Build Bath & Shower

Grab your hammer and get to work. (Photo: iStock) With the Labor Day weekend coming up, you may be planning your last trip up north or that final big barbecue party of the season. But a three-day weekend can also be a great time to get a jump on doing some maintenance around the house. Here are some projects you should be able to tackle during the Labor Day weekend . Caulking windows, showers and tubs While I wouldn’t ordinarily combine bathroom and outdoor projects, I do when it comes to caulking. If you already have the caulk removal tools and caulk gun out, you might as well accomplish both of these tasks. With winter on the horizon, it is a great time to ensure the cold air doesn ’t seep into your home get by doing some window maintenance. Start by checking the caulking around your windows to look for any gaps and seams that need to be caulked or hardened caulk that needs to be removed and re-caulked. If the caulk has hardened, first use a product like 3M’s Indoor/Outdoor Caul...

Q. We clipped your column titled " Silicone caulk doesn 't stand up to polyurethane," knowing that we would need the product you recommended Sikaflex-1a which we couldn't find at Home Depot or any local supply houses . And since our clipping is missing the bottom of the column, we can't make out the other product you recommended. We intend to use it in our shower to caulk where the wall tile meets the shower base. A. The best answer to your question is a reprint of my advice regarding my experience with bathroom caulks: Over the years, I have been asked many times what is the best caulk to use to seal the joint of a bathtub and the wall above it. For years, I had been recommending Sikaflex- 1a polyurethane caulking , which I have been using in construction and home maintenance since the 1950s. A couple of years ago, I experimented with a different caulking, because several readers wrote to tell me that Sikaflex-1a was turning pink or yellow. I tried DAP Kwik ...