Art 2 (1)
16 January 2017

Compatibility tests identify the optimum combination

Waterproofing and weatherproofing a building will naturally require a range of chemical-based products which, when interfaced together should combine to seal the building envelope to a high standard.

Compatibility of third party products is a building issue that is often overlooked. Waterproofing and weatherproofing a building will naturally require a range of chemical-based products which, when interfaced together should combine to seal the building envelope to a high standard. However, some chemicals will bond with each other and others will not; hence understanding which products are compatible is a crucial element of building design.

tremco illbruck's Windows and Facades Division take third party compatibility seriously and offer compatibility testing on all its adhesives, sealants and membranes at the test centre in Coventry. "No one else in the market offers this level of service in our market" says tremco illbruck's Regional Sales Manager, Richard Bacon

Last winter, tremcoillbruck was asked to attend a customer's site due to an issue of water ingress on a balcony door cill interface detail. This is a common area of weakness in building construction as it requires the sealing of a weatherproof membrane to a waterproofing membrane; in this case, illbruck ME501 DUO HD intelligent membrane needs to adhere to the bituminous protective layer of a third party waterproofing membrane.

It was determined that the third party substrate was incompatible with ME501's preferred adhesive illbruck SP525 Frame and Façade Sealant & Adhesive and an alternative adhesive needed to be found. Samples of the substrate were sent to our laboratory for further analysis and a preferred adhesive was found and recommended to the client.

During a follow-up conversation with the client, Richard asked whether the client saw any value in tremco illbruck offering a seamless and 100% compatible solution for roll-out on future developments. The response was a resounding yes.

tremco illbruck's Structural Protection Division set about testing its entire suite of window membrane adhesives with the innovative TREMCO CP250 Waterproofing Membrane and TREMCO CP620 Heavy Duty Protective Course.

CP250 is a single-pack, moisture-cured advanced polyurethane liquid-applied membrane that is compatible with application to damp and green concrete. It requires no primer, is applied in a single layer and cures rapidly to form a durable, highly elastomeric high-performance membrane for buried applications. Typically, it will have hard or soft landscaping installed on top of it, for example paving, Blacktop, gravel or green roofing making it an ideal tanking substrate for our client application.

The results were clear and illbruck OT015 High Tack EPDM Adhesive and illbruck OS111 Bituminous Sealant performed the best out of all the adhesives in the range and both were compatible with ME501 DUO HD. These results mean that tremco illbruck now offer clients a cost-effective, 100%-compatible, seamless and durable sealing solution which employs illbruck's vapour-permeable intelligent membrane technology and TREMCO's liquid waterproofing membranes.

"This procedure illustrates our ability to single-source a complete system comprising a full suite of compatible products," comments Richard. "We offer a huge range of coatings, membranes and adhesives and our laboratory is capable of testing the performance of the many thousands of possible product combinations. It's fair to say that we can deliver a system for every conceivable application."

For further information on tremco illbruck, please call 01942 251400 or visitwww.tremco-illbruck.com.

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With compliments:-

Alison Relf
Taylor Alden Ltd
Unit 2 Temple Place
247 The Broadway
London, SW19 1SD

Tel:  020 8543 3866
e-mail:alison@tayloralden.co.uk

Editors' note

tremco illbruck encompasses four brands in the UK after a worldwide brand reorganisation - more details can be found atwww.tremco-illbruck.co.uk.  The brands are TREMCO, illbruck and Nullifire for the construction business and PACTAN for the manufacturing business.