BAM TECH

Have a safe holiday!!!

Cut down on the cold air and drafts around the home using these three tips. As always, remember to use the right caulk for the right job!

1. Unplug a Used Tube of Caulk
Take the tube and cut off the nozzle end so that the hole is slightly larger than the first cut that is clogged. Next, drive a screw into the nozzle end of the hardened caulk and use the screw to pull the hardened caulk out of the nozzle. A screw with course threads, such as drywall or deck screws, will work the best.
The larger hole may produce a larger-than-desired bead of caulk, so be sure to employ other methods of protecting surrounding areas.

2. Use Masking Tape for a Neat and Even Application
Here is a trick to keeping that caulking bead looking straight and clean. Use masking tape around the seam you are caulking, keeping the two pieces of tape at a distance the size of the desired bead. Lay down your bead of caulk. Use your finger to tool the caulk by pushing the excess onto the tape. After tooling, remove the masking tape, and you'll find a nice-looking, straight, clean, smooth bead of tooled caulk.

3. Smooth Caulk with a Paint Stick
After you lay your bead of caulk, determine the width you want and mask it off with masking tape. Next, take a paint stir stick and clip off the corners to fit the desired width between the two pieces of masking tape. Smooth out the bead of caulk with the stick.
Tip: You can also use a clean popsicle stick too.