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7.20.2010

Holbs Week: Caulk-And-Bull


This is what comes along with marrying a ginger stud like my husband:
acid indigestion,
allergies to most anything that grows under a yellow sun,
and the tendency to caulk a tub at the very worst possible moment.

Brandon has been engaged in a long-time battle with our bathtub caulk job. I'm not sure what it is about that bathtub that so irks my Holbslover in his soul, but time and time again I will come home sweaty from a run, or feel the need deep in my bones for a long, hot shower, only to find out that the tub area has been declared off-limits for another 48 hours.

This is how he likes to do it. First he takes a scraper and scrapes every last bit of our perfectly acceptable caulk-job off the tub. Ideally he will leave the caulk scrapings, little curls of rubbery confetti, all over the tub floor.

Then he meticulously dries every last drop of moisture from the tub. This involves sticking rolls and rolls of toilet paper in every leaky joint and deep down into the drain, and also leaving wet towels crumpled on the floor, and then smearing dirt everywhere? (He does prefer to do this part this fully shoed.)

Finally he hops in the tub, caulks that sucker to within an inch of its life, and emerges declaring,

"This time, it will be perfect!"

Forty-eight hours later I get to shower.

And then, two weeks later or so, The Holbs is in there screwing up his face in his birthday suit, wondering if that seam is really as water-tight as it could be, and how much caulk is left in that caulk gun do you suppose?

13 comments:

  1. I, too, have a perfectionist hubby. My husband, however, doesn't work on things around the house very often. That could be because we're renting, though. Maybe when we get a house of our own, he'll be the same way as the holbster.

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  2. Having been blessed with ginger hair follicles myself, I can understand what you are going through. My husband is subjected to me daily, and sometimes I wouldn't wish that upon anyone.

    However, my husband has a red beard (that one time I let him grow it out when we were dating) which he uses to get back at me every so often.

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  3. Detail oriented is my name!
    I cannot help but fret myself to death with the very last detail! If only I could live as free as you!

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  4. teehee! awww. i think after the 2nd or 3rd time i'd be demanding at least 24 hour notice prior to him getting all caulk-happy. that way at least you'd know not to run that day! ; )

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  5. Could have done with someone like your Hubs to render our shower enclosure truly waterproof! It ended up dripping into the lower flat recently and the plumber who came to fix it was not as meticulous as your hubs seems to be. Be thankful he's so fussy, a leaking shower or bath is no fun.

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  6. The other thing that makes me laugh about recent photos you have included of your hubs doing things around the house is your dog. Don't miss much does he?

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  7. I'm married to a perfectionist too. We've agreed he has OCD. But of course we're just kidding. Or are we? ;) Anyway, I understand how you feel.

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  8. My husband never finishes projects. We have half a front porch, half my cabinets are done, half of the door facing is still missing...
    So I am quite envious of the perfectionist that dwells in your house.

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  9. For what it's worth, I am a caulking pro :D You can never caulk over the old stuff and have it work. You have to go in with a razor blade to remove every scrap of the old stuff first, make sure the surface is dry (even behind the surface), clean, and then caulk. You can even use one of those nifty caulk tools but NEVER use tape to keep the edges nice and clean because that doesn't work, and the best way to destroy good caulk is to use BLEACH on it. Note, the Clorox bottle on the toilet may be your very problem...

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  10. My Hubby, bless his heart, has too much ADD to even contemplate completing a task such as caulking. The thought doesn't reach his beautiful frontal lobe. So be happy that Holbs is task oriented, even if it can be majorly inconvenient.

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  11. We just buy all the necessary products for tub caulking and never get around to it. Husband and I both procrastinate....

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  12. HAHA! I live with Holbsy's brother. I promise.

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  13. Um . . . I follow cjane & now I apparently follow you. You had me at "All You Marrieds" & I'm having an "idea of saying anything nice about him" kind of day. I too, am preggers, and If I don't put my desire to nest aside for a minute, it'll be the end of me. How are you doing all this at 7 mos? You're my super-hero.

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