Overheard a roofer say silicone caulk is for amateurs only

I was grabbing coffee at a 7-Eleven in Denver last Tuesday and this roofer dude was talking to his buddy. He said "silicone caulk is for amateurs, real pros use butyl tape on flashings." Ive been using silicone for years on gutter patches and wondered if Im doing it wrong. Anyone else heard this debate or got a preference for sealing roof penetrations?

3 comments

3 Comments

ivan46217d ago

Last Tuesday in Denver? That's wild because I was at that same 7-Eleven off Colfax grabbing a breakfast burrito around 7 AM. I actually heard that guy too he was bragging about butyl tape like it was the holy grail of roofing, meanwhile I've seen silicone hold up for years on my own gutter patches without any issues. Butyl tape is sticky and all but it gets brittle in the sun here after a couple seasons, so I'm sticking with silicone until somebody shows me proof otherwise.

caseywalker17d ago

Yeah okay I used to be all about silicone too honestly but you might be right about the butyl tape thing... I saw a buddy's repair job with it that's been holding solid for like 4 years now and he didn't even cover it up with anything. Kinda makes me wanna give it a real shot next time.

ben_fisher17d ago

Nah man I gotta disagree a little bit here. Silicone is great for gutters for sure, but it doesn't bond to dirty or wet surfaces nearly as well as butyl tape does, which is a huge deal when you're patching on a roof in a hurry. The brittle issue with butyl is real if you leave it exposed to UV without covering it, but if you're roofing and flashing it properly, you're putting shingles or metal over the tape anyway so it's not getting direct sun. Seen plenty of silicone peel off on an old roof just from a little moisture trapped underneath, so I'm keeping both in the truck depending on the job lol.