Is a gap around exterior pipes acceptable?
Builders may claim a half-inch hole is acceptable, but this leaves a broken seal where daylight visibly passes right through from the outside. Instead of getting a properly fitted pipe, homeowners with no handy skills are left worrying about how to fix the gaping hole in their siding.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
Is a gap around exterior pipes acceptable?
- 1Pushing the builder to properly seal the opening before closing on the house.Did this help you?
- 2Filling the gap with backer rod before applying caulkDid this help you?
- 3Filling the gap with spray foam, letting it harden, and covering with siliconeDid this help you?
- 4Packing duct seal (electrical putty) into the gap until smoothDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I am a little worried about this gaping hole in the siding. It seems like the seal is broken. Are there any suggestions on how to fix this? Both units that are outside look like this. Side note I have 0 handy skills”source ↗
“Does it matter that there is like a half inch hole?”source ↗
“Builder says this is acceptable. Am I crazy to think that it is not? The pipe should be properly fitted into the hole… Also, light visibly passes through from the outside during the day.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 7What to do with old water pipes after removing a fixture?
- 13Best way to seal gaps around pipes under the sink?
- 2Is my furnace pipe supposed to be fully sealed together?
- 13How to get rid of mold around shower pipes permanently
- 3How to seal gaps around underground downspout adapters
- 5Exterior metal utility pipe rusting after one year