So I compelled my youngest to attend a trip to the hardware store–okay, big box hardware retailer–as I was in the process of turning a repair that could probably have been solved by tightening screws and laying down a bead of caulk but was costing $35 and counting. I mentioned we were looking for gaskets that fit between the spout and the wall, and so I was explaining what a gasket is to the boy, who is taking engineering classes in high school and should probably know what a gasket is.
“A gasket is a rubber or plastic piece that fits between two metal pieces to seal the gap,” I said, “It’s generally designed to keep fluids in.”
As we walked along, I thought about other similar devices. “A grommet,” I said, “Is a piece of a third different material put around a hole to protect both the material with the hole in it and the thing passing through the hole. You find metal grommets on tarps, and when I put lights in wine bottles or lamps, I put in a rubber grommet to protect the wire from the rough edges of the cut glass or ceramic.”
As we did not find spouts with gaskets or gaskets that fit between the spout and the wall, I said we’d put some caulk around it. “Caulk is a material that goes between two materials to keep fluids out,” I explained.
So caulk is kind of a gasket, but not exactly, although all three, grommet, gasket, and caulk, serve similar functions. Sort of.
Perhaps I confused the young man and should just leave his engineering knowledge to what he gets in his classes and Minecraft.
