# Caulk between trim and brick?



## Speckert (Nov 4, 2008)

Am I supposed to caulk between the trim and the fireplace brick. The brick is uneven so the trim is not tight all the way across it. Do I use a clear caulk to fill in the joints. See pics.


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## ahrens (Apr 11, 2011)

I'd say it's your preference. If it's gonna be something that will bother you every time you see it then yeah go nuts


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## curtd (Oct 25, 2013)

Speckert said:


> Am I supposed to caulk between the trim and the fireplace brick. The brick is uneven so the trim is not tight all the way across it. Do I use a clear caulk to fill in the joints. See pics.


 Go with caulking that after it fully cures always stays flexible. Whether it should be clear or white or another, i agree, it's your call (preference). Whatever caulk i use i make sure it is paintable as i like to paint over the caulk so to make easy clean up. Been there, done that. If you don't paint over flexible caulk it is not easy clean up


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## Windows on Wash (Aug 30, 2011)

I wouldn't bother personally. 

If you do, tap off the brick so you have a hard caulking line.


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## ToolSeeker (Sep 19, 2012)

If you use clear won't it still look like it needs caulk, and be a pain to do something with in the future if you decide to remove it.


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## DexterII (Jul 14, 2010)

You can knock yourself silly over details like that some days. And of course it's obvious now, as I assume that you recently installed the trim(?), but how obvious is it when you're not so intimately attached? Personally, I use what I call a "5 second rule". Walk away from it. Go do something else for a while. Walk back in and look around the room for say 5-10 seconds. That's quite a while really to just stand there an gaze. And okay, the fireplace is a focal point, so stand in the middle of the room and look at it for 5-10 seconds. Do those gaps jump out at you? If so, yeah, you may want to try caulking them, but, if not, let them go.


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## ron45 (Feb 25, 2014)

Floor to brick.
I had a similar situation and added dark brown caulk, didn't look good so I took it off.
Wall/Ceiling to brick.
I would take the trim from the wall and ceiling off and add a 1 x 2 to it using glue and pin nails. Re install the trim in it's original location, paint, and caulk with white painters caulk.?


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## Speckert (Nov 4, 2008)

*Thanks for all the replies...*

I took the "walk away from it and come back and do a quick scan" idea. It looks good and the first person who says something about it I will hand them the caulking gun :thumbup:


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## Colbyt (Jan 27, 2014)

You get used to it. Follow Dexter's advice but make it 5 weeks or or 5 years.

Chances are about 80% you aren't going to like the way the caulk looks either.

Doing nothing is far easier than digging out the caulk.

I have a very similar situation and while I still don't like it I am smart enough to know that caulk would look worse.


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## Gymschu (Dec 12, 2010)

"The only thing that looks worse than a gap, is caulk used to fill the gap." --Bob Vila circa. 1989.


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## DexterII (Jul 14, 2010)

"Are you sure that you want to do that? You might mess around and make it 10 times more noticeable than it is now"--- my dad, circa 1965


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