How much foam dries?

Construction without foam is not possible. Its dense composition will make any surfaces airtight, provide sound and thermal insulation in all hard-to-reach places. However, many are interested in how long the mounting foam freezes. To find out, you need to carefully study the properties of the tool, specifications, list the main types of foam.

Properties and Views

Polyurethane foam - one-component polyurethane sealant. Its popularity is enormous: without its presence, the installation of doors and windows becomes noticeably more complicated, it becomes impossible to carry out professional work directly related to repairs. The use of such a sealant does not require the purchase of secondary tools for work.Liquid material enters all the necessary cavities, after a certain amount of time it dries completely. Supply of foam is always in the form of cylinders containing liquid prepolymer and propellant gas.

With the release of the contents of the cylinders reaction occurs polymers. For their release is responsible for the humidity of air and sealing grounds.

Technical specifications

To find out how long it takes to completely dry the foam, must say about the characteristics:

  • The primary expansion is a property in which the volume of foam applied to the surface increases. Due to this property, the material takes up space completely and securely fixes it.
  • Consider a secondary extension. Since the foam must increase or decrease in volume, this characteristic is negative. As a rule, this is due to improper use (temperature is exceeded, the base is not cleaned, mechanical impact is produced).
  • The time for setting foam varies. The top layer dries out literally in 20 minutes, the full setting occurs within 24 hours.In this case, excess material can be cut off after 4 hours from the moment of application.
  • As practice shows, the mounting foam ideally mates with structures made of wood, concrete, metal, plastic, stone and glass. Silicone and polyethylene are incompatible with mounting foam.
  • The indicator of temperature stability is important (the ability to withstand certain temperature drops). For example, the foam of the company “Macroflex” maintains a temperature range from -55 to +90 degrees. It should be noted that its flammability is completely reduced to zero - the foam does not undergo combustion.
  • Foam material involves the interaction with chemicals, the ingress of ultraviolet rays leads to darkening and destruction of its base. Therefore, it is necessary to apply a protective layer (any paint or primer).

Expansion ratio

Quick and multiple expansion at the same time is the main task of the sealant. As a rule, the volume is increased by 60% when using household foam. Professional variety has a more pronounced coefficient (double or triple). The increase in material depends on the conditions of its use.

Polymer expansion depends on temperature, air humidity, the rate of release of the foam composition from the balloon, as well as from surface treatment before direct application. Usually, information on the maximum possible output is contained on the cylinders themselves, but it is not recommended to completely trust the declared value.

Often, manufacturers deliberately embellish the capabilities of their product: they proceed from the calculation of the ideal conditions for applying foam.

Let's touch the expansion process of foam. It is customary to divide it into two stages: primary and secondary expansion. Primary is provided a few seconds after release. The second stage is the final solidification followed by polymer transformation. The foam receives its final volume already at the initial stage. On the second one, as a rule, the expansion to 30% occurs. Therefore, we advise you not to neglect the second stage.

It is important to remember that polyurethane foam involves not only expansion, but also sitting after release. Buying from reputable manufacturers quite often ensures the quality of the building material (shrinkage not exceeding 5%). If shrinkage goes beyond this level - this is evidence of poor quality.Excessive sitting causes polymeric tearing, and this often becomes the cause of new problems in construction.

Kinds

In specialized stores there are professional and household types of polyurethane foam:

  • Professional foam assumes the presence of a special gun for the application (the cylinder contains the necessary valve). In this case, the gun has a decent price, usually 10 times the cost of the foam itself, because it is designed for reusable operation.
  • Household sealant put without auxiliary tools. For application you need a small plastic tube that comes with a balloon.

According to the temperature threshold, it is divided into summer, winter, all-season:

  • Variety for the summer season is applied at temperatures from +50 to +350 degrees. In such temperature conditions, it freezes.
  • Winter foam - from -180 to +350 degrees. The volume of the applied composition is directly dependent on the decrease in temperature.
  • The variety, universal for all seasons, has the combined characteristics of both above-named options. This is an excellent interaction with the cold, a huge release and fast hardening.

Scope of application

The following are some types of work where the use of foam is required:

  • filling voids and cracks in areas where there is no heating, as well as on the roof;
  • the elimination of gaps between the doors;
  • fixing without fasteners;
  • mounting insulation on the walls;
  • sound insulation;
  • application in the field of repair of premises;
  • sealing of holes on the surfaces of boats, rafts.

Polyurethane foam allows the sealing of seams and cracks up to 80 mm wide inclusive (larger gaps must be filled with boards or bricks). In order for the sealant to last as long as possible, it is necessary to use it properly.

The following are some tips for using and applying foam:

  • Spray water onto the surface for better coupling (before and after application).
  • It is necessary to shake the balloon before starting work, keeping it bottom up.
  • Filling any gap should not be carried out to the end (about half) - so the flow rate of the composition will decrease.
  • It is necessary to cut off the excess foam after the polymerization process.
  • Preferably the use of high quality and proven products of famous brands.

Consumption

Most often, the volume of the cylinder 750 mm has the release of 50 liters of material. However, this does not at all indicate that it is enough to fill a 50 l tank. As a rule, the foam is unstable due to internal bubbles. Due to its own weight, the lower layers burst, and this, in turn, significantly reduces the volume. So 50 l - conditional figure. Using the material in the cold, you can encounter a clear decrease in volume. Therefore, the information indicated on the surface of the cylinder is true only if ideal conditions are maintained. The hardening time varies: the composition dries differently if it is used in an apartment and on the street.

On the secrets of foam, see below.

Comments
 Author
Information provided for reference purposes. For construction issues, always consult a specialist.

Entrance hall

Living room

Bedroom