Caulk

[spotty_dog]

Our house was fully remodeled in about the year 2000, so nearly 15 years ago. I am pretty sure that none of the kitchen or bathroom caulk has been redone since then. It's gross, so this is my current household project. Problem is, I just finished one kitchen sink and the powder room and I'm wiped! Removing the old caulk was a very strenuous job and installing the new was a bit awkward too. I am not particularly looking forward to the other four sinks, the bathtub and the shower. And some online sources say you should do this annually!

So there's a lot of savvy homeowners here...how often do you re-caulk? Do you have any tips to make it go more smoothly? (I used a caulk removal agent called "Lift Off" and it worked okay but still required a lot of scraping and stunk to high heavens.) Or do you hire a handyman to do these kinds of odd jobs?

Also, what other routine maintenance might we be neglecting?

[OrionGrad]

I know nothing about caulking, but l'll be watching this thread closely since we need to pretty much re-caulk everything before our house goes on the market.
I'm tempted to just hire a handyman for the job. I hate spending money on something I could technically do, but I'm willing to bet the finished product will be better if I hire it out.

[BonBon]

I hire someone. He bitches about doing it, but whatever. He's getting paid!! People swear it's easy, but I'm too afraid I'll muck it up, and a bad caulk job is obvious.

[Bittersweet]

Removing caulk is annoying. I use a 3M caulk remover (don't remember the precise name) followed by a utility knife and a little scraper/hook thingie we've had laying around in our tool box since the beginning of time. Because it's such a pain, I've never replaced caulk as a matter of routine maintenance. I wait until it looks like crap.

[ides]

I only replace it when it fails or is moldy. I've been lucky that mine has pretty much pulled right out. Redoing it is a pita. I use painting tape to help keep the lines clean.

[ladymoreta]

I also need to do this, as well as around the windows. (Is it called caulk around windows, or is that something else?) I have been thinking of hiring a handyman, too. I caulked around a toilet at out old house, and it looked terrible and didn't hold.

[diggitydot]

You shouldn't need to redo it unless it's shitty or deteriorating.

On the windows, it depends. Is it by the wood or the glass? If it's near the glass, it might be the glazing.

[spotty_dog]

This series of videos discusses all your caulking and sealing needs, including windows and doors. http://www.monkeysee.com/play/9631-b...ng-and-sealing

Unfortunately I think I'm figuring out that a lot of things, like toilets and faucets, need to be loosened and gaskets or plumber's putty replaced, and then retightened, instead of caulking.

I don't think I got enough of the old caulk out in some places. I hope it doesn't interfere too much with the seal.

[MrsC]

I don't know anything about tile caulking but we do around our windows and doors every couple of years. It definitely saves on heating/cooling costs.

[ladymoreta]

On the windows, it depends. Is it by the wood or the glass? If it's near the glass, it might be the glazing.

I don't know how to tell, but I can feel cold (winter)/hot (summer) air coming in around some of them. It's bad!

[JediMaster]

Test


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[spotty_dog]

Test


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...Did I pass?

[JediMaster]

...Did I pass?

With flying colors


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