Caulkup Cockup
While it’s usually not worth it for your average homeowner to shell out the big bucks for a high-quality professional grade tool, other times it’s not worth it not to shell out for a high-quality tool. You’ll save (or overspend) hundreds or even thousands of dollars if you can’t figure out when it’s appropriate to be frugal or shell out the cash. I’ll save you the trouble in this case and summarize this post as follows:
Don’t ever buy a cheap caulk gun.
I did, and since the Old Man has many different cracks and crevices that need caulking (especially the windows), and I just about broke my hand after running through 3-4 tubes of caulk. I finally said to hell with it and tossed my $3.50 Home Depot special into the trash and bought a $14 caulk gun at my local paint store. Take a look at the difference:
The most obvious difference is the fact tha the trigger handle is almost 2 inches longer, the plunger has a grabby rubber gasket on it, and overall, it makes caulking about ten times easier than with the crappy gun.
So all of you housebloggers out there who have crappy caulk guns: Buy yourself a new caulk gun for the new year. You won’t regret it.
January 7th, 2008 at 8:36 am
Good advice! Nice caulk gun.
January 30th, 2008 at 7:43 pm
Hi! I have a question and maybe you could point me to someone who might know? I am considering a 4 square on the North Side, and an alley runs along side of it. Because of the alley and not having grass or soil to suck up water, does this mean that flooding or seepage could be a problem and something I need to be cautious of? I have never owned a house in Chicago and have no clue on who to ask for advice. Thanks, love the blog – I read every single entry!
February 18th, 2008 at 10:47 pm
ooooh, so so true. I think I have the same caulk gun. It is heaven. I love it so much that I meticulously clean it after every use. I bought it at the local hardware store and just about fell over when it rang up even more $$ than another one I was considering. I immediately realized it was totally worth it. Of course, I also have a couple of the cheapies for those times I need multiple guns going at the same time with different tubes of stuff.