Ok, so maybe the headline is a bit drastic, but, believe it or not, it is not too far off!!

Over time, we have come across a variety of damage on people’s homes – some monumental – that could have been prevented for $2.87 or less.

I just got off the phone with a local paint store and asked them how much it costs for a good tube of caulk, after tax, the total was $2.87.

Knowing that prices vary, whatever the actual cost may be, this puny investment could potentially save thousands upon thousands of repair costs in the future.

The old saying goes, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

This is absolutely 110% correct when it comes to preventing major certain types of catastrophes from occurring on our homes.

This 1 tube of caulk, if used properly, can guard your home against 2 of its most vicious predators – water damage & insect damage.

The 2 are actually VERY closely related.

The most destructive insects that attack your home (carpenter ants & termites) tend to destroy areas of it in their quest for moisture.

The easiest places for insects to find moisture, are areas that have either rotted out, are in the process of rotting out, or are retaining moisture and are getting ready to begin to rot out.

Moisture often creeps in from areas on the exterior trim on your home, that are not properly sealed.

The most notorious culprits are gaps around doors & windows and the cornerboards on your home – though rot is not solely synonymous with these areas of trim alone.

By caulking gaps in these areas, moisture is prevented from getting behind them and beginning to rot things out and attract wood-eating insects.

One of the many unfortunate characteristics about rot, is that it tends to rot from the inside out.

In other words, by the time rot is discovered, it is often waaay too late to correct things without some type of significant investment of time, energy, and money!

A while back, in East Greenwich, RI, we ended up taking down & reconstructing a 3-story bumpout on a home, that was less than 20-years old, due to water damage that occurred simply because the Contractor who installed the exterior window trim, never caulked the trim as he was putting it in place around the windows.

Just recently, we have been working on a home in East Providence, RI that has multiple areas of rot and associated ACTIVE carpenter ant & termite damage, all resulting in some major structural defects needing to be corrected around the home!

I could go on and on…

The crux of each example is the same though – easily avoidable, astronomical damage that could have been prevented by investing $2.87 in a tube of caulk.

With Winter approaching, I strongly suggest inspecting the various areas around your home for potential points of moisture entry, rotted wood, and insect damage.

We offer a service for $150 that itemizes these types of areas (and the repair costs that may be associated with them), if you are interested in having us do this, please let our office know.

Whether we do it or you do it, someone should do it in with intention of catching a possible, severely problematic situation before it even starts in the first place.