Caulk calculator: how many tubes of caulk do I need?
3 tubes
24.3 ft of bead per 10.1 fl oz tube · 1/4 × 1/4 in joint, filled square · 2.47 tubes before rounding up · for 60 ft of joint with a 1/4 × 1/4 in bead
Run your own numbers
Enter it the way you measured it: 4.5, 4 1/2,
3/8 or 10' 6".
3 tubes
24.3 ft of bead per 10.1 fl oz tube · 1/4 × 1/4 in joint, filled square · 2.47 tubes before rounding up
Filling 60 ft of joint 1/4 inch wide and 1/4 inch deep takes 3 tubes of caulk, because a 10.1 fl oz tube holds 18.2 cubic inches and lays 24.3 ft of that bead; a 1/4 inch corner bead goes twice as far.
A worked example
Sealing 143 ft of siding joints 3/8 in wide and 1/4 in deep with 20 fl oz sausage packs needs 5 tubes. A 20 fl oz pack holds 36.1 cubic inches. The bead is 3/8 × 1/4 = 0.094 square inches, so a pack lays 385 in, 32.1 ft. 143 ÷ 32.1 is 4.46 packs, rounded up to 5.
How many feet does a tube of caulk cover?
A 10.1 fl oz tube holds 18.2 cubic inches. Filled 1/4 by 1/4 inch, that is 24.3 ft of joint; a 1/4 inch corner bead, half the section, runs 48.6 ft; and a joint 3/8 by 3/8 inch takes it down to 10.8 ft. Doubling the width and the depth makes a tube go a quarter as far.
How many tubes of caulk for windows?
Add up the perimeter of every window, inside and out, and divide by the feet per tube for your bead. Twelve windows of 3 by 5 ft have 16 ft of perimeter each, 384 ft counting both sides; with a 1/4 inch corner bead that is 384 ÷ 48.6 = 7.9, so 8 tubes.
What else it is called
Caulk is also sold as sealant, in silicone, acrylic latex or polyurethane, in cartridges and in larger sausage packs; the size in fluid ounces is printed on each, so enter yours. For the trim the caulk runs along, the baseboard calculator gives the linear feet.
Feet per tube
| Bead | Ft per tube, filled joint | Ft per tube, corner bead | Tubes for 100 ft, filled joint |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1/8 × 1/8 in | 97.2 | 194.4 | 2 |
| 3/16 × 3/16 in | 43.2 | 86.4 | 3 |
| 1/4 × 1/4 in | 24.3 | 48.6 | 5 |
| 3/8 × 1/4 in | 16.2 | 32.4 | 7 |
| 3/8 × 3/8 in | 10.8 | 21.6 | 10 |
| 1/2 × 1/4 in | 12.2 | 24.3 | 9 |
| 1/2 × 1/2 in | 6.1 | 12.2 | 17 |
Width × depth of the bead, for a 10.1 fl oz tube (18.2 cubic inches), the full volume printed on the tube.
Where the numbers come from
- Volume of the tube: a US fluid ounce is 231/128 = 1.8046875 cubic inches exactly, since the US gallon is defined as 231 cubic inches and holds 128 fluid ounces. A 10.1 fl oz tube holds 18.23 cubic inches.
- The bead is geometry: a joint filled to depth has a section of width × depth, and a corner bead, a right triangle, half of that. Feet per tube are the cubic inches ÷ the section ÷ 12; tubes are the feet of joint ÷ feet per tube, rounded up.
The count uses the full volume printed on the tube, and some always stays in the nozzle and at the end of the tube: that is why it rounds up. For a deep joint packed with backer rod, enter as depth only the sealant above the rod, not the depth of the gap.
By Javier Miralles · Last updated . How this site is made.
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