Caulk for one, please

Are you as frustrated with caulk as I am? The whole business, from the gun to the tube, is enough of an aggravation to make me not want to caulk and finish that punch list. Now, though, there is an easier way to caulk the smaller jobs.

Not every caulk job requires a full tube to fill seams around a room's crown molding or chair rail. The smaller jobs make it all the more cumbersome to find the caulk gun, buy a fresh tube, or re-puncture a half empty, dried tube with a coat hanger—come on, you know you've done that too.

GE's new Caulk Singles remove the gun altogether. The single serve packets of silicone or acrylic caulk have a small opening that dispenses a nice little bead after you tear off the tab and fold the package up like a slice of pizza. I used a packet yesterday to fill the gap between the wall and the chair rail in my bathroom, and the caulk worked as advertised. Want to know which caulk you should use, read this.

The idea is to keep the packets small so they'll be handy in areas like the kitchen or bathroom. Pull one out, take care of small jobs as they pop up and then toss it. Caulk Singles are available now at Lowe's, Ace Hardware, and True Value for under $3 per 1.25 oz package. Check out caulksingles.com for ideas and a free sample.