Questions tagged [caulking]
Caulking is the action of applying a sealing compound to joints and gaps in building materials.
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Is there a trick to applying caulk using a caulk-gun?
Perhaps it is just me, but no matter how careful I try to be, any attempt to apply caulk or cement or anything with a caulking gun into a crack results in total mess.
The main problems that seem to ...
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What is the best way to seal caulk tube?
What are some effective ways of sealing an opened tube of caulk so that the contents do not dry out? In the past I've used a large nail and some tape, but that doesn't seem to last for more than a few ...
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How do I finish off a silicone sealant like a professional?
I have patched a couple of places at the base of my shower with silicone rubber sealant, using a caulking gun and it has worked well. The water no longer escapes from the shower. However, where I have ...
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Are toilets supposed to be caulked to the floor?
I've heard that in some cases toilets are supposed to be caulked to the floor. I replaced both toilets in the condo I moved into last week, and one was calked to the floor, and one was not. One ...
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What kind of caulk should I use around my bathtub?
I would like to recaulk between the bathtub and the ceramic-tile wall, but there are many kinds of caulking for sale. What kind should I use?
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Sealing space between counter and stainless stove
What's the best material to use to seal the gap between my counters and the stove?
It's a pretty tight fit but we don't want any crumbs and food bits to get in there.
If we use caulk will it stick ...
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How do I caulk where a caulk tube won't fit?
I've got some door moldings that are about 1 inch from the adjacent wall. A caulk gun won't begin to get in there, and pivoting the caulk tube up so it's nearly parallel to both walls still doesn't ...
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Can I accelerate caulk drying by using a fan or heater on it?
From what I've found online, caulking takes 24-48 hours to dry. For my purposes, I need to apply caulking to my kitchen sink.
However, I am in a time crunch, so I would like to know how caulking ...
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How to fix small holes/separation in caulk around bathtub?
I'm sure this is a relatively simple task but I've never done it before and want to make sure I get it right. There are some holes/separation appearing in the caulk between the bathtub and the wall ...
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With a shower, should the edge where the wall meets the floor be caulked, or is grout okay?
Some of the shower tiles have come loose in my shower and need repair (specifically the ones at the base of the wall). There's no 'tub' per-se, the whole thing is tiled, and it looks like whoever ...
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What is the appropriate type of caulking around a kitchen sink?
The caulking around my sink has worn/rotted away and I've removed it properly, but I've been looking into what I kind of caulking to use, and there seem to be many different types, so I'm a bit unsure ...
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Do I really need to fill the tub with water to properly apply caulking?
I recently did some patch work on my bathtub caulking. Just a little to give it a few more months before I redo the entire bathtub. My tub is floating and has a tub surround.
My wife usually removes ...
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How can I seal the large gap around my fireplace in a way that is safe and prevents air inflows?
I've got a spot by a fireplace that lets cold air in. Unfortunately its right where the metal of the fireplace meets the wooden framing/molding of the fireplace on the inside. This seems like ...
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Do I have to remove all caulk before reapplication?
I re-caulked my bathroom a few months previous and there are a couple of gaps that have appeared. I have been caulking my own bathroom for about 7 years now but have never had damage this soon into it....
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Is there an easy way to remove silicone sealant?
Is there an easy way to remove silicone sealant?
Having had mouldy sealant have replaced with MicroBan to stop the mould coming back but is there any tips on getting the stuff off for next time?
My ...
user1964
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Should I use caulk or wood putty and paint to fill nail holes on trim?
I'm installing painted MDF crown molding, and I wasnt sure which method for covering nail holes is technically correct. Is using caulk considered a shortcut? Or is filling in the holes with wood putty ...
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Why does caulk sometimes escape the back end of the tube instead of the nozzle?
The tube, which I bought in December 2021, says
Batch 21E11
Expiry 05/2023
I'm taking this to mean that it was produced one month before purchase, and at this time still has 15 months before expiry.
...
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Should I put caulk/silicone at base of toilet on hardwood floors?
When installing a toilet in a bathroom with hardwood floors, should I put a bead of silicone or caulk around the base to finish things up? Is this necessary, or is it merely aesthetics? I have heard ...
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Grout or caulk between acrylic bathtub and tile?
Contractor who remodeled our bathroom used non-sanded grout between bathtub (acrylic) and first layer of tile. He said that he recommends that instead of caulk as caulk will be trapping moisture and ...
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How can I stop mortar plugs from popping out of slab holes?
Our termite people plugged their dozens of chemical insertion holes using a regular grout and a putty knife. Needless to say the plugs are popping out left and right. (They tell me that is normal, ...
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Should I use caulk or grout between the edge of a tiled bathroom floor and the walls?
I just tiled my bathroom floor. What should I put between the tiles and the walls, silicone or grout?
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Shower stall base bows downward from body weight, causing caulk to crack
Within the first year of living in my apartment, the caulking where the shower stall base meets the wall tiles kept cracking along the entire length of the shower stall like this:
The contractor came ...
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Why is the caulk cracking and the toilet rocking?
We paid a lot of money to have our bathroom gutted and redone. After several problems with the contractor not returning calls to correct shoddy work, we are at a loss. I am not sure if the shower ...
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Can I decorate this skirting board install?
I've just had a carptener install skirting board and I'm struggling to see how I'll decorate them so they look half-decent.
After he installed them he complained that the walls were difficult and ...
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Can I put a second layer of caulk over newly installed caulk to fill a gap?
My bathroom backsplash-to-wall junction was just re-caulked yesterday. (The old caulk was discolored and showing signs of mold.) But on one side of the countertop where there's a 3/8" gap between wall ...
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What should I use to seal an exterior garden hose faucet pipe?
I have a garden hose faucet on the outside of my home in the front yard that is loose in the surrounding brick. It can be wiggled freely and has a good 1/4" clearance between the pipe and the brick ...
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How should I re-caulk my butcher block counter top?
Last year I had my kitchen re-done. Everything thus far has held up well with the exception of the caulk between the counter top (butcher-block) and the back splash (tile).
What would be the best ...
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Where can I find fireproof caulk backer?
A while back I asked this question and got a lot of great responses.
I've been able to locate fireblock caulk, but one thing I didn't think of is the backer. I need some kind of fireblock/fireproof ...
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How long should I let caulking dry before exposing to water?
I am redoing my bathroom and going from a tub with shower to just a shower base and walls. The walls are fiberglass and caulking is being used to seal everything up. How long should I let everything ...
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How to fill between door frame and tile
When tiling the bathroom, I cut the door frame higher up than I needed to and now have a large gap. Please advise the best method of filling this gaps so that it looks professional. Some choices -
1. ...
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Is a sealant needed in addition to caulking?
I've read on some forums (not here) that on top of the caulking areas exposed to water (in this case, my kitchen sink), a sealant should be applied.
Is this standard procedure? If so, are there ...
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Contractor suggests caulking cracks in chimney, is that the right solution?
The mortar in our 25-year-old chimney is starting to crack and now leaks into our home if it rains hard.
I assume we're probably in need of repointing, but a contractor that has done roof work for us ...
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Can silicone caulk fill a 1cm shower gap?
I just had a new bathroom built. Contractor was unfamiliar with the shower wall panels' material (Muraluxe panels). The resulting gap between the wall and angled ceiling is pretty wide (1cm at the ...
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Correct order of operations for caulking + sealing bathroom tile?
Around my bathtub I have tile, and the old latex caulk where the tub and tile meet is cracked so I've removed all the caulk and am ready to put new silicone caulk down. However, I would also like to ...
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Easy to spread caulking - window weather proofing
I want to go around the exterior of my windows, etc with some caulking. I have some now that I used in the bathroom but it doesn't spread that easy or lay a decent bead. I know when I was growing up ...
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Do I need to caulk where my vinyl siding meets the edge of my windows?
To help prevent leaks, I was advised by a contractor that I need to caulk where my vinyl siding meets the edges of my windows. Some research of my own reveals quite a bit of debate over this, a few ...
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What caulk should I use for the lip of a slide-in range?
I just replaced the ceramic cooking surface on my range/stove/oven. When I pulled it out, I noticed the side close to the sink (which is about two to three feet away) was pretty rusted and corroded. ...
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How should I caulk between bathtub and drywall?
My tub sits in an alcove that is 6 inches wider than the width of the tub at the head, and sits against a full wall at the foot. I tiled the alcove but stopped at the front edge of the tub so that ...
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What to use to seal an exterior cable penetration in brick?
A Comcast tech came to our 3-unit building, ran a new cable into the utility room, and pulled out the seal that was there before, leaving it open as we're getting cold and wet for fall.
What should I ...
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3M Caulk Remover
Does anybody have experience with 3M Caulk Remover? I read about it at Cool Tools (a great site, by the way):
http://www.kk.org/cooltools/archives/000926.php
If you read the comments, some people ...
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Bathtub separating from wall
I recently bought an older house. It has had some work done in the master bath, and I just noticed that the tub is separating from the wall. What would be the best way to fix this? Oh I should mention ...
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What substances should you avoid contact with your bare hands?
I started thinking about this yesterday because I currently have a weird feeling second skin from the polyurethane adhesive I used to attach my kitchen backsplash on Sunday. I foolishly assumed since ...
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Should electrical box face plates be caulked?
I am in a dilemma whether to caulk electrical box face plates or not. The reason to do it is to improve the R value of the house but a downside is that any removal will be slightly more messy and will ...
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Gap in sealant round edge of bath, mould underneath, what to replace with
For the past couple of months I noticed a gap developing between the sealant (caulk) round the edge of the bath-shower (behind the taps) and the tiles. I'd been meaning to do something about it for a ...
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Should I use caulk to fix cracking grout in a shower?
We had our contractor tile in the window in our shower. It started cracking almost immediately, and he's filled in the cracks a couple times. It keeps cracking. I assume due to the temperature ...
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Sealing siding around a chimney
I have water coming in from around my chimney. The roofers didn’t finish it, unfortunately I just bought the house so I need to fix it myself. What’s the easiest and best solution to sealing off the ...
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How should I seal a 2 inch gap between my driveway and garage slab?
First time posting. I was caulking the 2in wide x 16ft long gap between my driveway and garage yesterday and I screwed it up. I cleared most debris out then put play sand as a base. Then I put foam ...
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How to know when a fixture needs to be re-caulked?
I recently bought my first home, and am trying to be a good homeowner. I know that the bathtub, toilets, and sinks (anything else?) are supposed to be caulked well. I have no idea how long the current ...
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Should I caulk window gap behind casings?
Installed flange windows often have a gap where they're shimmed. This gap will usually be covered by casing.
Should it be caulked before the casing is installed?
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Did I remove more caulk then I should have at shower door frame end?
I'm in the process of recaulking a shower. In removing the old caulking, I got to where the door frame meets the wall and shower pan. There was some caulk there and it was a bit damp, so I started ...
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