GET THE MOST OUT
OF MOVEMENT JOINTS AND SEALANTS
Want to know more about movement joints and sealants? This guide from BAL provides you with all the essential information.
For any flooring installation, expansion joints or movements are an absolute essential to prevent tiles or grout from cracking. But why is this the case?
All tiles expand and contract with changes in temperature, and the larger the tile, the higher the coefficient of expansion. As different substrates are affected differently by temperature changes, they can sometimes move at a different rate to the covering. This can then cause tiles and grout to crack if there are no movement joints installed to control the differential movement stresses placed on the tile field.
Current British Standards state that interior floor tiling should be divided into maximum fields of 10 metres in each direction, whilst externally 3 metre intervals are required. Movement joints should always be installed over existing structural movement joints and perimeters, door openings, columns, kerbs, steps, and at the junctions of different base materials.
Where the floor is subjected to fluctuations in temperature, it is recommended that joints are placed more frequently in order to help control the movement caused by temperature fluctuation.
Stresses from thermal and moisture changes, drying shrinkage, deflection and movement in the substrate affecting the flooring, can cause loss of adhesion resulting in bulging or cracking of the tile.
Expansion joints, designed to safely absorb the expansion and contraction of tiles, can either be pre-fabricated profiles made of brass, aluminium, stainless steel or PVC or a field applied material such as silicone-type sealant. Using silicone sealants over pre-fabricated profiles for
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BAL MICROMAX SEALANT is an acetoxy curing sealant which exceeds ISO 11600 and BS 5889 Type B requirements.
When installing a natural stone product the use of a neutral curing sealant would be required. Curing in 24 hours, BAL MICROMAX SEALANT can be used on most surfaces including acrylic, ceramic, fibreglass, glass, glazed and painted, in dry or wet conditions, internally or externally.
The sealant is available in 10 colours and compliments BAL MICROMAX2 Grout – BAL’s rapid-setting and flexible tile grout for joints from 1mm-20mm. For larger commercial projects, additional colours can be requested.
“Stresses from thermal and moisture changes, and movement in the
substrate can cause loss of adhesion resulting in bulging or cracking of the tile.”
movement joints comes with a range of benefits, with ease and speed of use being the most obvious.
When sealing movement or expansion joints in floor or wall tiling installations, choosing the right sealant is vital.
BAL has a number of silicone sealants for perimeter sealant movement joints including BAL MICROMAX SEALANT with built-in Microban antimicrobial protection for walls and floors.
When correctly used and applied, the bond obtained will be unaffected by weathering, UV radiation and immersion in water.
With in-built Microban technology, the sealant protects floor and wall tiling installations against unsightly mildew and black mould providing added hygiene protection for bathrooms, showers and food consumption areas.
Also available from BAL is BAL Silicone, a ready to use flexible, silicone rubber sealant which provides firm bonding for sealing movement joints. Available in white, cream, and transparent colours, BAL Silicone is perfect for domestic and light commercial applications such as leisure centres, bathrooms, changing rooms, kitchens and restaurants.
BAL delivers innovation products and service solutions and has been trusted for more than 50 years by industry professionals from tile fixers and flooring contractors to architects, and specifiers.
www.bal-adhesives.com ADHESIVES & SEALANTS | 43
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