The screed damper tape is used to compensate for the expansion of the screed material, which occurs as a result of changes in its temperature. The use of such a compensatory tape becomes especially relevant when laying underfloor heating, which, due to their mode of operation, are especially susceptible to temperature changes.
Material characteristics
This building material is made of polyethylene foam, which is characterized by the ability to take its original shape after the termination of external mechanical loads. It is this quality that allows the damper tape to reliably protect the concrete coating from the consequences of its thermal expansion. In addition, the use of such material makes it possible to achieve high thermal insulation performance.
Currently, there are a fairly large number of "folk" options for replacing the edge tape with cheaper material in order to save money. For this, almost any means at hand are used: wooden slats, isolon, linoleum, etc.
However, it is worth remembering that in addition to performing its main function, such a material must ensure durability and high technical characteristics of the entire structure.
Advantages of polyethylene foam products
Polyethylene foam has the following advantages:
- Resistant to moisture and fungus.
- This material does not lose its qualities under the influence of temperature changes.
- The low specific weight of polyethylene foam, as well as its lightness and elasticity, combined with the tape damper design, make the process of its installation extremely simple and convenient.
- High thermal insulation (one of the auxiliary functions of the edge tape is an additional restriction of heat transfer between wall and floor materials).
- Hypoallergenicity and environmental safety of this material allow you to safely use it in residential areas.
- The ability of an edge band made of polyethylene foam to ensure the stability of a concrete floor against vibrations and other mechanical stress.
- Long service life. With proper installation, this material can last for many years.
Features of the laying process
The maximum floor area, which provides reliable protection of the screed from deformation as a result of thermal expansion, provided that the damper tape is laid only at the walls, is 10 m2. If the total area of the room exceeds this value, then care must be taken to install additional expansion joints using this material. Also, such seams under all doorways must be equipped without fail. To do this, it is necessary to fix the damper tape on a horizontal surface using mounting brackets.
The screed tape can have a self-adhesive surface, which greatly facilitates the process of its installation. When using cheaper models of this building material, it is mounted using liquid nails. It's a little less convenient, but also very reliable. Laying is carried out in such a way as to ensure a minimum number of joints, with each of them overlapping.
The tape width can be from 50 to 150 mm. The choice of its specific size depends on the thickness of the floor and the area of \u200b\u200bthe room. Naturally, when mounting prefabricated or multilayer structures, a wider tape must be used. As for its length, manufacturers produce this material in rolls from 8 to 100 m, which makes it easy to choose the required size to ensure the reliability of the concrete floor in a particular room.
For the convenience of removing the parts of the seal that protrude above the floor surface, which are visible after the completion of construction work, many manufacturers supply their products with special longitudinal grooves. When laying the tape, you need to pay attention to the fact that these grooves are on top.
The damper tape can be equipped with a protective apron (skirt) with a width of 3 to 10 cm, which, when laid, folds down and serves to prevent the concrete solution from flowing into the gap between the tape and the floor. Thanks to this, additional thermal insulation of the screed is achieved.
