I love latex caulk. The stuff can fix or patch just about anything. The guy who installed the side door calls it “miracle wood in a tube”. Now there are all types of caulks out there. Maybe I’ll get into the different ones in a future post, but until then I’ll focus on the water-based latex one. Here are some things I’ve used it for, and a basic rundown of how to use it.

Caulking interior, baseboards, trim
A couple of the guys who did the insulation also caulked the interior baseboards with a couple types of caulk. Basically anything that would help seal cracks with possible air leaks.

Caulking windows and doors
Latex caulk is good for windows and doors. Many of them say it right on the label. I’ve caulked all around windows to seal gaps. When the new windows were put in, the guys that did them caulked all around them on the inside and outside. They also caulked around the trim when that was put back to smooth it out. This helps smooth it all out and will look nice when painted. I recently used it on a storm door as well.

Cracks, gaps, and other eyesores
With an old house, there are lots of cracks and stuff just about everywhere. Especially in corners behind wallpaper. I dread seeing corners behind wallpaper. Anyway, I’ve used caulk to fill those gaps in before painting. The process is about the same as interior trim. However, I found that doing it more than once helped prevent the crack from re-appearing.

How to caulk
The process is simple. You cut the tip of the caulk at an angle, but not too big. Stick it in a caulking gun and squeeze. Run a bead of it along the baseboard or window you want to seal. When you’re done, be sure to release the latch on the back of the caulking gun, otherwise it’ll still ooze out when you stop squeezing the trigger. Anyway, the next step that I saw a lot of these guys do and I’ve gotten into the habit of doing is to wet your finger (water or spit will do) and run it along the bead you just made to smooth it out. Doing this without wetting your finger can ruin the smoothing process, since caulk is wet and your finger is dry. The final step is to get a damp rag and run it over the caulk you just smoothed out. This helps wipe off the excess without losing what you just filled in. That’s basically it. Then move on and let it dry for a few hours.

If you plan on painting something you’ve caulked, it’s good to get caulk that says printable on the label. Some types of caulk (silicone) apparently don’t hold paint as well.

Clean up tips
Most latex caulks will wash off with soap and water. If you don’t want it on your fingers you can always wear disposable rubber gloves. This should probably be done with some of the more powerful caulks that actually have warnings on the label about skin contact.

There was an article in the February 2005 issue of This Old House magazine which listed a bunch of uses for WD-40. In the top 10 was removing dried up caulk from your fingers. Good to know.

Even thought I believe I have an allergic reaction to latex, it will not stop me from using this wonderful goop. Latex caulk rules.

This entry was posted on Monday, July 11th, 2005 at 7:51 pm and is filed under Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.