When repair contractor Tatley Grund of Seattle began investigating and repairing water leaks in buildings, they didn't set out to make industry-leading waterproofing products. But they just couldn't find products that could do everything they needed them to do. So, they made a wish list of properties the products had to have, and set out to make products that could do everything on their list. Working in collaboration with PROSOCO, the result is R-Guard's silyl-terminated polymer (STP) fluid-applied products, including Joint & Seam Filler, FastFlash, Cat 5, Cat 5 Rain Screen and AirDam.
1. Fluid-applied
"The unique thing about fluids is they always fit."
After years of struggling to develop procedures to make peel-and-stick and sheet membrane installations perform to their standards, Tatley Grund needed a method that was easier to install and had higher performance.
2. Bonds to damp surfaces
"Things are wet, they're never dry, and the contractor is never protecting anything, and this stuff would stick."
From their experience in the Northwest U.S., Tatley Grund knew that a dry construction site was a luxury that most contractors don't have and can't afford to wait around for.
3. 98% solids to avoid shrinkage
"We understand that buildings have many different materials that expand and contract at different rates. It's critical to have a sealant material that will accommodate that movement."
For high-performing, waterproof buildings, a sealant's expansion and contraction capability is essential. Unfortunately, many sealants actually shrink as they cure.
4. Saves time
"The field guys are where the rubber meets the road, and once they get it, they are asking for it on the next job."
Speed, efficiency, and repeatability are important for contractors. So when a contractor company develops its own products, you can bet that speed, efficiency, and repeatability are inherent in the system they develop.
5. Immediately waterproof
"Time equals money on a construction project... We knew there would be money savings in there by maintaining the construction schedule."
Because of the unique chemistry of R-Guard STP products, water is not the problem it once was. R-Guard STP products can be applied to damp surfaces and they can withstand a rain immediately after application.
6. Opaque when target thickness is achieved
"One of the properties that we know is of concern with liquid-applied materials is measuring how much material you have on the substrate."
Tatley Grund wanted this attribute to make the products easy to apply, easy to inspect, and easy to make sure you have the proper thickness of material on the substrate.
7. Can be exposed for up to 12 months
"A lot of times, you will drive by a building and you will see the sheet goods or whatever the WRB is, just in tatters and they still cover it. That is where the problems are."
Sometimes, construction projects go according schedule, and sometimes they don't. The weather-resistive barrier needs to keep air and water out either way.
8. Vapor-permeable
"Our lab and field testing shows we are just not smart enough to out-guess Mother Nature."
If water vapor gets into the wall, either from interior or the exterior of the building, a vapor barrier can trap that water vapor inside the wall. This can result in mold growth, deterioration of wall components, as well as poor indoor air quality.
9. Easily repaired
"The material bonds to itself to form a monolithic film. If it gets damaged, we can go right back over the substrate with the same material and it bonds to itself to form a monolithic film again."
Not everything can stay in pristine condition on a working construction site. If damaged, R-Guard STP products can be repaired quickly and easily so the contractor can keep working, and the building owner knows that it won't result in a leaky building.
10. Paintable
"A lot of times, you can't get custom colors on the jobs we do because the schedule is too quick and the custom colors take too long."
Unlike silicone technology, the silyl-terminated polymer technology of R-Guard products can easily be painted, so waiting for custom colored silicone sealants is a thing of the past.
11. Adheres without a primer
"You can really call a lot of our products 'adhesives' because if they don't have those adhesive qualities, they wouldn't work very well in the applications we are asking them to."
Plain and simple, if your waterproofing material can't adhere to the substrate, it isn't going to do a very good job of keeping air and water out.
12. VOC-compliant
"We really didn't want solvents in our products, and that was one of the reasons we came up with this technology."
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can cause problems for product specifiers from a regulatory standpoint, and they can cause problems for contractors from a job-site health and safety standpoint.
13. Self-seals around fasteners
"We can put an air and water barrier on the envelope... but the very next step is to put on the siding... and poke a bunch of holes in your air barrier."
Even a small screw or nail left unsealed can result in water and air leaks that can damage a wall assembly.