Drove 30 miles the other day to wrap up a shower tile repair. Everything was great until I got to the caulking of the corners. Once again!!!!… the tube of silicone had formed a cork and I was only able to get the cork out by cutting the tip down to the “gorrilla bead” mark. I have tried everything..nails, screws, sticks. What is the proper way to to reseal silicone tubes and have a nice fresh bead ready to go when you want it.
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When you find a way that really works patent it 'cause I've never seen a guaranteed process yet without resulting to the gorilla bead and the mess that follows.
I use the GE (I think) Titanium white caulking. It covers well and it comes with not only a detachable tube from the body, but also a snap-on lid which keeps it from hardning.
I like it, anyway.
At my age, my fingers & knees arrive at work an hour after I do.
Aaron the Handyman
Vancouver, Canada
I think it was last months FHB that had an idea for this. Find some plastic tubing that fits over the end of the caulking tube end. Push it on until it is well seated. Squeeze some caulk into the plastic tube and let it act as the plug. Next time you need the caulk just pull off the plastic tube and you're good to go.
Failing the plastic tube, I put some duct tape around the end of the tip.
I put it on loose, so it takes a sort of balloon shape. Fill that with caulk, and it will harden into the cork.
Quittin' Time
Sounds alot quicker and cheeper. I like it!
Gonna try it the next time.I'm all here....... 'cause I'm not all there!
C ...I have good luck with assorted sizes of wire nuts.
Red Caps.
They look like small balloons. You place the balloon over the end of the tube and unroll it onto the spout. For silicone products leave it a little loose at the tip and sqeeze a little silicone out of the tip to harden and form a plug.
They come in a round container about the size of a can of Copenhagen. Most lumber yards around here have them. I keep some on the dashboard of my truck. Great innovation.
I came across this method a few years back and have never had a tube dry out. When I am done with a tube, I force the tip into a toilet wax ring insuring wax has gone inside the tip ~ 1/8 inch or so. I then put the plastic cap back on.
I still have the same wax ring I started with. Not a bad investment.
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! I think we have a winner!
That one is worthy of being printed in the mag!
Thanks for the great "tube tip tip!" I'll use this one for sure.Kevin Halliburton
"One machine can do the work of fifty ordinary men. No machine can do the work of one extraordinary man." -Elbert Hubbard-
I second the red caps. A lot less messy than toilet bowl wax. They look like little red condoms.
Steve
I'm a red cap condom man myself!.
Excellence is its own reward!
Why does a nail or screw not work? By all accounts of physics, ..it should work. If you seal off the air it shouldnt dry out right. But it does. My old theory with the screw utilized the "cork". It took vice grip to get it out but I figured it would take the plug with it ,...it didnt!..I kept trying,..it never worked! So why does the wax work? it is basically the same thing right? Dont get me wrong...I wil use this new method,..I just want to know why this method DOES work.
I think that the manufactures should create the tubes with screwable tips, ( I have seen these) and each tube should be sold with 4 new tips taped to the sides. I figure you get about 4 uses each tube. When you are finished with one job,..throw away the tip and seal it off with cap(also supplied) and call it a day. Am I dreaming. I have been know to do that you know.
Check prices for satisfaction of your dreams. The red caps are much cheaper.
http://www.littleredcap.com/
.
Excellence is its own reward!
I've wondered if light through the translucent tube can set the stuff up over time.
Have been using Loctite 5406 at work to mount solar cells. The 5406 300 ml cartridge comes with a snap in stopper and heavy polyetheleyne screw in tips. Tip is fine the next day, just unscrew the tip at end of day, snap in the stopper - next day pull silicone plug out of tip at the fat end, all clean and ready to screw into cartridge. Been using same 2 tubes all month and no jams.
Heck, for high price if'n y dont like wire nuts, try space qualified DC 93-500 or other Pt cure at equivalent of $1000/300ml tube! Those all come with the good type tube <G>, or in a bottle.
Put the tip in the bottom corner of a sandwich baggie, squeeze a blob and let it set up around the tip. Better than wirenuts, not as good as a little red.
Man ,are you guys cheap!-----all this effort to save half of a $3-5/tube of caulk.
anything less than a half a tube---just pitch it.
got an almost full tube?---shove a big fat aluminum gutter spike all the way in so that the head of the spike is flush with the end of the nozzle.Even if the nozzle is cut off for a pretty skinny bead the tip will usually stretch around the spike just fine. Next time you use the caulk----pull out the spike. you will have a clear ,wide channel for the caulk to flow----remember the 7 or 8 inch spike extended WAY into the body of the caulk tube.A 16d nail doesn't work as well cause it doesn't reach into the body of the tube.
I thought EVERYBODY did this.If you want -----you cheapo's can re-use the spike indefinitely.
"...gutter spike..." hehehehe. That probably works great if you have an opening large enough. Lot's of times we cut them pinhole sized for caulking trim though, just cut enough off the tip to get an opening. All in perspective, I guess.
"throw away 1/2 a tube..." hehehehehehe, you're a funny guy. Only reason I know of to let go of a nickel is to pick up a dime.
I'm not all that tight, but don't like to waste things.
I generally stick a nail in the end, but the stuff seems to dry up anyway. So I get a wood screw, thread it into the dried stuff in the end of the tube with my fingers, and pull out the plug.
Works better 'n half the time.Out of my mind. Back in five minutes
Jim,
I have also done it many times using a piece of bare copper wire which allows a pretty skinny bead.gutter spikes just happen to be what I ALWAYS have handy. LOL.the important thing is to have something long enough to get way into the body of the tube,not just the nozzle.
I finished off a tube on saturday that I know has been bouncing around in my caulk gun since november----worked fine.
As a practical matter----I am just not that interested in saving half of a 3$ tube of caulk.I am much more interested in procedures that will save my crew 3 minutes each day.
As a general rule---if leftover material is returnable---I return it. If it ain't returnable and I am not gonna use it within a week---I throw it out.
To save caulk indefinitely, only one thing is required: absence of air, or isolation of the caulking from air. Solutions that involve using the caulk itself to cut off air are flawed, because the caulk will dry from the tip down, and it doesn't take too long before the whole stem is cured. When it comes from the factory, a tube of caulk is both sealed and full, with no air to contact the material. Once the inner seal is broken, the lifespan of the tube is threatened by the size of the stem - it takes only a tiny bit of air trapped in the tip to begin the curing. Here's what I've done, it works pretty well: make sure the tip is topped off and clean. pull a scrap of plastic bag over the end and give it a half twist to expel all the air, and follow with a big wire nut - the kind with wings that can be tightened down hard. If you ever have to cut the stem back to revive an old tube, you can also use one of these nuts to make a new tip. Good luck, and ALWAYS keep your nuts with your caulk.
So do you work for 3M or Waste Management? Waste not want not!
Virginia Jim, that's pretty funny! It's also a good question with a good point.
I am more than happy to "Waste" $1.50 worth of caulk( that's what half a tube is worth to me) If it saves me several minutes of sealing a tube,storage,cleaning up goop from oozing tubes,and wrestling to get a semi cured tube functioning.
Assuming a couple -3 minutes /tube , Saving 1/2 a tube will actually WASTE more of my money( at our rates) than that 1/2 a tube was worth.More importantly it will waste 3 minutes of time that might be VERY important to me and my customer.I have in mind the MANY times each year I finish a roof project and drive away as it begins to rain,or the days I am packing up for the day as it beginns to rain.All close calls with potentiall disasterous consequences. 3 minutes in an emergency situation can be very valuable.
BTW---I bet we all do things like this to some degree.How many of you hand nail all your work because the material cost for bulk hand nails is less WASTEFULL than more expensive gun nails.? none of you---because "WASTING" a little bit of money on more expensive gun nails saves you tons of money in more valuable TIME and increased production.It's the economies of scale.
also,Jim---ALL of my jobsite debris goes to a recycler who shreds most of it and sells it as paving base.I think that's much more "green'"than lugging around a few slowly hardening tubes of caulk in the vain hope that I might save $1.50 worth of caulk.
Okay, from a Harvard MBA's perspective of proper business productivity management, you win. No argument.
But, from a nail banger's ego perspective of always finding a better, cooler, niftier gadget, you sure do take the fun out of it!
After all, do we really want to be more productive and makin' more money, or are we just looking for a good excuse to play with little red condoms? Never mind ... forget I asked that ...
"none of you---" --- never say never, none, etc.
Absolutely hate to pay for gun nails. Hey, I even straighten old bent nails to re-use in the 20d and larger sizes.
Do all my toe and down-stroke nailing by hand, 'cause I'm too cheap to buy the gun nails. Must confess though, do most of the overhead stuff with a gun.
You must have pretty full days if you don't have three minutes to unblock caulking! You must be a drill Sergeant at work!
I'm guessing the point of the original question was for someone to suggest an economically viable way for a person to keep their open caulking fresh. It is very easy to shoot the open tube out but if someone has a way to keep it fresh that is just as easy I hope you would be interested. It is invention.
I understand your point about the economies of scale with your nails but do you go through as much caulking as you do nails? That is a lot of tubes of caulking!
Also you never mentioned the time it takes you to purchase twice as many tubes of caulking as does a person who seals one up and uses it again just once and three times the tubes as someone who uses a tube three times.
As a saver of unused materials, I do not only have half filled tubes of caulking in my truck so when I have an emergency like you described I have the choice of a new tube or used tube no crucial time wasted.
Why would you consider it "greener" for someone to discard unused materials than someone who uses them? You are buying at least twice as much caulking, and disposing at least twice as much caulking compared to using them again. And everything that goes into producing more tubes of caulking for you is not very green either. This does't sound too green to me.
How about the extra time it takes you for waste disposal and all your extra waste?
There are a lot of variables to consider to determine if you are really increasing your productivity by wasting that half tube.
Kev,
I have no doubt that many of my former employees would tell you that I am a bit of a pri!#. Of course they would forget to mention that I am generally able to confine our work day to about 8-2 with the employees generally being paid a full 8 hours for 5-1/2 to 6 hours of work. Suprising how many wage earners prefer to work slow for 8 hours ,when they could work steady for 6 hours and earn the same total!
The former employees also would forget to mention that if those threatening thunder clouds over head open up on us while we have this roof open----It's ME that will get sued--not them.and it's the homeowner who will have his ceilings collapsing---not the employees.Sometimes the three minutes you really need at the end of the day in an emergency situation---are the 3 minutes you squandered at 11:30 am.---too late to wish you hadn't spent that time wrestling with a $1.50 worth of caulk!
some of your assumptions on time and material usage don't fly
1) it takes the same amount of time for me to order 1 tube as 10, or 100,or 1000. and the time spent ordering caulk is much less valuable to me since when I am ordering caulk( or any other materials) I do not have a customers roof open to the elements and at risk.
2) It costs me nothing extra to dispose of an extra 1/2tube as my disposal costs are fixed by the square . $10/sq. per layer weather i use caulk or not.
3) your assumption that I must be using twice as much caulk as necissary --doesn't fly----you're assuming your usage frequency relates to mine.In fact I estimate 2 tubes per job with a typical job lasting 2 days . I generally do all the caulking on a job at the same time. If I use more than 1 1/2 tubes on the job I throw away the less than half full tube. Lets call it a 1/3 tube . so if you total up those 1/3 tubes each week---I am tossing less than 1 full tube a week----wow,thats exhorbinant isn't it?
4)given the cubic yard volume I send off to the recycler ---- nit picking over 2 or 3 partial caulk tubes a week seems kind of silly.And---based on the number of 40 yard dumpsters I see on new construction sites loaded up with cut-offs,drywall scraps,siding boxes,wrappers etc.---your whole point seems kind of weak. but hey---what do I care---save all the partial tubes of caulk you want. I hope it pays off for you---it will probably pay for that vacation house you have your eye on.
5) just for laughs---if only the time wasted on this thread was billable------I wonder how much bsing about this topic has cost me? close as I can figure--about $140. LOL.
BTW, I now kinda wish I had THIS time back and instead wasted the $140 by sending 46 and 2/3 tubes of caulk off to be shreaded!
Edited 3/7/2003 9:33:14 AM ET by SHAZLETT
>> Surprising how many wage earners prefer to work slow for 8 hours, when they could work
>> steady for 6 hours and earn the same total!
Depends on what you mean by "work steady." If it means no breaks, no lunch, no time to stand up and stretch or sit down and take a breath, no time for anything but laying them out and nailing them down, then it doesn't surprise me a bit. If I go home at the end of the day too tired or too sore or too burned out to do anything productive or enjoyable, then the two extra hours don't do me a bit of good.
By that logic, every minute I spend walking somewhere instead of running is squandered.
Sounds like you are slacking off only working 5 1/2 to 6 hours per day. Why can you not work hard for a normal 8hrs? If you put in those extra two hours a day your open roof will get closed sooner and you won't have to stress about 3 minutes you wasted four days before it rained!
Let me try to validate my points:
1. you don't have to use the half used tube in an emergency situation which seems to happen to you often. You can use one of the new tubes. It can be your choice. I'm sure that handling and storing 1000 tubes of caulking takes a few more minutes than handling and storing 1 tube. Ordering them might take the same time but you have to do something with them afterwards when they arrive.
2. I did not mention if it costs you more at the dump to dispose your tube of caulking but you are adding more waste to your dumpster with unused materials. If everyone did the same it just adds more garbage to the land fills. Any form of "waste" in materials is not green. This is the cost I was trying to explain.
3. Even at one tube a week you are still using 52 tubes more that you have to. At $5 (got to count tax!)a tube that equals $260 of materials shoot away each year
4 You should only be concerned with what YOU are throwing away and don"t compare your dumpster with others. You are just blaming others for a problem everyone has created. Just because others are doing it does not make it right. If everyone noticed people trying maybe they would try harder to be a bit "greener" also.
5. Not everything is billable!
Too bad you were not my neighbor. I would never have to buy caulk again and might be looking at buying my 2nd vacation home!
It's obvious that you have never worked a roof tear-off before. I'm suprised that Steve hasn't yet taken the time to tell you to take this waste stream mangement and caulking policy of yours and tell you to stick the caulking tube where the sun don't shine, and I'm even more suprised that you continue your arguement with such weak points.
Lety me try to explain it more clearly - Steve, I hope you don't mind me butting in -
It was not the cost a a half tube of caulking that he was saving. It is the cost of the time that it can take to wrestle with a stopped up tube while a storm is brewing. Sometimes a whole crew is waiting while one man is wrestling in a crisis situation. I can't count the number of times when the last three minutes made or ruined the job because of how fast a thunderstorm can blow up on you with a roof torn off.
now take that pile of ruined ceiling drywall, insulation, carpeet, etc from only ONE house (rained into) put in the dump and compare it to a whole lifetime of half tubes of caulk and you seem pretty silly
.
Excellence is its own reward!
I do my fair share of complete roof removal and shingle tear off and try not to get into any crisis situations, never had one yet , Knock on wood , but if I ever did or do I will certainly have enough sense to reach for the new tube of caulking at that point as I have already mentioned-all you have to do is read what I already wrote. When a storm is brewing I'll put a new tube in the gun for the 80 percent rest of time I'll put the used one. It is that simple.
Yes I agree there are times where those three minutes are important but at most part if you can not spare those three minutes in the day you should be working more that 6 hours a day. Maybe 6 hours and 3 minutes!
Why do you assume it is obvious never worked a roof tear off before? Is it because I don't wasted a half tube of caulking? I wasn't informed that a person has to waste caulking to do roofs. I don't see the correlation on that one!
The pile of ruined ceiling drywall, insulation, carpet, etc won't be from saving a half tube of caulking it will be from working only 6 hours a day.
you tell what points I have made are weak and I will explain them better to you
tell me why your points are any stronger
Why is it obvious that you are unfamiliar with roof tear-off and re-roofing?
"Sounds like you are slacking off only working 5 1/2 to 6 hours per day. Why can you not work hard for a normal 8hrs? If you put in those extra two hours a day your open roof will get closed sooner "
That's why. I worked for twnety years on roofing, three with the biggest roofing company in Texas and plenty on other crews. There's a way it done and there's a way that beginner's do it. Your information reeks of beginner - or non-starter armchair quarterback. A roofer sets up his daily goal, drives to it and goes home.
Before it rains.
And he doesn't waste time wondering where that half tube went.
You intended to be insulting with your comment about slacking off and working hard for a full eight hours. There is no roofer on this earth who can go at full speed for the full eight. But he doesn't need to either. if you want to slow down and pace yourself to the eith hours - go ahead but no need to insult someone else who is more efficient than you just because he disagrees with you about a dollar's worth of caulk and what to do with it.
You still can't explain how working 8 hrs is going to get the roof covered faster if it is already covered in six.
.
Excellence is its own reward!
Well I guess it is a regional thing. I live way North of you in Texas so roofers here have quite a bit of time off in the winter and are raring to go when the season starts. They got to make their money when they can and have to condense as many jobs they can when the weather permits. When we do a roof that takes 4 hours it is onto the next one the same day. 4-6 hours is pretty much average so we try to get in two on those days. I would not be able to find roofer to work only six hours a day. I too set up my daily "goal" or schedule but my day might have two goals that day which are impossible to finish in 6 hours. If I'm working six hours that day it must be a Friday!
It wasn't intended to be an insult just a question unlike your friendly banter.
you are right, the roof is already covered in six hours so doing it in 8 is not faster,that is not hard to comprehend but if you would read the threads instead of just coming into the discussion half caulked (pun intended) about something you are taking out of context maybe you'll understand my point. Steve was talking about jobs that "typically last 2 days". I'll do the math for you ; roof job takes 12 hours (2 of Steves days) 6hrs first day,6hrs the second finish at 2pm; roof potentially exposed for 30hrs (that's counting the hours in between the days). Now, same 12hr job, 8hrs first day leaving 4hrs the next finishing at 12pm; roof potentially exposed for 28hrs.
I just can't get over how you think that working slow for eight hours will get the roof closed quicker than working fast fpr six hours. If Steve is finished at two oclock and it rains at 2:30, he's got nothing to worry about and his customers are slapping him on the back and congratulating him at his wisdom good sense and ambition, while you are next door with your roof still open to the weather, having expected to work for another hour and a half to finish it. .
Excellence is its own reward!
I never mention about working slow for eight hours. My crew gives 100 percent of their effort for a full day of work. Why would any foreman let their workers work "slow"? It is not a marathon! You don't start your day at 7 pacing yourself to be able to make it to 5, if you do try something else other than construction.
If you are working 6 hours a day you are not working a full day even if you are working hard. One should be able to work at least for 8 hours hard! I can't understand why does not have time to unblock a tube (excluding emergency situations) but can quite work at least 2 hours before a regular day ends!
When it comes to tear offs we work from day break to sun down to minimize the chance of being caught in those situations that it seems you guys experience often.
What if it starts to rain at 1:00 instead of 2:30, and Steve will only be finished at 2:00. Instead of having an emergency situation he should have worked a full day the day before and he would be long time finished the job. Tell me where the wisdom and ambition lies here. You are right, I might have the roof still open but it will be my second one.
You think that working hard until sundown will help you avoid a rain storm that pops up at 2:00? That's a logic I can't argue with. Maybe your sun goes down early.
You win. Blabber on..
Excellence is its own reward!
"You think that working hard until sundown will help you avoid a rain storm that pops up at 2:00?"
It certainly will if it rains at 2pm the day after I started, I'm long gone. Read the thread we are talking about a typical 2 day job in the caulking case. Or have you forgotten the point?
Thanks for the surrender though, you had no chance!
Sorry Kev, but you simply don't know what you are talking about----and apparently you don't know the folks you are dealing with here.
BTW some points which you keep missing.
1) I don't use dumpsters. That would be wastefull. My tear-off debris is recycled into paving base in the case of roofing materials, and mulch in the case of wood debris.
2) you seem to think that those 3 minutes are important ONLY if they come at the end of the day----but as I pointed out ---that 3 minutes wrestling with caulk tubes may have been at 11:00 long before the crisis situation even is on the horizon.
3) your figuring that a typical 2 day job means my customers property is at risk for 30 hours is absolutely hysterical. 2 days at 6 hours a day means my customers are at risk for a grand total of 12 hours.----(go ahead take off your shoes if you need to do the math on this).
you see Kev---I respect my customers enough NOT to leave their property at risk over night. What gets torn off each day is completely put back together before we leave each day. 6 hours is what I shoot for---but sometimes it takes longer due to the size or complexity of the job. Regaurdless----If the customers roof is open---we are on location putting it back together. There is ZERO overnight risk on 99% of our projects---which I believe is a MUCH better record than the scenario you imply that you work under.
4) I work in a climate where I limit our production to April through November. I see no practical way where a quality ,professional product in this trade would be enhanced---( or even a likely outcome) by starting a new whole roof tear-off project after noon. That sort of scheduling puts the contractors petty economic concerns ahead of his resposibility to his customer.Heel scuffed shingles installed under too hot of conditions& roofs left under felt or tarps over night are un-acceptable to me AND my customers.
luckily----Piffen and most of the other folks here get the difference.
I enjoy the way you discuss your points, at least you don't get bullish about it.
Your points are well founded and I understand now why people homes are not at risk while you are working on them. If that is your work habits fine they sound pretty good to me. But the simple point I was trying to understand has gotten way over blown out of proportion! I'm not trying to understand how you work, how could I without actually being there while you do it. If it works for you and everyone involved is happy that is great for your business.
My point being there must be three minutes in your day you can spare sometimes to unblock a tube. Maybe not everyday, but somedays? And if the days are so full maybe they should be extended.
I know that the 3 minutes you spent yesterday can have a bad effect on the outcome of your job the next day if you are three minutes from sealing up something and a flash storm comes. That is my point; you cannot predict when it is going to rain sometimes it can happen anytime not only at the end of the job when you are caulking either. That is why I said if you a so concerned about the three minutes you lost somewhere within that job using old caulking maybe working 8 hours the first day on the job will mean you be out of there two hours sooner the next day instead of three minutes sooner because you shot the tube away.
You see now that I have read your last post I get a different view of your work. I was scared that a person who doesn't have those three minutes for a caulking tube might not have those three minutes to make a quality job realized. This is not true in your case as it sounds you are very conscious about it.
Doing two a day isn't that hard, but quality is never compromised by quantity. If it can't be done good why squeeze it.
I'm sure we all get the difference but so far you and Piffin are the only ones saying it is not worth saving a half tube of caulking. This is fine, but you can not convince me and the other folks here that there is a waste there.
Maybe you do try now and then, I've only argued the points you have given me and it sounded like you dismiss a half tube of caulking without trying like the rest of us. I hope that if you had a way to keep it fresh for the needed periods you would us it, that is what we are trying to find out, this is what we are trying to share.
Now you are the one not reading what is written.
I was defending steves points from your pointless criticisms and trying to explain to you why it is wasteful to and risky to try to save them.
In my earlier posts I do say that I use red caps to save caulking tubes, but that is for more expensive stuff like the silicone that was first brought up. There the ratio of waste, cost and risk is entirely different and it is worth while for me to save it for up to a few weeks.
"But the simple point I was trying to understand has gotten way over blown out of proportion!"
You came into this discussion full of criticism for Steve, not acting like you were trying to understand anything, so you were the one who blew it all up out of proportion. He stated why he chooses to throw them away and you came in like you thought he was acting to destroy the earth.
.
Excellence is its own reward!
Kev, For what it is worth. You made your point well, I at least understood what you are communicating. The world would be a boring place if everyone agreed all the time.
Karl
I am not criticizing Steves points about why he throws his half tube of caulking away, I am just disputing them with some points I thought made a valuable argument. If he can change my opinions with meaning discussions it is gladly welcome, that is what we are here for; education. I made a discussion occur between two professional about one of their practices, I did not blow anything up just made some viable statements and, may I add, without attacking his trade knowledge (at least I hope not) and certainly without childish name calling and violent actions.
I am not in the habit of insulting a person I do not know and anything in may posts that may seem that way are suppose to be taking with a bit of humor; I guess you are not the right person for that, at least I do not see it here.
If I did not want to understand his points I would not try to get further info on them. I would probably tell him he knows nothing, tell him to shove his tube were the sun does not shine and shoot in a couple of insulting names and hope he shuts up-sound familiar?
You are right, I did not remember your post about using the red caps; sorry about that.
You are reading too much into this-destroying the earth is a little a little exaggeration of my statements!
Like Karl wrote-the world would be a boring place if everyone agreed
Hiya,
I use a piece of plastic shopping bag (the cheap ones from the grocer) and then twist on a wirenut. Seems to work. I've go back to a tube after 5 days without a problem.
T.
Thing is with those screw on tips is the screw housing is so fragile one wrong bend or bump and they crack at the base. Then it's over.
There is a product out there called "Little Red Cap" that is like a condom for your caulking tubes.
McMaster-Carr sells them for about $5 for 35 of them.
http://www.mcmaster.com
look up part number; 7526A11
The packaging also give tips on how to best store latex caulk as well as pure silicone and adhesive caulk.
They work pretty well here in our shop where tubes are opened and stored for long durations.
Rasp
I do not usually have a supply of wire nuts, wax rings, etc., when I am finished a small caulking job. I just sqeeze a big blob out of the nozzle and wet a finger in my mouth and smooth out a big mushroom head shape , drawing it down the sides of the nozzle a bit. Next time I just grab the blob and pull it off the end, and away I go again. I will probably die of silicone poisoning or something, but it works for me.
Funny how this turned into a roofing discussion.
I'll have to get some of those caulk condoms, simpler then what I do now, and the hardware store down the road has them according to the website posted here.
As a DIY'er, not a pro. Any thing I can do to save tubes of caulk is valuable. I hate to have to run to the hardware store for a couple screws or a tube of anything. I have a drawer full of various caulks and guns, and usually only need a small amount of any particular caulk at one time.
I can understand why a roofer wouldn't care much. It'd seem they'd likely only use 1 or 2 different types of caulk on a regular basis. A remodler like Piffen may need a dozen different types of tubed gel on hand.
I right now, have an open tube of clear silicone, white silicone, white latex, concrete exterior, construction adhesive, ect. in a drawer. Most of the time, I end up with a nearly full tube to put away at the end of a project or quick repair. Example I replaced an exterior outlet Saturday and installed a new exterior light. Once the covers were removed I found some cracks in the mortar around the boxes (brick house) that needed sealing. Used a small amount of concrete caulk out of a tube I probably opened a year ago. Resealed it.
Try to keep a new tube on hand too, in case I need a lot or the partial tube dried up.
Keeping partial tubes makes a lot of sense to me. A quick run to the store usually costs me about 1/2 hour of project time. Sometimes, once a project is interupted other things come up and it's done for the day.
That makes ense when you add pick up time, like that for one tube. I buy a case at a time. ( I can hear kev coming on that one - "sure you need to buy that much since you waste half of it" LOL)
I only save the more expensive tubes and then only when more than half a tube. My supply of open ones right now incluides a silicone (used it today and just now remembered that I forgot to cap it off bnefore leaving the job) a Geocel, painter's caulk - interiror, and a PLPremium glue.
Excellence is its own reward!
That's kind of what I thought. The pros buy it buy the case. I pick up a few tubes here and there. Try not to run out of those I use regularly. I try to keep the total dollars way down, because a tube may get used over a period of months or even years. Of course, when working on something particular, I go through tubes like anyone else. But, often it's just noticing a crack back in a corner somewhere that needs sealed. One squirt and the tube goes back in the drawer. Or, the hobo spider that ducked in a crack, squirted it full of caulk. Dug it out later, I got him, then filled the crack right.
Actually, I probably use a lot more caulk to do the same thing then many of you. Sure seems like I waste a lot of it when I do use it.<G>
What is Geocel?
It's the Supergirl in spandex of the caulking world!
The new generation of butyl rubber caulk. sticks good and has lots of expansion ability [something like 800% - think rubber band]I use it for most of my exterior caulk jobs and some roofing. It bonds better than silicone to most metals and keeps that bond without going brittle. Sashco makes a similar good caulk.
Any caulk I try to use more than sixmonths old is always going gummy bad and not worth trying to use..
Excellence is its own reward!
I read an article about that new stuff. Havn't yet seen it in a store. I assume it's expensive. Sounds like you really like it.
You're right, that most caulks after a few months have gone bad, but many havn't. Why it's good to have a new tube on hand. No matter how you try, you always toss some partial tubes. Though that concrete stuff seemed as good as new, and it's been ages since I opened it.
Curious, have you tried the new DAP latex based foam in a can? I've used a couple cans, and can't quite make up my mind. It's really handy since you don't have to use the entire can at once. But, it's not nearly as durable as the old yellow stuff. Still, for patching the holes I've found here and there in my attic, it's been great. One can over a couple months. 4-5 seperate uses.
No, I haven't even heard about it. Thanks for the tip.
The Geocel was expensive when it first showed up around here. My supplier gave me a free tude and said, "Try this and tell me what you think about it."
Of course, I loved it so cost didn't matter. I think it was about 4.45 back then, maybe seven years ago, but now with case pricing and contractor's discount, I think I am paying about 2.25 or so per tube. I charge four bucks going out. .
Excellence is its own reward!
One of my clients took it upon himself to fill around the windows I installed with the latex expansion foam, it seemed harmless to use but he went through a couple of cans just for one large window! I also have concerns about its reacton to water; haven't had time to test it yet but I will before the trim goes up.
P.S.-Piffen LOL (something I just learned that could have helped me quite a bit in this post!)
Like I've said, I've used it, but can't quite decide if it'll hold up. Curious on others opinions of it.
One good thing around windows, there'd be no chance of it warping the frames like the triple expanding stuff will. Doesn't expand much, so yeah lots of cans. But, I only use it in areas that aren't likely to see any water or anyone or anything rubbing against it. It breaks off easily.
For sealing around plumbing vents ect. in an attic, it's great. For sealing a crack here and there it's real nice too, and it's nice to not have to worry so much about getting it on you, as it washes off. Being able to use the same can for several different projects over a long time period is also great. Just not sure if it'll hold up long term.
Please let me know how your test goes.