Home renovation is a complex process. Performing work, one has to face various difficulties, take into account many nuances, choose and compare materials. For example, when cladding walls with drywall, you will have to think about what and how to close the seams between the sheets of plasterboard. If you turn to professionals with this question, many of them will recommend Knauf Fugen putty, which has an optimal price-quality ratio and decent characteristics.
Note! Previously, the Knauf gypsum putty was called Fugenfuller, not so long ago it was renamed Fugen, leaving the quality, composition and properties unchanged. In stores, the mixture with the old name is no longer found. If you have a material with the inscription "Fugenfüller" in your hands, then it is a fake or an expired product with a corrected expiration date.
Where is putty applied?
The universal mixture from Knauf is only suitable for interior decoration of an apartment, since it has a gypsum base that is not water resistant. It also contains special additives designed to retain moisture and slow setting.
Having an environmental certificate and completely harmless to humans and the environment, Fugen putty does not crack and almost does not “sit down”, it is designed for joining perfectly flat surfaces.
Scope of putty "Fugenfüller" ("Fugen"):
- Sealing joints between concrete floors.
- Filling the joints between drywall sheets.
- Grouting small cracks or small irregularities on plasterboard, concrete and tongue-and-groove slabs.
- Full puttying of concrete, plasterboard and plastered bases.
- Installation of reinforcing corners.
- Use as an adhesive composition when attaching GKL to a flat base.
Technical and operational characteristics
Putty "Fugen" from Knauf has the following qualities and application features:
- Like any finishing composition, the material has a fine-grained structure. The largest allowable fraction size is 0.15 mm.
- The maximum layer thickness is 3 mm, the minimum is 1 mm.
Puttying the joints between sheets of drywall is done in 2 layers.
- In order to get 1.3 liters of the finished solution, you need to take 1 kg of dry mix.
- It is possible to carry out repair work with putty in the apartment at a temperature not lower than +10 degrees.
- The time during which the prepared solution is suitable for work is 30 minutes.
- The shelf life of putty from Knauf, like any other, is small and is 6 months.
Physical characteristics:
- compressive strength - 3 MPa;
- bending resistance - 1.5 MPa;
- adhesion to the surface - not less than 0.5 MPa.
The consumption of putty depends on the type of work and the base:
- To seal drywall joints, an average of 0.25 kg per 1 m2 is required.
- The consumption for the same area with continuous puttying with a layer of up to 1 mm is 0.8–1 kg.
- For the installation of GWP (groove-groove plates), you need almost 2 times more putty, namely 1.5 kg.
The universal mixture "Fugen" is sold in paper bags, packaged in 5, 10 and 25 kg. It is recommended to store them on wooden pallets.
If the packaging is damaged, the mixture should be poured into an empty bag and used up as soon as possible.
The price for Knauf gypsum putty is almost the same in all regions of the country and is about 400 rubles. per bag weighing 25 kg.
Putty for GVL: "Knauf Fugen GV"
In the Knauf line of putties, there are several mixtures that have some differences in technical characteristics due to compositional features. One of the options is Fugen GV. This putty is suitable for sealing seams and small irregularities. gypsum fiber (GV) sheets.
According to the properties of "Fugen GV" almost does not differ from the universal mixture. Of course, there is some difference, for example, a slightly larger thickness of the applied layer is allowed - up to 5 mm. The mixture consumption of Fugen GV is also higher:
- to cover the seams, joints, an average of 0.3 to 0.6 kg of the mixture will be required;
- for a continuous layer 1 mm thick - from 1.2 kg.
This is where the differences end. Strength, fraction size and packaging are similar.
Putty "Fugen Hydro"
From the name it is clear that the material "Fugen Gidro" is moisture resistant due to hydrophobic additives in the mixture. Suitable for:
- filling the seams between sheets of moisture-resistant drywall (GKLV, GKLVO);
- gluing moisture-resistant drywall to a leveled surface, gluing and puttying gypsum products;
- filling cracks and depressions in concrete floors;
- installation and puttying of moisture-resistant tongue-and-groove plates.
Characteristics and consumption are the same as those of the universal composition "Fugenfüller", with the exception of the maximum layer thickness, which is 5 mm.
Available only in 25 kg bags. The price of moisture-resistant putty is almost 2 times higher than the usual one.
Rules and features of working with putty from Knauf
To obtain a high-quality result, you must strictly follow the instructions of specialists.
- Work with gypsum putty should be done in a room with a temperature not lower than +10 degrees and humidity not more than 70-80%.
- Surfaces to be coated must be dry, clean and primed.
- All trays, spatulas and water must be free of contamination. The ingress of foreign substances into the solution is unacceptable.
Beginners should not knead more than 1 kg of putty at a time so that there is as little unused material thrown out as possible. Even experienced craftsmen do not cook more than 3 kg. If the putty has begun to thicken, it can no longer be diluted.
- Preparation of the solution: pour the dry mixture into clean water, wait until almost all the powder gets wet, and mix. Let stand and mix again. You can do this with a construction mixer, which allows you to break all the lumps. The finished solution should turn out to be creamy, too liquid will drain down the walls.
Before mixing a new portion, all accessories must be washed clean, if particles of the old get into the fresh mixture, such a solution will quickly harden.
- When working with joints, you need to use a sickle mesh or a special paper tape. Although they do not give a 100% guarantee that cracks will not appear, with properly prepared walls, they significantly increase the strength of the joints.
- If it is necessary to apply putty twice, the second layer can be applied only after the first has completely dried.
If you do not want to make repairs every year, then it is better to choose a brand that many craftsmen trust. The Knauf company has long been known in the construction market, and the putties that it produces, although they do not differ in a particularly low price, are classified as high-quality and durable materials.
