How Cold Weather Tapes Revolutionize Flat Roof Sealing
Flat roofs have been a popular choice for commercial and industrial buildings for decades due to their cost-effectiveness and ease of installation. They are also becoming an increasingly popular solution for modern residential buildings and homes due to their aesthetic appeal. The performance and lifespan of the flat roof strongly depends on the quality of the materials used and their proper installation. The latter can often be a challenge due to inadequate sealing. Recent technologies in flat roofing emerged to overcome issues of traditional installation methods to allow for better efficiency, longevity and reliable protection.
Aim high and explore how innovative cold weather membrane tapes can turn flat roofs into the absolute top.
Due to its exposure, the roof is considered a potential weak spot of the building envelope. To avoid short and long-term risks, its construction must offer reliable protection against harsh weather conditions like heavy rains, extreme temperatures and strong winds. Today, there are various advanced waterproofing membranes on the market, offering excellent durability and weather resistance. However, their full potential can only be utilized with proper sealing to prevent potential membrane seam lift and moisture ingress which could cause roof damage and maintenance costs.
This can be challenging as traditional flat roof installation is labor intense and usually requires mechanical fasteners, torches or heat guns. In addition to a more time-consuming installation, use of heat can impose safety risks for the workers, like exposure to high temperatures, flames and fumes.
To solve these challenges, high-performing pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) tapes can be used to install self-adhered membranes on flat roofs without the need for mechanical fasteners or heat, creating a triple-win situation for construction companies, workers and building owners alike. Let us take a deeper look.
New types of adhesive tapes for flat roof installation can help ensuring reliable functionality and provide added value in areas such as facilitated installation of roofing membranes. The advantages of innovative flat roof installation tapes include:
- Fast and easy installation: The fast and clean application with PSA tapes minimizes installation time, saves labor and equipment costs and reduces overall construction time.
- Reliable sealing performance: Combined with excellent aging and weather-resistant functionality, even under harsh conditions and over longer periods, PSA tapes provide durable waterproof and airtight sealing. This helps minimize the risk of cracks in the insulation and therefore potential weak spots for water infiltration and energy losses.
- Minimized Risks: No high temperatures, flames, fumes or handling gas cylinders during installation means less risk for workers and less harm to the environment.
However, workers usually face difficulties using PSA tapes in winter, since most of the adhesives become brittle at temperatures approaching 0°C. This limits construction activities during the cold season. Another main challenge of fully adhered systems is the versatility of construction materials used for roofing, where it can be challenging to achieve adhesion on nonpolar, difficult to bond membrane surfaces with PSA tapes.
The good news is that specially designed adhesive tapes can overcome these two major challenges. Let us find out how in the following section!
Based on innovative solvent-free UV curing adhesive technology, Saint-Gobain® Tape Solutions engineers have developed the special RW20 pure acrylic adhesive which combines beneficial features for demanding flat roofing applications, like excellent aging, moisture and environmental resistance, performance at temperatures below 0°C, as well as excellent adhesion to flat or rough low surface energy (LSE) substrates. This makes it an ideal choice for self-adhered membrane installation, even in cold seasons.
Biolink® non-permeable cold weather membrane sealing tape netlink 5072 can be used to seal mechanically attached membranes or as auxiliary tape in fully adhered systems to seal critical seams.
The RW20 adhesive is an excellent choice for lamination of customer membranes, offering secure adhesion to wide range of membrane materials and underlying roof construction.
— J. Vuksanovic, Product Manager at Saint-Gobain Tape Solutions
Another benefit of the UV curing technology behind RW20 is that no solvents, water or high temperatures are used during the coating process.
We have seen that innovative adhesive tapes can offer significant advantages in flat roof installation and for durable environmental protection. The choice of the right membrane and installation method can make the difference in industrial, commercial or residential flat roof functionality. Talk to your tape experts to see which one will lift your roof to the top.