Special Producers of elastic adhesives

ARE THERE ANY ‘CONSIDERATIONS’?

IF SO, AN ELASTIC ADHESIVE CAN OFFER THE RIGHT SOLUTION

Photo – Devo®

If you want to join materials to each other, using an elastic adhesive is one of the options. You turn to these products certainly if the intention is to make a strong connection which is designed at the same time to absorb even more movement from elements such as vibrations.

Elastic adhesives offer huge benefits and not only in the floor industry. We think, for instance, of the transport sector where elastic adhesives and seals are used a lot, both in the production process and in the end product. These glues have all sorts of benefits, such as adhesion on just about all surfaces, but especially the tolerance of any movement. That’s something which is very often vitally important, certainly with a wooden floor.

What is elasticity?

The first thing which we have to do is define precisely what elasticity means. Generally speaking, elasticity is the extent to which a material exerts a counterforce (so called resilience) when the elastic is distorted (i.e. not permanently) or the extent of distortion in a material when a certain external force is exerted. And so, you can regard a material as elastic if it returns to its original shape once the external force ceases. You should never confuse elasticity with plasticity. Plasticity is distortion or deformation when force such as compressive strength or tensile strength is exerted. However, in contrast to elastic distortion, plastic distortion is not undone when the exerted force is taken away again. Note: Plastic distortion very often goes together with elastic distortion. That elastic distortion is then by definition semi-permanent.

Elasticity and parquet adhesive

Obviously, we are considering adhesives in this article. The explanation above is intended to make it clear that elasticity is important, but not all-important. During several years of research and trials with new products, producers have arrived at increasingly better compositions so that a number of ‘sub-classes’ have emerged. If we think, for example, of the old solvent and dispersion adhesives, we would now generally have to call them hard-plastic. This means these glues could withstand rather brief and limited forces, but could become distorted in the face of long-term and stronger forces.

If it is likely that the wood will swell and shrink to a great extent (e.g. with major fluctuations in the air humidity), we can use a highly elastic adhesive to ensure that the exerted forces have no direct effect upon the screed. The adhesive then absorbs the movements of the wood and always returns to its initial shape. The drawback is that highly elastic adhesives more or less give you a floating floor.

What should we choose and when?

And so, which is the best one? As is so often the case, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Both flexible and ‘stiff’ adhesives offer their own solutions for specific expectations. With the choice for (highly) elastic adhesives (which nowadays are divided up into silane and PUR adhesives), the main thing is to check what you want in advance. Do you want to counteract the movements of the wood or do you want to tolerate them to a certain extent? Always remember that a stiff glue has strong physical and mechanical properties, but weak flexibility and strong break resistance. Solid glue can be handy, for instance, for floors with straight edges such as traditional parquet, where you don’t intend to tolerate the movements of the wood.

Can the wood be allowed to move to some extent? If so, you opt for an elastic adhesive. Since fewer forces come into play, such adhesive doesn’t have to be highly resistant. Moreover, elastic adhesives ensure that there is less pressure on the substrate.

What’s on the market ?

Blanchon

The quality, versatility, and performance of elastic adhesives are the main reasons why most professionals choose them. Apart from their cost price (somewhat higher than that of PU adhesives), hybridpolymer adhesives (whereby we draw a distinction between MS polymers and silane modified polyurethanes/PU) offer the best price-quality ratio. Blanchon offers three references in the field of polymer hybrids. The first one is the AB 1300, which is very pleasant to use and suitable for all classic adhesive applications (up to 130mm wide). Secondly, they offer the powerful AB 2000. This polymer hybrid

adhesive is suitable for applications up to 200mm. Finally, there is cordon adhesive, which is indispensable in some cases. Blanchon’s cordon adhesive can boast strong adhesion and does not run when it is applied vertically.

Bona

Wood is a unique and natural material with properties which require special knowledge to ensure good short and long-term performances. The combination of sorts, thickness, width, and design are essential considerations and you need the most suitable parquet adhesive should for the best possible results. Bona’s range of silane adhesives offers built-in tensile strength and elasticity in various strengths and formulas to rise to every floor challenge. For instance, there is Bona R848 parquet adhesive, an elastic mono-component and silane parquet adhesive which complies with ISO 17178 (elastic) for dimensionally stable multilayer parquet. It reduces pressure on the subfloor. The adhesive binds through a chemical reaction with moisture in the atmosphere. Features: ∫ rapid initial adhesion ∫ contains no water or solvents, limits swelling and shrinking in the wood ∫ good adhesion on almost all substrates and wooden materials ∫ spilt material can be removed easily ∫ surface is ready for use after 24 hours ∫ good adhesive back position ∫ suitable for use with floor heating. Bona R848T is another variant with a thicker viscosity. Pack: bucket: 15kg adhesive sausages: 600ml – 1800ml – 2810ml – 5400ml. Chimiver

Single-component adhesive with a silanic termination DESCRIPTION: ADESIVER ELASTIC is a singlecomponent hydro-curing prepolymer based adhesive with a silanic termination (MS technology). This adhesive is classified as "ELASTIC" according to ISO 17178. Recommended for gluing of pre-finished wooden floor onto marble, grit, ceramic or marble-chip floor tiles,etc. it's also suitable for gluing wooden floor onto underfloor heating and cooling system. ADESIVER ELASTIC has very good acoustic insulation characteristics. EC1 PLUS certified, it also meets the certification LEED protocol (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design).

Devo®

Amongst other things, Devo® presents Devo® Glue MSP 150 1C, a mono-component and semi-elastic hybrid MS polymer adhesive which contains no silicones or isocyanates. It is designed for multilayer stabilised parquet, whilst Devo® Glue MSP 250 1C is the bestseller at Devomat Industries. This glue is suitable for glueing all types of wood (solid wood up to 20cm wide) and is particularly recommended for fitting pre-finished parquet. The glue contains no water or VOCs and spreads excellently. Devo® Glue MSP 250 is a hard-elastic glue (about 70 Shore) with great adhesive strength, it conforms to the standard CSN EN 14293, and it has the EC1-Plus (EC1-R) classification. Devo® Glue MSP250 is packed in bags of 5kg. Devo® also has dualcomponent adhesives in its range. Devo® Glue PU 570 2C is a waterless, dual-component, polyurethane epoxy, and semi-elastic parquet glue which is specially for glueing wooden floors onto cement-bound substrates or existing floors (tiles, marble, wooden floors, etc.). Devo® Glue PU 650 2C is also a waterless, dual-component, epoxy-polyurethane parquet adhesive, but this product is hard-elastic.

Emfi

To fit glued parquet in France, you have to comply at least with the DTU 51.2 standard. Emfi’s adhesives and kits are used regularly on all sites which satisfy the DTU 51.2 requirements. The benefits of their elastic glues are firstly that they contain very little isocyanate and give off few VOCs (and that with a grading of A+ and EC1 R+) and, secondly, their convenience and versatility. Alternatives to elastic glues include hard glues such as dual-component PU adhesive, but they are not very flexible and have to be mixed before use.