What Are Articulation Joints? Spacing, Placement and Sealing
What an articulation joint is, how far apart they go (and why it tightens at openings), which sites need them, why walls crack without them, and how they're sealed.
Read the guide →Insights
Caulking Guides from Melbourne Specialists
These guides answer the caulking questions Melbourne builders and property owners ask most: how to choose a contractor, what fire rated and acoustic sealing actually involve, and where precast joints go wrong. They're written by Gapless's director-led crew, who have installed these joints on Melbourne sites for over 10 years — installers, not certifiers.
If you're pricing a job, start with the cost guide instead of guessing at a rate per metre. If a wall or penetration has to hold a rating, fire rated caulking and acoustic sound control sealing cover what actually gets specified, and precast panel caulking covers movement joints on tilt-up and precast work.
Working out quantities? Run the numbers through the sealant calculator or the expansion joint calculator. Handing a job over? Caulking inspections covers what we check before sign-off. Ready for a price on your job? Get a quote.
Guides
How to Choose a Caulking Contractor in Melbourne
The questions that sort the field in one phone call, the red flags hiding in cheap quotes, and when specialist experience is non-negotiable — from the crew that gets called to fix the failures.
Read the checklist →What Is Fire Rated Caulking? A Builder's Guide
Where fire caulking is required, how fire rated sealant differs from normal silicone, what "installed to spec" really means, and who actually signs it off.
Read the guide →Why Soundproof Walls Fail Without Acoustic Caulking
A 2 mm gap at the skirting can undo thousands of dollars of acoustic wall. Where acoustic sealant must go, and why it has to stay flexible.
Read the article →Precast Panel Joint Sealing: What Good Looks Like
Prep, backer rod, depth-to-width ratio, tooling — the four steps of a joint that lasts, and the failure signs that mean one was skipped.
Read the article →Why Caulking Fails: The 5 Mistakes Builders Make
The recurring caulking failures we get called to fix on Melbourne sites — wrong sealant, skipped prep, missing backer rod — and how to avoid paying for the job twice.
Read the article →Got a question these guides don't answer? Ask us via a quote request or call 0414 824 987 — we're happy to talk through your job.