Building Operating Management September 2011 - FacilitiesNet

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buildingoperatingmanagement
SEPTEMBER 2011
SIKA SARNAFIL
has been as a result of increased volatile
organic compound (VOC) regulations
affecting solvent-based adhesives. The
current VOC level of adhesives is 20 percent
of the total material content. Solvents
are primarily added to adhesives
to improve their adhesion capabilities.
In the older adhesive technologies, low
solvent content produced a thick adhesive
that was hard to apply. As more solvent
was added, the adhesive became
lighter and easier to apply.
Adhesive manufacturers have
been working since the late ‘90s on
producing quality adhesives that meet
the current VOC content regulations.
These regulations have led to the increase
of water-based adhesives. There
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has been a significant improvement
in low VOC solvent-based adhesives
and some U.S. manufacturers can
now produce solvent-based adhesives
with no VOC content. Some single-ply
manufacturers are offering latex/neoprene-bonding
adhesives that also are
produced with no solvents.
Mechanically attached systems are
also becoming more common. One of
the primary concerns regarding mechanically
attached membranes has
been their susceptibility to wind flutter,
which creates substantial interior
noise and contributes to membranefastener
separation. A primary reason
for the membrane’s roof flutter is the
width of the sheets.
When mechanically attached systems
were first introduced, the most
common width of the sheets was five
feet. This allowed for sufficient fastening
attachment and limited the chance
of wind flutter. Over the years, the effort
to reduce labor costs led to wider
sheets — 10 to 12 feet in width. These
expanded widths have contributed to
the susceptibility of wind flutter.
In an effort to eliminate roof flutter
in these sheets, at least one manufacturer
has developed a securement
system that heats the existing fastener
plates to allow for adhesion of
the membrane to the plates without
membrane penetration. The system
provides more attachment points,
which ultimately eliminates roof flutter.
The system includes three primary
components — the induction welder,
a set of magnetic cooling weights and
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