Plaster over foam. Reliable protection of polyurethane foam indoors and outdoors

Mounting foam has a lot of advantages - it is both a sealant, a heat insulator, and a retainer. High-quality polyurethane foam does not change its properties for decades, but only on one condition - if you cover it from ultraviolet rays! What could be better in this case than puttying foam?

If everyone who has ever dealt with construction or repair is familiar with the consumption rates of cement, putty, gypsum and other building materials, then the consumption rate of mounting foam is the same question for backfilling even for many specialists. On two absolutely identical objects, builders can use completely different volumes of polyurethane!

There may be several reasons:

• The weather is the first reason to consider. At cold weather from a cylinder you will get a much smaller amount of foam than with a warm one. Manufacturers indicate temperature limits on the cylinder and honestly warn about such a feature, so claims can only be against nature! It is best to carry out work with the participation of mounting foam in the warm season, but if it becomes necessary to insulate the building or close up a hole in the wall in winter, use a special winter foam - it retains volume even at low temperatures. Of course, it also has a limit - minus 10 ° C.
• Manufacturer - no need to think that buying the same number of foam bottles from different manufacturers, you buy the same amount of foam. You can't tell the difference by eye, but the weight will tell everything! Take cylinders from different manufacturers in your hands, and you will feel how some are much lighter, which means that there is much less foam. So you won’t be able to save on cheap products - you will pay for gas, and in the end it turns out that it was more profitable to buy a more expensive, but high-quality cylinder.
• Application method - the volume of foam, or rather, the amount of work performed, depends on this factor no less than on the first two. There are two ways to apply foam: through the adapter tube, which comes with the so-called household cylinders, and through, which is purchased separately for special cylinders with appropriate valves.
• The second method is also called professional, but in fact it would be much more correct to call it economical. It's simple - the gun very clearly regulates the foam supply (speed, strip thickness), thus reducing material consumption, while household cylinders give out the volume of foam, as they say, uphill. Professionals know that it takes 1.5 foam cylinders with a valve for a mounting gun to blow in one door frame, and household cylinders get all four!
  
• Banal theft - alas, but with human nature can not argue. Sale of unused building materials – great way additional income for the builder. The only way to control it is to be present when the work is done. There can be many excuses for this, for example, say that you want to install a window in the barn yourself, and you would like to learn from a professional. If you need to control the team, put in the lead person you trust. It is impossible to completely eradicate this phenomenon, but theft will decrease.

If we take into account all the factors, we can get some average flow rate. If the manufacturer indicated a volume of 60 liters on the cylinder, in fact this means that you can use up a maximum of 48 - the rest may simply remain inside the cylinder due to a lack of gas that pushes the material out.

With a mounting joint width of 20 mm to 70 mm and a depth of up to 125 mm, the foam consumption per 1 meter of the joint will vary from 13 cm 3 to 100 cm 3. It turns out that 1 meter of the seam can go from 1/5 of the balloon to 1 ¾. To cut costs, you can use joint fillers such as Styrofoam. In some cases it is even necessary!

If we talk about consumption per 1 m 2, then the costs will increase significantly - by square meter area goes from 1 balloon to 5, depending on the thickness of the layer. Depending on the goals, you can also reduce costs due to the cheapness of the material, when quality and characteristics are not particularly important to you. For example, for soundproofing, it makes no sense to spend money on high-quality foam, and the cheapest Chinese foam will cope with this. But if you decide to use foam as an adhesive, then it is better to choose the highest quality - in any case, the consumption in such cases is low.

Is it possible to putty mounting foam and how to putty it - there are answers to both of these questions! Foam can and should be protected with putty or plaster, and fortunately, these materials are good friends with each other. Plastering is necessary, first of all, where one of two conditions is required:

• Fire safety - in this case, the plaster layer should be about 8 cm! And the foam itself must be fireproof (class B1) and withstand exposure to an open source of fire from two to four hours. It is desirable that the foam be from a certified manufacturer. If these conditions are met, you can avoid sanctions from the fire inspectorate.
• Decorative look - everything is clear with this. Putty on mounting foam provides not only protection, but also closes the contents of your walls from prying eyes, gives the repair a complete look. If you want to provide additional protection against mechanical damage, use drywall.

So, let's get to work.

How to putty mounting foam - step by step diagram

Step 1: Smooth out the foam

The foam traditionally has a wave-like structure and when expanded, its excess sticks out in the most unusual positions. Puttying or plastering on such a surface will not work, so first trim the dried material (at least 7-12 hours after application). If plaster is used to protect the foam, then the seam must be further deepened by a few centimeters.

Step 2: Glue the tape

To protect a clean surface from stains, apply masking tape along the perimeter. The tape should be removed when the plaster has already been applied, smoothed and slightly dried.

Step 3: Working with the Blend

Almost any mixture will suit you for work on polyurethane foam, but the mixture has proven itself best Rotband. Follow the instructions on the package, knead and carefully, using a spatula, apply the mixture to the foam.

Step 4: Grout

When the material dries, the irregularities are rubbed with a construction mesh or sandpaper. Good polyurethane foam withstands pressure well, so you can not be afraid to apply force, as when grouting conventional plaster.

It is far from always advisable to spend money on the purchase of a plaster mixture and wages for workers. But you should still think about it - some methods are inexpensive, but no less effective than plaster. In addition, if the foam has a dense structure, on clean cut it will have a pretty nice look, which means that the “decorative” issue will not be so acute.

For cutting, it is best to use a foam hacksaw - it has special teeth that do not tear the material.

When this is inconvenient, use a regular knife with a sharp blade. After trimming the foam, try to wipe problem areas with protrusions with coarse-grained sanding paper. Then you can use regular paint, preferably white or light colors. Modern compositions have special pigments that provide additional UV protection, but even a completely ordinary floor paint in several layers will perfectly protect the foam from direct sun rays.

Roofing felt, metal sheets, boards - all this can be used to protect polyurethane foam. If a decorative look you don’t care at all, and the foam is under a constant shadow, it can be left uncovered - air and moisture have practically no effect on it.

To find out how to protect the mounting foam, the first step is to take into account the conditions of its operation. The popularity of polyurethane sealants has spread not only to facade work, but also on interior decoration premises - respectively, and the methods of protecting the cured foam are quite diverse

Polyurethane foam - material properties and its varieties

The consumer characteristics of mounting foam for sealing extended linear gaps make one sincerely perplexed - how they managed without it before, before the era of advanced chemistry. The basic properties of foam sealants include:

• Magnificent adhesion, and selective character. with basic building materials(concrete, brick, cinder blocks, cement, plaster, etc.) mounting foam forms the strongest, virtually one-piece connection. But to moisture, ice, polyethylene, silicone and oiled surfaces, it sticks much worse. This eliminates accidental sealing of foreign elements;
• Volumetric primary extension at the "exit" of the composition from the cylinder, it reaches 50 times the value, for the most modest manufacturers - at least 20 times. The process takes only a few minutes and proceeds quickly, with a characteristic hiss and rapid filling of sealed openings. Just one sprayer is enough to fill deep and long joints. This is very convenient when working at heights, in hard-to-reach places, when plastering slopes with your own hands, when ventilation pipes, when repairing balconies, etc.
• solid secondary seal. It is not enough to know how to seal the mounting foam - it is important to consider that it changes in volume for several more hours after application. For cheap manufacturers, this change is shrinkage in nature - as a result, gaps may form between door jamb and dry foam. High-quality sealants do not differ in the formation of "slotted gaps" after solidification;
• Viscosity and total installation volume of polyurethane sealants are highly dependent on application conditions - temperature and humidity, wind, etc. There are "all-weather" modifications of foam compositions, but they are also optimally used at air temperatures from +5 ˚C to +35 ˚C, moderate humidity and in calm weather.

In addition to direct installation tasks - that is, sealing gaps, filling seams, insulating dissimilar joints, etc. - the hardened foam has good thermal insulation and acoustic protection.

When installing window frames from wood and plastic, pay attention to the flammability class of the sealing mixtures used, it can be fire-fighting, combustible and self-extinguishing.

With the labeling of the combustible properties of dried polyurethane foam, some manufacturers show a certain cunning. They write on packages, cans and adapter tubes only the digital name of the flammability class, without verbal explanation. The average consumer may not be aware that:

• B3 is a combustible compound that ignites even better than a wooden frame;
• B2 is a self-extinguishing foam, and it can smolder for quite some time;
• B1 - non-combustible mounting compound. Of course, the non-combustible property will affect the price of the sealant towards a solid increase.

The greatest harm to polyurethane sealants is caused by direct sunlight. The influence of atmospheric precipitation and mechanical vibrations also has a bad effect on the durability of the treated joint, but to a lesser extent. Before sealing the mounting foam, you need to make sure that the additional protection to ultraviolet.

How to seal mounting foam - preliminary preparation

Some repair tips seem obvious, but the truth does not fade from repetition. Before puttying the mounting foam or tinting it upper layer, wait for the composition to dry completely. Make sure that it tightly fills the entire installation opening, that there are no gaps and delaminations, unevenness, etc. Deep gaps and cracks should not be protected from the sun, but re-sealed. Most polyurethane sealants turn yellow or yellowish when dry, this is normal.

• First you need to decide how to protect the mounting foam - putty, special tape or paint. The fact is that under the putty or other "volumetric protection" it will be necessary to cut a recess in the sealant, it is difficult to get used to it. Paints, adhesive tape and varnishes are applied to flat surface;
• With a sharp knife, cut off any excess material that protrudes beyond the dimensions of the slope or jamb. It is most convenient to take a special shoe knife with an oblique triangular blade - then it is easier to maintain an even cut line. And do not rush to quickly cut off the influxes. This is dangerous with an accidental cut of the hands, feet and damage to the hardened foam or a brand new frame;
• After the cutting stage, a grinding procedure begins (it is not needed when puttying the seams). The dried foam is cleaned with fine sandpaper. You will have to act manually and carefully - grinding mechanical devices can damage the frame, slope, doorjamb etc.

How to protect mounting foam - basic repair methods

Under the influence of sunlight, any mounting foam decomposes. Initially, it looks like a darkening of the material, after which it becomes brittle and crumbles from the cracks, like leaves in the wind. More precisely, even the wind is not required to destroy the sealant scorched by the sun. The process of "ultraviolet destruction" of mounting foam takes from 1 to several years - depending on the thickness of the layer, the angle of incidence of its rays, the quality of the foam itself and the thoroughness of its application, etc.

Of course, even the maximum four years is an unacceptably short period for overhaul. And the replacement of windows, doors, ventilation, etc. must be no less durable than the installation shower tray- with your own hands it makes sense to create comfort for decades to come. When the preparation of the outer layer of foam is completed, we proceed to its processing using one of the selected methods:

• Putty. How to cover the mounting foam on the windows? Firstly, a modified finishing plaster - with the addition of frost-resistant additives. Secondly, special liquid plastic. Thirdly, ordinary window putty with the addition liquid glass. All compositions are applied from the bottom up with neat strokes using a conventional spatula, the excess is wiped off with a sponge;
• Special mounting tape. The fastest and cheapest method of protection - and it is also the most questionable in terms of aesthetics. Even if you match the adhesive tape to the color of the frames, you won’t be able to paint over it from above (coloring compositions will lead to peeling of the adhesive tape). If you are ready to glue all the joints with new tape every few months, you can try a quick decoration;
• Paints and varnishes. Best to choose acrylate coloring composition , it has good adhesion with polyurethane foam. The paint is applied with a thin brush, moving from the bottom up to the corner of the frame or jamb. If you want a particularly strong protection of the foaming sealant, you can combine putty and acrylate painting - then the service life of the mounting foam will be comparable to the durability of the whole house.

How to cover up mounting foam is a question that has recently arisen quite often. Various external factors lead to a deterioration in the condition of the mounting foam, which in some cases may not be able to cope with its intended purpose. Therefore, we will consider proven methods that will allow you to cover up mounting foam without special costs time and effort, but guarantee the quality and reliability that modern metal plastic windows.

How to cover mounting foam- reliable window protectionRehau for the long term

Mounting foam as a result of exposure to moisture, light and other factors after some time loses its qualities. Including, the foam will dry out, gradually gaining moisture. There should also be a violation of the features of thermal insulation. Therefore, experts recommend thinking ahead of time about slopes and foam incorporation with outer side and under the windowsill. Slopes in windows are of great importance - after all, they allow you to hide the presence of assembly seams, contributing to the long-term operation of the entire structure as a whole. First of all, one must define optimum material for slopes.

Dry mixes are the easiest option. The slope can be done using standard plaster. But for this option, the preparation of the wall for the material is initially required. In the presence of large gaps, a layer of mortar is required to be applied to the wall, using a special mixture. Among necessary funds of note are outdoor putty, gloves, a small knife, a trowel, water, and a mortar container.

How to cover mounting foam- a proven set of actions

Cut off the excess dried foam from the outside of the joints. When used for sealing putty, it is recommended to cut the mounting foam deep into a few millimeters for a thicker layer of sealant on the outside. A smooth surface of the cured foam is recommended.

Next, putting on gloves, we prepare a sealant solution for outdoor work. To do this, we do not need a lot of solution, so it would be better to mix less, then you can add as needed. Instructions for preparing the solution are contained on the packaging of the material.

The mass of putty is applied with a knife or a trowel - we choose taking into account personal preferences and the place of embedding, we level the surface. After drying a very thin layer of putty, cracks may occur. To avoid such a nuisance, it is better to apply a solution layer of several millimeters - taking into account appearance the buildings.

In this way, it is possible to protect the mounting foam from exposure to the rays of the sun, which can lead to a destructive effect. Thanks to this, it is also possible to protect the foam from moisture, which, when penetrated from the outside, leads to the destruction of slopes and other elements of the connection. The aesthetics of the building are also improved.

The best effect of a white slope is achieved with the use of a water-based mixture for plastering. Work is carried out using special tools. Escarpment from plaster mixes will become great choice for the outside.

Slopes from plastic panel

It is much easier to make a slope from a plastic panel. From large panel according to the dimensions of the slope, pieces should be cut for 3 sides of the window. A special plastic rail secures the panel to the window.

Side panels are installed at an angle of 90-110 degrees relative to the window. Each panel is fixed to the wall, with mounting foam filling the gap between the old slope and the window - for better insulation. After the foam dries, we get rid of the dried residues. We close the resulting gap between the panel and the wall by tightly adjoining the F-shaped rail.

Plasterboard slopes are performed like plastic ones. Installation can be carried out in two ways - installation of prepared panels on a profile or gluing on glue. Thermal insulation is provided by insulated mineral wool. After installation, the plasterboard panels are treated with a primer. Next comes the painting. To ensure a completely even corner, a painting steel corner is glued to the drywall corner using putty.

All this proves the possibility of using various methods when finishing slopes of PVC windows. Today, plastic windows remain the preferred option, which become a guarantee excellent properties hydro and thermal insulation, durability and reliability. The use of drywall slopes contributes to the preservation of heat and resistance to moisture. But the plastering of slopes as a finish is outdated, given the rather weak protective properties, which is not enough for modern windows PVC.

How to cover mounting foam- help of professionals, confidence in every decision

Still, work with window and door structures requires some preparation and experience for the reliability and quality of the result. Therefore, for many, it is preferable to turn to professionals who can guarantee the declared result according to affordable prices- the company's website always provides data on services, detailed information can be clarified with managers. We cover the mounting seams and perform related work according to modern quality standards.

Mounting foam has found wide application in modern construction. Thanks to this material, almost any cavities in buildings are sealed. The polyurethane foam sets quickly and protects the base material from external influences. At the same time, the foam itself has one vulnerability - it is harmful ultra-violet rays. Therefore, puttying is used to protect the surface treated with foam. About how to putty the mounting foam will be discussed in this article.

Methods for protecting mounting foam

There are many options for protecting the coating from polyurethane foam:

• putty;
• finishing plaster;
• cement-sand mortar with the addition of white grout;
• polyurethane sealant;
• acrylic paints and varnishes;
• liquid plastic;
• putty.

So, based on the foregoing, the answer to the question of whether putty can be applied to the mounting foam is obvious and positive.

Advice! Before applying a protective material to the mounting foam, it is recommended to lay it with a pre-compressed sealing tape (abbreviated as PSUL). This tape is specifically designed to fill gaps in new constructions. For older structures, it is preferable to use diffuse waterproofing tape membrane type.

Workflow Features

Puttying foam can be divided into several milestones, where direct surface treatment takes only a fraction of the time.

The choice of composition and instrument

Before starting work, you need to prepare necessary set tools, which include a knife, a solution container, two spatulas (wide and narrow) and work gloves. As for the spatulas, the solution is selected from the container with a narrow tool and superimposed on a wide one, with which the surface is processed. Also, a narrow spatula is used for sealing corners and hard-to-reach places.

In addition, it is necessary to purchase a putty composition. When choosing it, you need to take into account the following circumstances:

1. The location of the treated surfaces. To work inside the building, one composition is needed, while to work with the facade or wet rooms- other.
2. layer thickness and slot width. If surface defects are too deep, it may be better to plaster such cracks first. The fact is that putty is designed to hide relatively small defects and is applied thin layer, but with the help of plaster, you can close up recesses up to 15 centimeters deep.

As an example of reliable compositions for a dry room, one can cite gypsum plaster Rotband and Fugenfüller putty. At the same time, the choice is far from being limited to these mixtures. You just need to know the conditions in which the coating will be operated, and select the composition taking them into account. For example, mixtures based on cement or polymers are suitable for facades, and for tiles and thermal insulation boards- adhesive putties.

The amount of the required mixture is determined depending on the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe room and the consumption per square meter of a millimeter layer. Material consumption will be discussed in more detail below.

Also not without primer composition. The primer additionally protects the filler and provides better adhesion of the coating to the finishing materials. It is recommended to use acrylic primer as having the largest list of positive characteristics.

When it comes to finishing slopes, then the joints of window frames and plaster will need an additional level of protection, since it is in these places that cracking usually appears. As protective agent paintable sealant can be used. The price of this tool is not too high, but the benefits are very tangible. The sealant is applied simply: after applying the main composition (plaster, putty) to the surface, the finishing material is partially removed from the seam (3-4 mm from the edge). The sealant is poured into this cavity.

Foundation preparation

This stage is especially important, since the final quality of puttying depends on the thoroughness of the preparation of the base.

The preparatory activities are as follows:

1. Using a knife, remove all protruding pieces of foam. As a result, the surface should become smooth, without any obvious defects and indentations.
2. If the coating is not holding securely somewhere, it is better to remove it altogether, replacing it with cement mortar.
3. We clean the surface from dirt and dust. A vacuum cleaner can be used for this operation.
4. We prime the surface.

Putty application

The work is carried out in the following sequence:

1. We mix the solution. The proportions of the components are indicated on the packaging. It is recommended to be very prudent in determining the total volume of the batch. If there is too much solution and it hardens, it cannot be reanimated with water, which means that the unused mass will simply have to be thrown away. The solution should be enough for about 30 minutes of work.
2. We apply the starting layer of putty on the foam. If defects on the surface are noticeable after the first layer, an additional layer will have to be applied. The thickness of the layer depends on the type of putty (for example, for acrylic mixtures maximum thickness layer is 3 mm).
3. When the starting layer dries, it is recommended to sand and prime it.
4. Apply to dry surface finishing putty. The dried layer is again polished (with fine-grained sandpaper) and primed. Now the surface can be wallpapered or painted.

So, there is nothing special in foam puttying that would distinguish this process from processing other types of surfaces. For a quality result, you only need strict adherence technological process in terms of surface preparation and application of putty.

Using mounting foam, we get the opportunity to completely eliminate all gaps after installing windows and doors. However, having cut off all the excess of this material, we are faced with the task of hiding the traces of the foam itself, since it looks rather unpresentable. Today we will reveal the features of this process and talk about how to solve the problem as quickly and efficiently as possible.

This chemical product is a polyurethane based sealant containing isocyanate and a polyol. This is the basis, however, different manufacturers may include various additives in the composition, such as catalysts, stabilizers, foaming agents, and the like. The foam has high adhesion and expandability, allowing it to fill the entire space. The materials with which this foam forms the strongest bonds are as follows:

• Cement;
• Metal;
• Plaster.

At the same time, plastic or fatty materials, as well as wet surfaces adhere to such foam to a much lesser extent. This in turn ensures that we do not put it in places where it should not be. Although, it is still not easy to wipe off such foam from such surfaces.

How to cut mounting foam

It is necessary to cut off the foam with a technical knife, which must be sharp. Try to cut in such a way that the remaining foam is flush with both surfaces on the sides of it. This will make further processing easier.

Do I need to cut the mounting foam with a sealant?

Mounting foam is an excellent insulator, however, it itself needs insulation. If this is not done, then the surface will begin to crack under the influence of solar radiation and moisture. Therefore, it is necessary to hide its cut so that the foam does not collapse ahead of time (usually its insulating properties are enough for 4 years). As a sealant, polyurethane can be used, as the most suitable for such a bundle. Pre-compressed sealing tape is also widely used for foam sealing. However, it must be understood that construction tape is a very dubious solution in terms of design. In addition, do not put any finishing materials, since, having been soaked with them, the tape will begin to peel off.

Mounting foam plaster and other types of finishes

In addition to the options listed above, the following are used:

• acrylic paint;
• A mixture of cement, white grout and sand;
• Putty. Suitable finishing plaster, which has the ability to tolerate negative temperatures;
• Window putty or liquid plastic.

Depending on the type of concealment of the mounting foam, it is necessary to carry out certain actions. For example, if the foam is painted over, then this can be done directly on an even cut. However, in the case of plaster, it is necessary first to provide a better adhesion to the surface. And for this, small grooves are cut in the foam.

The layer of plaster with which we will cover the foam should not be thin. Indeed, in this case, it will very quickly begin to crack and crumble. Try to keep the layer thickness at least three millimeters

Foam grouting is carried out in two cases:

• Before painting, in order to create the most even surface. In this case, you need to ensure that the cut does not begin to collapse, and for this you need to use the finest sandpaper;
• In the case of applying plaster, after the latter has dried, the surface is carefully grouted in order to give it an attractive appearance.