As fall moves in, the air starts to cool and drafts start to work their way around tiny crevices. The little crevices around the windows, doors, and pipes, all rob precious resources. With heating oil, electricity, and natural gas on the rise, it becomes necessary to stop the hemorrhaging of money through these cracks.
So, I set out today to caulk windows and doors. First I spent a ton of time in the local home improvement store trying to figure out which caulk was best. 35 year or 50 year, watertight, paintable, colored, clear--oh my, the choices. Armed with a dozen tubes of caulk, I headed home to tackle the project.
At first, things did not go smoothly. I had caulk on my fingers, caulk in my hair, and even caulk in my mouth. Off to twitter I went in search of a real, live, warm, body, who had actually applied caulk before. No disappointment there!
Some of the things I learned. Why don't they put some of this on the package?
1. Cut the tip of the tube smaller than you think you need. you can always snip off more if you need to. Too big of hole and the caulk just oozes everywhere.
2. Rub a good hand creme into your hands before beginning, it makes it easier to wash off uncured caulk from the skin.
3. Use polish remover with acetone to get the caulk left around your cuticles if you don't use step four.
4. Try wearing gloves. this worked well when I could work at eye level, but not so well when I couldn't see what i was doing. i really needed to feel the edges.
5. Use shims of wood or cording to fill in the big gaps before applying caulk. This definitely saved a ton of material and was easy to push in with a flat blade screwdriver.
6. Practice with the caulking gun. A smooth even pressure with the gun moving is the secret!
7. wash up with soap and water PROMPTLY.
I have to say that it turned out quite well. The front door is done and I managed to also complete a window. As I get more proficient, I'm sure it will move along more rapidly. I have no idea how much I'm saving by doing it myself or even how much energy I can save. Would love a link to a website with some estimates. If you have one send it along and I'll post a link.
The process was satisfying. And, this gal did it herself!
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