Correct adhesive application on polystyrene - practical expert’s tips

Work performance, including adhesive application on polystyrene, is as important as selection of insulation materials. How to do it correctly? What temperature is the most suitable? And what to apply adhesive with? - there are numerous questions. It’s should not be surprising that there are several work methods.

Adhesive application on polystyrene

Edge and mound method - is the most common one. It is to apply a stripe of adhesive on the edges of the board, usually 3 cm width, (in a way that the adhesive comes out when pressed against the wall). In the middle of the board there should be 6 adhesive mounds of 8 cm diameter. They should be distributed symmetrically - 3 at the top and 3 at the bottom.

Correctly applied adhesiveadhesiveKS 10 Polystyrene Adhesive See more – with a smooth stainless steel trowel - should cover not less than 40 % of the board’s surface (after pressing against the substrate this surface should amount to min. 60%). The adhesive thickness should be at least 10 mm.

How to apply adhesive on polystyrene What is necessary to remember?

Just after applying the adhesive onto a boardthe adhesive onto a boardKS 20 Polystyrene Adhesive See more, it’s necessary to put it against the wall and press it - in a manner it forms an even plane with the neighbouring boards (it’s worth using a level). If it is impossible to do so, the board and the adhesive must be immediately removed. Next it’s necessary to repeat the whole procedure again - by following the standard construction principles.
The boards are installed with horizontal stripes from the bottom (where a starting track is mounted) to the top.

A manner of adhesive application is not enough. Prior to a board installation, it should be abraded with a float rasp or coarse sandpaper - this action facilitates the adhesion. It’s worth bearing in mind that the adhesion test must be carried out by a special pull-off device, or polystyrene samples. 8-10 blocks (of 100x100 mm dimensions) are installed to the wall, then removed after 4-7 days. If the entire sample with adhesive and substrate’s particles comes off, it indicates that the wall was not prepared properly. If the polystyrene sample is torn, it is a sign that the substrate is ready to carry out further works.

Adhesive application on polystyrene and temperature

Finally, we have one more important thing to take into consideration. While conducting application it’s necessary to use protective meshes installed on the scaffolding and observe all the minimum and maximum temperatures provided by the manufacturer of the insulation system. They usually range between 5 and 25ºC.

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