A caulking game
Bead Master
Five jobs, one tube each. Squeeze, steer, and lay a bead that seals the gap without blobs, skips or strays. Then tool it smooth and see what the crew thinks.
Play Bead Master
Job 1 of 5: Baseboard
- Time
- 0.0 s
- Pressure
- Bead
- Waiting
- Tube
- Sealed
- 0%
- Hand speed
- 0 of 6
Mouse or touch: hold to squeeze and steer the nozzle along the seam. Keyboard: click the job site or tab to it, turn on steady-hand mode, hold Space to squeeze and use the arrow keys to set your hand speed. R pops the pressure release, Enter finishes a step, Esc pauses.
How to play
Pick a job
Start at the baseboard and work your way up to the gutter. Each job gets one tube, so wasted caulk can leave you short.
Squeeze and steer
Hold the mouse button (or your finger, or Space) to squeeze. The gun takes a beat to build pressure, so start moving as soon as caulk appears. Move too slowly and you'll lay a blobby bead. Move too fast and it thins out and skips.
Stop the ooze
Letting go of the trigger doesn't stop the flow right away. Ease off a moment before the end of the seam and keep moving, or hit R to pop the pressure release. On touch screens, lifting your finger pops the release for you.
Tool the bead
After you press Done caulking, drag along the bead (or hold Space) to smooth it. Tooling evens out lumps, pushes caulk into the joint and wipes up strays, and it earns a bonus.
Read the scorecard
You're graded on coverage, consistency, neatness and time, with a bonus for tooling. The crew adds one lesson to take to a real joint.
Controls
| Do this | Mouse or touch | Keyboard |
|---|---|---|
| Squeeze the trigger | Hold the button or your finger down | Hold Space |
| Steer the nozzle | Move the pointer. On touch screens, the nozzle rides just above your finger so you can see it. | Steady-hand mode follows the seam for you |
| Set hand speed | How fast you move | → or ↑ faster, ← or ↓ slower |
| Pop the release | The Pop the release button | R |
| Finish a step | Done caulking, then Done tooling | Enter |
| Tool the bead | Drag along the bead | Hold Space |
| Pause | The Pause button | Esc |
What the game teaches you
Speed sets the bead
With steady pressure, your hand speed decides the bead size. A real bead should just bridge the gap with a slight crown. Pick one pace and hold it.
Corners thin out
Hands speed up through turns without meaning to. Slow down at corners and keep squeezing. That's where most real leaks start.
Guns keep oozing
A classic ratchet gun keeps pushing after you let go. Release a beat early, or use the thumb release. A dripless gun helps a lot.
Tooling makes the seal
Running a wet finger or tooling spatula along the bead presses caulk into both sides of the joint and levels the lumps. It isn't just for looks.
Waste costs you
Caulk that misses the joint does nothing but make cleanup harder. Keep the tip riding in the seam, held at about 45 degrees.
The right caulk still matters
A perfect bead of the wrong formulation still fails. Silicone goes in the tub, paintable acrylic on the baseboard, and something tough goes on the gutter.
Take it off the screen: read how to lay a perfect bead for real, or check caulk by type to match the tube to the job.
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