Click for larger image.

I recently picked up several tubes of latex grout/caulk in a matching color to fill a gap between a tile counter and its backsplash.

The grout comes in big toothpaste-type tubes and once warmed up a bit, it flows pretty well — at least for the first two-thirds of the tube.

At that point, the tube becomes so small it's too hard to compress in order to squeeze out the remaining grout.

I solved that problem with a couple of spring clamps.

As shown in the accompanying illustration, I used one to clamp off the bottom of the rolled-up tube and the other to compress the remaining wad of grout.

I also found that by varying the pressure I applied with the clamps, I could regulate the flow of the grout right down to that last little bit.

— Charles Miller Newtown, Conn.

Tips & Techniques provided by Fine Homebuilding.
©2010 The Taunton Press

To contact Fine Homebuilding, e-mail Christina Glennon.

Get NAHB BuilderBooks 2010 Virtual Publications Catalog Online

The NAHB 2010 Publications Catalog from NAHB BuilderBooks is available online.

Presented in a virtual format as part of the NAHB BuilderBooks effort to go green and streamline delivery, the catalog includes publications and products to help building industry professionals ramp up for a successful year as the industry and the economy begin to recover.

The materials in the catalog, written by industry leaders in various fields of residential construction, feature publications and products about accounting, estimating, business management, green building, sales and marketing, safety, construction codes, 50+ housing, multifamily housing, construction management remodeling and more.

Some of the newest publications in the catalog include “Social Media for Home Builders,” the “National Green Building Standard Commentary” and “Paper Trail: Systems and Forms for a Well-Run Remodeling Company, Second Edition.”

To view the virtual catalog, click here.