Super Handyman: Caulking tips

Caulking is an easy way to seal up the cracks and gaps between building materials. It can be used to seal around window frames, plumbing pipes, wood-to-brick joints and just about anywhere else that allows air into your home. It also can be used to seal around bathtubs and sinks, and other places where you want to seal out water. It's easy to do, and since most caulk is fairly inexpensive, it's well worth the money and time invested to do it. Here are some tips that we like to use to make the job go smoothly!

If you are going over an area that was previously caulked, you should remove all of the old caulk. This does take time, but with a good razor-blade scraper, you can take care of the old stuff quickly. Next, clean the surfaces to be caulked with soap and water or solvent and allow them to dry.

As far as what type of caulk to use, there are hundreds of varieties. As a rule, you get what you pay for, so don't buy the cheapest stuff on the shelf. Check the label to see if it can be applied in your situation — indoors or out, brick, masonry, wood, glass, etc. Some caulks are paintable, while others are not. Some types even come in colors, so you can get a good match without painting.

A simple caulking gun is the only other tool you will need. Most cost less than $10 and will last for many years.

The tube of caulk has a pointed tip that you need to cut off. We suggest cutting it at a slight angle for smoother applications. Start with a small hole and see if that is going to give you a good bead to cover the gap you are working on. If you need to make it a little larger, do so.

With the caulk in the gun, place it on the joint to be caulked so that the caulk is touching both surfaces as it comes out. Move the gun smoothly along the joint, applying gentle pressure as you go along. Some people push the gun and caulk, while others prefer to pull it — whatever works best for you. Some people will mask off the edges of the joint in order to be able to peel off the excess, but that is pretty time-consuming.

You can clean up the slops with your finger or a rounded putty knife. Most caulks will remain soft for a short period of time to allow you to smooth it and clean up your mistakes. After it has cured — usually overnight — it will be strong and will seal out air, moisture and maybe a few bugs.

Get your mower in gear now, before crunch time

It's the “off-season,” and it's a great time to work in the warm garage to improve your lawn mower. Maybe lubricate, paint, clean and do other things to get this equipment ready for spring. If you've had problems bumping into trees and shrubs or downspouts, why not add a bumper to your mower? Peel-and-stick door bumpers are available for all sorts of cars, and come in a variety of sizes, shapes and lengths. You can purchase a piece or two and stick them on your lawn mower to create a super bumper so that you don't leave marks of destruction around your yard. We might not be able to help you stop running into things, but at least we can save the lives of innocent plants and building materials. Peel-and-stick rubber bumpers work great for this.

Eye hooks and nuts make great hangers for tools on a pegboard wall

We love pegboard walls for storage in the shop. It's a simple way to keep your shop organized, and for very little cost. You can buy a variety of hooks and brackets to store just about anything. You can get creative by making your own hooks from wire coat hangers. If you haven't yet installed the pegboard and have access to the backside, you also can use eye hooks and nuts. Just run the threaded end through a hole in the pegboard and put a nut on the back side. This type of holder is perfect for holding a screwdriver, pliers, chisels or, if large enough, a hammer.

Super hints

• A hole punch is a great tool in the workshop, too. You can use it to punch holes in packages and instructions so that you will be able to hang them up on your shop wall via a hook or nail or on a pegboard panel.

• I make my own suet cakes for the birds. I buy a small tub of lard, put it in a large plastic bag and then put a bunch of birdseed in on top. Then I close the bag and mix it all together to form a cake. I set the bag in the freezer until it is firm. Then I pull it out and place it in my suet cage. The birds love it!

• An old chamois can be renewed by soaking it in warm water and a little bit of glycerin. The glycerin softens it up and helps remove some of the grease.

Q. I need some help with my kitchen disposer. It gets stuck very easily. I've tried to find something that might be stuck in it, but there's nothing there. What else can I do before I have to replace it?

A. We suggest taking the rubber guard off the top and thoroughly cleaning it and checking one more time for something caught inside. If there's nothing, then it's possible that it might just be wearing out. You probably should start shopping for a replacement.

Q. My garage door is the standard metal model. I have a couple of small dents in it, and I would like to know if there is a way to remove them. What would you suggest?

A. Try getting a friend to hold a piece of wood on the back side while you use a mallet to try tapping on the dent from the front. If you can get most of the dent out, you can then come back over it with some Bondo, auto-body filler and paint. Hopefully that will do the trick.

Q. I want to put some carpeting in my bathroom. It's just some left over from the den, but I think it will be really comfortable on cold days. What should I use to keep it from slipping on the floor?

A. Use the special double-sided carpet tape that is available at most hardware stores. It works great and will stand up to the heavy traffic and moisture in a typical bathroom. Run it diagonally as well as around the edges, for the best stability.

Reader tips

• I re-caulked the whole house before painting. In some places, I had to use a smaller bead than the one I had already cut on the tube. Rather than trim the spout on a new tube, I used this super trick — fortunately, I still had the old tubes that I had emptied. I cut the smaller end off one and taped it in place over the larger tip. This enabled me to get a smaller bead of caulk like I needed.

• I installed a ceiling fixture in my office. The desk lamp was just not doing it for me for certain projects. I had to cut into the ceiling, and I have a great tip to pass along to you and your readers. I used my screwdriver to install a large screw in the center first. Then I started using the keyhole saw to cut around it. I was able to hold on to the screw as I worked to keep the drywall from breaking away before the cut was finished.

• We moved a daybed into our home office so we can use it as a guest room when the relatives come for a visit. There was a trundle bed underneath the daybed, but the mattress was removed. We put a solid bottom down over the base and turned the trundle part of the bed into a super-size storage area for extra blankets and pillows.

• We have a couple of tables that have marble tops on them. My wife wanted me to try to resurface them. I wasn't really sure how to do this, and didn't want to do more harm than good, so I tried a couple of things. I used car wax to polish them, and also used the car buffer. It really cleaned them up and put a decent shine on them. My wife is happy, so I am too.

• I helped my sister tile her backsplash. We used a variety of tiles that she had picked out, along with some old china pieces that she had saved from family heirloom dishes. We used the spacers that the tile shop had, but needed some smaller ones for some of the irregular-shaped pieces. We used toothpicks. Broken toothpicks worked great to hold the tiles apart until the adhesive set and we could apply the grout. It looks so great!

Shop talk

• Petroleum jelly is an incredibly useful concoction. It's perfect in the shop and super in the home. We bet you would love a list that we have put together of some of the many uses that we have found for this stuff in and around the house. Some you may have tried, but hopefully, others will be new to you. Heck, you may have some clever uses that we didn't list. If so, let us know and we will add them to our list. We also will have it posted on our website at www.thesuperhandyman.com.

• Scotch Reusable Strips are a super product for the home and in the workshop. The reusable adhesive strips can be cut to any size and shape, can be applied to a wide variety of surfaces and can be easily removed after you are finished using them. They are perfect for holding up lightweight objects like posters, signs and other things. The strips are similar to the ones used for the “Command” hooks by Scotch, so they won't leave any adhesive or marks behind after they have been removed. Check them out at hardware stores and home centers as well as office-supply and discount stores. For additional information, go to www.scotchbrand.com.

• Repairing nail holes, scratches and other blemishes on wood surfaces is easy to do when you use the Blend Sticks from DAP. They come in variety packs that contain four different-colored putty sticks. You just rub the stick over the scratch or nail hole, and it fills the area with color. Use one stick or a blend of several to get just the right shade to match the rest of the wood surface, and you can cover most boo-boos. It won't shrink or fade, and once cured, won't rub off. It's so easy to use, and one package has enough putty to cover up every scratch you have around your home. Check it out at www.dap.com or at your hardware store or home center.

• Write to Al and Kelly Carrell in care of the Daily Herald, P.O. Box 280, Arlington Heights, IL 60006 or visit the Carrells' website at thesuperhandyman.com.

© 2011, Cowles Syndicate Inc.