11 April 2014

Caulking: Pro Tips

Caulking at home is a general and common repair action. You may have never done it before, because you think that you cannot deal with it. 

Calling the professionals is, of course, a wise decision. After all, this is your home and making improvisations with it isn’t very smart. However, learning and improving your personal abilities are also good things.

And today, you will get a fast and useful lesson for caulking at home.
The tips come straight from professionals and experts:

* Choose the proper caulk – remember that different DIY projects require different type of caulk. For siding, windows and doors, we recommend you polyurethane. For roofing some rubberised product is ok. An interior trim needs some latex or painting after caulk, while in kitchen and bathroom the best option is silicone.

* You also need to choose the right colour of the caulk and the best caulking gun. By the way, there is no need of some modern gadget, because the old-fashioned machinery works also finely.

* Simple technique – when you fill the gap, try to push and avoid pulling. This will get you to the most satisfactory results and it will reduce the mess afterwards. The only exception for this technique is when both surfaces are flush.

* Avoid bumps – you can do that by riding the smoother surface. Let the rough part aside and never start from the middle. The final result will be really bad!

* Caulking does not work with wrists, but with the entire body. Use your upper parts of the hands and even your legs.

* Don’t waste too much of the material – sometimes the tube may drop half of the material for caulking. To avoid this, just wrap the tube with folio or duct tape and work safely.

* Balanced work – the best way to get the desired smoothness and sleekness of the surface is the technique “meet in the middle”. Just start from one side and then turn to the other one, so you can finally end in the middle.

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