Loose edging on vertical cladding boards

[totocol]

hi there,

first post so not sure if this is the type of questions that are ok to ask here. We bought this house recently from a local builder. House seems well built. Only small issue we found is that the edging that was applied to the vertical boards on the outside on some sections of the house is going loose. It seems to be made of some type of PVC but does not seem to be attached with nails or screws. When it rains, it seems to pool water and in some sections the paint seems to be bubbling up. Initially, we were able to just push the edging back in but with time and change in weather from hot to cold and rain and back to hot, it’s becoming loose permanently. We sent a couple of messages to the builder but he stopped responding to our messages. We rented the house for a few months before moving in so the initial warranty he offered for small fixes passed and he doesn’t seem to want to be involved any more. 

i was hoping for someone that knows what that edging might be made of to share some ideas on how to permanently re-attach It and to know if the design of that edging that seems to collect water might be an issue long term and maybe we need to find a different solution like removing the edging and just painting to match the boards. The lower sections of the house do not have the edging so not sure if it is just there for aesthetic reasons. 

i attached a couple of photos of where the edging is becoming permanently loose. 

thanks! 

 

 

[totocol]

Thanks so much for the contribution @EricL - this feels like a fantastic community! 

it looks like removing the beading on one side of the house will be much harder so I might experiment with painting one’ side and re attaching the J Beads on the other side. It does look like one side was already having a bit of damage so my plan is to let it dry, lightly sand and then add an outdoor primer before re attaching the beading. Does that sound like a good plan? 

thanks again. I’m attaching some photos on some boats that look like they got a bit of damage from the moisture 

 

 

[MitchellMc]

That sounds like a plan @totocol.

Just remember, if you sand and then prime, you still need to paint. The paint is the sealing layer, not the primer.

If you feel that you'll have difficulty filling the grooves with sealant and are happy with the look when the trims are removed, then I'd recommend leaving it off and just painting the edges. The area will freely drain without the moulding and won't capture water.

Mitchell

[totocol]

Thanks @MitchellMc 

if the sealant doesn’t fully cover the grooves, could I use an exterior gap filler like the one below to fill those final gaps? 

https://www.bunnings.com.au/_p1230161?referrer=RetailApp&utm_source=Bunnings&utm_medium=ProductFinde...

thanks! 

[MitchellMc]

I'd recommend sticking with the Sikaflex product to cover/fill the grooves @totocol. You can go along the front edge and squeeze a small bead/dot of the 11FC into each groove at the bottom. Apply 11FC into the corner of your capping. Push the capping on and wipe off any excess that pushes out the grooves. If there is still a gap in the grooved sections, fill it with more 11FC. The 11FC is superior to the gap filler but provides the same function of filling gaps and sealing.

Mitchell

[totocol]

Thanks @MitchellMc 

That makes sense 

[totocol]

Thanks everyone for the feedback so far. I’ve finished removing all the J Beads. As expected, 95% of the boards were already showing signs of initial damage due to humidity. 

only one bead out of all 20 or so was attached properly so I caused a bit of damage to the board it was attached to. 
i will use a timber filler like the one below to patch it and paint on top too. 

now to wait for the rain to stop! 

https://www.bunnings.com.au/product_p1210571?referrer=RetailApp&utm_source=Bunnings&utm_medium=Produ...