100 Miles Of Caulk

Tinstaafl

Well, maybe not a hundred, but it's going to seem like it till the job is done. We're putting up steel siding on all the used-to-be windows on this building, and will be caulking the J channel all around.

Anyone have any neat tricks for tooling caulk on brick and concrete? I don't think I have enough spit for the job.

And... I've always sneered at those powered caulk guns, but if there's a place for them, this is it. I'd appreciate hearing from those who have experience with them.

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WarnerConstInc.

Damp sponge, 2 buckets of water, one clean, one to clean sponge.

Power caulk guns, never used one, really wanted to.

jtpro

I haven't done THAT much caulk ,but I always use a sponge and water bucket.

MURDER on the sponge and several passes to remove the excess.

I'm sure you knew that though.

jtpro

or what he said as he can type faster!

neolitic

A can or pail with water and
dish soap.......
and buy Fast Orange hand cleaner
by the gallon.
The pneumatic guns have a steep
learning curve, but if you want
to buy in bulk.....
I've used a few of the battery
powered ones, but not enough
to recommend one or another.

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neolitic

Maybe a case of nitrile gloves?

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WarnerConstInc.

I forgot about dish soap.

I usually wear black nitrile gloves when doing any glueing, caulking, staining, etc. I get tired of filthy hands.

HSConstruction

I used to build conservatories and we used a pneumatic caulk gun, it was cool but allowed you to lay a bead 2 times too big twice as fast.

I second, err third, the bucket and rag trick.

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Tinstaafl

Thanks guys; I think I'll be trying rags rather than sponges. I don't own enough of the Great Barrier Reef for that.

But you wouldn't recommend not using one? Are they typically 1-2 speeds, or variable? The latter would seem to be the only sensible thing.

Uh... yeah. That's exactly what I was thinking.

RobertCDF

I have the ridgid 18v glue/caulk gun and it has a variable speed. Its also all about the cut, if you cut a gaping hole then your jacked no matter what you use. I bought the ridgid for glue mostly but I have used it to caulk and it worked just fine.

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NJ Brickie

I would use a set of spoons and rags.

Bob Kovacs

Hire a caulking company- it'll save you the pain.

Tinstaafl

Hallelujah on that! Drives me nuts when someone borrows my gun/caulk and returns it with a hole big enough to stick a finger in.

Novel thought, but I never learned to play spoons.

Seriously, that does sound like it could work well under the right circumstances. But I don't trust myself to be able to handle the excess neatly on a brick/concrete surface.

Under the right circumstances I'd be tempted. But (a) we're trying to maximize profit by keeping as much of the work in-house as possible, and (b) I actually do have a pretty good touch at it myself. Just haven't done it on this scale before.

RayGoerdt

1" foam brushes and a small pail of water

Ray

NJ Brickie

Figured I would chime in since nobody brought up using spoons. If there is a section that is unnoticable I would atleast give this method a shot. You can get alot done quickly and neatly with a nice set of spoons. But you know what you are comfortable with. Good luck on the project.

NJ Brickie

Just to make myself clear I mean using these
http://www.loghomesupply.com/special...-rod_107_d.htm

I guess "spoons" are a slang term.

neolitic

As far as the battery guns,
I tried a Ryobi, and a DeWalt
And another "yellow one"
The Dewalt was variable speed, and
had a way to lock in the rate of flow
that you liked.
That's about all I remember.
Milwaukee makes one too, but
you might want to check these guys.
http://www.albioneng.com/

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neolitic

Stainless lab spoons are nice too.
They come in different sizes,
and I think they're called "spoonulas"?
Sounds like a spork.

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Cletus

On commercial jobs like that I would expect to see bulk guns and NP2 in buckets, a soup can wired to your belt containing a little soapy water, and your spoon of choice. If you need gloves, rags, hand cleaner, and somewhere to put the "extra", you are doing it wrong.

Tinstaafl

No doubt. You ljust showed me something I didn't even know existed.

I freely admit that I've never done "commercial" caulking. As a general remodeler, most of the stuff I do is easily accomplished with a few rags/paper towels, a fingertip and spit. But if you never venture out of your comfort zone, you're stagnating.

Sounds like both of you guys have a clue as to how it's done on a bigger scale, and I do appreciate the education. Anything else you can point me at would be well paid with attaboys (can't fit much else through this keyboard).