Is silicone caulk an appropriate sealant for keeping smoke out

caulking

I livery in an old apartment building with neighbors who smoke. I am pretty confident that I have found where the smoke is getting into my apartment:a recessed closet that shared a very thin wall with a matching closet in their apartment. There are thin gaps along the top and bottom of this thin wall.

I have some silicone based caulk laying around and it matches the color of the closet. Is this an appropriate sealant for keeping smoke out?

Best Answer

Any caulk will seal an area. I would refrain from using silicone, since it does not take paint.

A decent grade painters caulk will do you very well and can be painted too when the color scheme needs to change. If you want, it is also available in clear. Typically it goes on white, then dries clear, and is water cleanup, another advantage of painters caulk over silicone.

Silicone does have its place, here is not one of them.