Caulk calculator
Enter how much joint you are sealing and the size of the bead. This works out the sealant by volume and the tubes to buy, with the feet one tube actually lays.
Every joint you are sealing, added together
= 0.25"
= 0.25"
Advanced settings10.1 oz cartridge · 15% waste
The nozzle, tooling off the excess, and what stays in the tube
Tubes to buy
2tubes
Feet per tube
24.3 ft
Sealant
30.0 in³
The bead
- Cross-section
- 1/4" × 1/4" = 0.063 in²
- One tube holds
- 18.2 in³
- Before waste
- 1.65 tubes
Where to buy this
- 2 × 10.1 oz cartridgeHome DepotLowe'sAmazon
This searches caulk in general — the right one depends on the joint: silicone for a tub, paintable acrylic for trim.
Plain search links, nothing sponsored. Prices and stock are the shop's, and a local lumberyard will usually beat both on solid stock.
Worked example: 40 ft of 1/4" bead
A 1/4" × 1/4" bead is 0.0625 in² of sealant per inch of joint, so 40 ft of it is 30.0 in³.
A 10.1 oz cartridge holds 18.2 in³, which lays 24.3 ft of this bead; with 15% for waste that is 2 tubes.
- Tubes
- 2 × 10.1 oz cartridge
- Feet per tube
- 24.3 ft
- Sealant
- 30.0 in³
These are the figures the calculator above opens on. Change any field and it works the same problem for your numbers.
About caulk and sealant
- How many feet does a tube of caulk cover?
- A 10.1 oz cartridge lays about 24 ft of a 1/4" square bead, 11 ft of a 3/8" bead, and about 49 ft of a 1/4" bead run into an inside corner, which holds half as much. Real yield comes in under that — the cut nozzle, tooling off the excess and what stays in the tube — so allow some waste.
- Why does a slightly bigger bead use so much more caulk?
- Because a bead is an area, and doubling its size quadruples it. A 1/8" bead runs 97 ft from a cartridge and a 1/4" bead 24 ft — a quarter as far for twice the size. Cut the nozzle for the bead you want rather than the biggest it will make.
- Should I fill a deep gap with caulk?
- No. A gap deeper than about half its width wants foam backer rod pushed in first, so the sealant is a shallow bead bonded to the two sides only — that is the joint sealant makers design for, and it uses a fraction of the caulk. Wide joints at windows and siding are where that matters most.
You might also need
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- Tile grout and thinsetPounds of grout from the tile size and joint, and bags of thinset from the trowel notch.