If you are looking for high-quality products, please feel free to contact us and send an inquiry, email: brad@ihpa.net
Currently, the most widely used caulking materials on the market are foaming agents and cement mortars. So which one is better, foaming agent or cement mortar?
01
The role of door and window caulking agent
Before discussing which of the two is better, let’s first understand the important role of door and window caulking:
1. Positioning
When installing doors and windows, after the door and window frames are installed on the wall, first use gaskets and air bags to initially adjust the level, then use foaming agent to fix the position, then adjust the level and fix it with screws.
2. Waterproof
Door and window caulking is equivalent to the second layer of waterproofing protection for doors and windows.
In addition to relying on exterior wall sealants, drainage slopes, waterproof coatings and membranes, the use of caulking materials can minimize the penetration of wind and rain into the interior when the exterior wall glue cracks.
3. Reduce the stress on doors and windows
Every time the doors and windows are opened and closed, there will be some weak vibration. Filling the gaps in doors and windows can absorb and weaken the stress of doors and windows, and reduce the deformation, displacement or cracking of exterior wall glue during use.
4. Support
The support of door and window frames mainly relies on bolts and support pads, with caulking materials playing a supplementary role. For example, the force on the door and window frames is uneven for a long time, the gap between the lower frames of the doors and windows is large, and the door and window frames are slightly displaced. When the situation arises, it plays the role of lifting and easing.
5. Insulation
Use caulk to prevent heat from transferring and escaping through gaps.
02
The difference between foaming agent and cement mortar
1. Waterproof
The foaming agent itself ensures the sealing of the joints during foaming and expansion, and the foaming agent has strong viscosity, so the waterproofing effect is outstanding. However, you need to pay attention to identify inferior foaming agents, otherwise the service life will be affected.
Cement mortar itself is permeable, and holes may not be filled or voids may appear when filling joints. Even if it is fully filled, the cement mortar may crack in the future due to the different thermal expansion coefficients of the cement and the aluminum frame, building settlement, etc., so the foaming agent has better waterproof performance.
2. Reduced ability to withstand stress
The foaming agent itself is flexible and elastic, which is beneficial to absorbing and releasing stress.
Cement mortar is a hard material and cannot absorb stress. On the contrary, fine cracks will occur on the surface of cement mortar due to stress.
3. Heat insulation
The lower the thermal conductivity of doors and windows, the better their thermal insulation performance. The heat transfer coefficient of the foaming agent is 0.024w/m·k, and the heat transfer coefficient of the cement mortar is 0.08w/m·k.
The thermal conductivity of the foaming agent (polyurethane) is the lowest among commonly used insulation materials, and it can show better insulation performance.
4. Anti-corrosion
Cement mortar contains silica hydrochloric acid properties. When it comes into contact with aluminum products, a chemical reaction occurs between the two. Cement mortar will corrode aluminum. When the cement mortar dries, this reaction will stop, but we still need to do a good job in anti-corrosion treatment of the profiles during construction.
Foaming agent is a flexible material that will not corrode metal. Construction is simpler and faster, ensuring safety.
5. Supportiveness
Foaming agent materials have certain fastening and supporting capabilities, but their strength and supporting effects are obviously not comparable to cement.
To sum up, we can see that foaming agent is better than cement mortar. However, cement mortar still needs to be used in the following situations:
When the gap is larger than 5 cm, it needs to be filled with bricks or cement to ensure that the gap between the wall and the window frame is filled firmly and does not seep. When the gap is less than 5 cm, it can be filled with foam glue (it is recommended that the outermost layer of the outdoor window be waterproofed to prevent the foam glue from soaking in rainy days).
03
How to distinguish the good from the bad
1. How to identify the advantages and disadvantages of foaming agents
The excellent performance of the foaming agent needs to be linked to the quality of the product, the environment of the construction site, and the ability of the workers. For example, the problem of thermal expansion and contraction of the foaming agent may be that the foam volume (volume) is too large and the cells expand, making the bubble wall too thin and the density reduced, making it unable to withstand changes. In thermal expansion and contraction.
Or if you use low-priced and low-quality foaming agent products, shrinkage problems may occur, causing doors and windows to deform.
2. How to identify the quality of cement mortar
Inferior cement is yellowish white in color and contains more impurities and particles.
(*Some pictures come from the Internet, such as intrusion or deletion)