made in China. I don't see much difference between them and Fleet & Farm except Menards is a lot

cheaper, but doesn't have the sporting goods. My kids are arguing already about who is going to get all my Menards rebate cards when

I die.

Is red devil printable?

Spit on finger and you can smooth it out I am a painter by trade and I love to use the stuff in the silver and purple tube as for what you all are using it for I dont know this spit trick works for most of them products

are you guys using silicone on log homes as well?

What do you look for in a sealant, what,makes one better

If my son says they perform well and are reasonable to apply and if I paid a decent price. Getting all three of those is not always easy.

Paul what do you consider a decent price?
6-7 dollars or the red devil specials?

6 or 7 bucks? Is that for a whole case? You have to remember that our sealant is used by employees who smear it on their clothes, get

it all over the cages ( And then wonder why they don't work so well ) and seem to be really adept at getting it on and around the

door handles of their vehicles. So by now the tube is half empty and they throw it out and grab a new one. So yeah, for these guys,

even the Red Devil is too expensive.

I have. It all depends where though. I've also used foam so it will stain again. They make specialty latex products for log homes. I don't think they'd stain any better than silicone though. But they are a nice buttery color that stands out. That's what the client wanted though...

most of the specialty log home products are a polyurethane based product. I didn't think anyone was using latex or silicone on log homes anymore. there are so many products out there which are so much better. heck latex is barely good enough for a standard vinal sided home in my eyes. I can show you many homes ive done which were already "bat proofed" not very many years ago with silicone or latex caulk and its usually the same thing- mostly shriveled up turds is what I see.

I use Solar Seal, but want to find a similar product in plastic tubes that flows better. Forearms get tired using Solar Seal when the temps are lower:) Not talking on log homes do not have many of those in my area.

due to an unfortunate trailer incident today I was forced to clean out the trailer for the most part and reinstall my misdirected shelving unit. in doing so I remembered this post as I was putting things back and grabbed a few different types or sealant/caulk that I use.

here are some of the more common ones...




and then some of the guns used to apply it....




I use the three on the right the most as I tend to do more log homes than any other type of house.

I also use a product by Sashco called log builder. that stuff is awesome.

you also have to use a backer rod in conjunction with this stuff even if there is no gap.

if some of you are still using silicone or caulk on logs I would suggest getting in a seminar by one of the log home product suppliers- it will benefit you and your customers greatly!

Where would you find info on these seminars?

Just call up any of the suppliers in your area and find out if they're doing any training seminars?

travellin, we try to use just one product so our employees don't get confused.

I like to have employees who aren't so easily confused.... lol

We do too; unfortunately we haven't found any yet. That's why we use clear silicone. It's hard to screw up clear.

I was just out at an old log cabin yesterday doing some work and took this picture. I sealed this 3 years ago with perma chink it sense obviously been stained but still holding up very well.

Good job, but it really makes me thankful that we rarely have to deal with log structures. ( They have invented stuff like brick,

aluminum siding, and a host of other materials for home building down here in southeast corner of the state. )

Nice work. How much of the building did you have
To chink? The whole thing or just part of it?

What Jacob said. I used to install gutters and used the Geocel 2300 for sealing end caps, miters, etc.; it's great for that, but would be useless for bat work. Very runny, stringy, and you'll be wearing half of every tube you apply.

Wink, d'you use clear caulk for all bat work?

Dave, I don't do the bat work but I do buy the caulk. I would say we use clear on most of it. I think we use clear so that the bats

can see their reflection and they get scared and fly away.