Speaking of seemingly "unremarkable" accessories in doors and windows, but with an important role, sealant strips can definitely occupy a place.
The sealing performance of a door and window depends largely on whether the selection of sealing strips is correct.
So today we will talk about what the sealant strip used on the home improvement doors and windows is, and how should we buy it?
<h1>01 The material of the strip</h1>
In today's door and window market, EPDM rubber strip is a more widely used material.
The reason why it "stands out" is that compared to other materials of rubber strip, EPDM rubber strip has a "better" price, weather resistance and aging resistance.
In terms of material, EPDM rubber strip belongs to a kind of EPDM rubber, which can be represented by EPDM. The main properties of EPDM polymers (chemicals such as ethylene and propylene) are their superior resistance to oxidation, ozone and erosion, suitable for environmental changes inside and outside doors and windows
And these chemical properties are stable, which in turn improves the anti-aging ability of the rubber strip, and the life of the EPDM rubber strip can reach at least ten years.
Based on its own structural characteristics, the performance of EPDM rubber strip in flame retardancy, oil resistance and adhesion is slightly inferior, but the overall cost performance has been able to hang PVC material.
PVC (general plastic) material of the rubber strip, PengGe has also mentioned in previous articles, today's situation is that one foot has stepped into the elimination area.
It does not take long for there will be problems such as poor elasticity, rubber strip shrinkage, etc., and the life is also very short, but the low price is the reason why it cannot be abandoned by the market, and some merchants will still choose it to save costs, especially reminding xiaobai that do not be "tempted" by low prices.
<h1>02 The process of the rubber strip</h1>
As the old saying goes, three points are destined, seven points rely on hard work, and the same is true on the sealing tape.
We know from the first paragraph that EPDM rubber strip can become the standard of today's door and window market, inseparable from the innate material stability, and the day after tomorrow's processing technology, which also plays a multiplier effect on consolidating its performance, leaving the PVC material behind.
A single rubber compound is extruded and then added to the auxiliary materials such as carbon black, vulcanizing agent and softener "additive" through a reasonable formula to enhance the tensile, strength and shape variables of the rubber compound.
Due to the low strength of the EPDM rubber strip itself, the addition of carbon black can have a high strength, the amount of carbon black can increase the tensile strength of the rubber; the softener is composed of paraffin oil, and its dosage size also has a great impact on the performance of EPDM rubber, and the elongation rate rises with the increase of paraffin oil, and the hardness also decreases.
The various steps in the process, the most important is the vulcanization stereotype, according to the similarities and differences of the method can be divided into discontinuous vulcanization method and continuous vulcanization method of these two categories.
The discontinuous vulcanization method has followed the footsteps of PVC material due to the inability to produce products with complex cross-sections, poor dimensional stability, inability to produce continuously, etc., and is facing the fate of being phased out, so we all use the continuous vulcanization method to make the rubber strip have better thermal stability and elasticity.
<h1>03 Selection and installation of adhesive strips</h1>
There are many doors and windows small white to the purchase of this step on the mistake, afraid of a do not pay attention to the merchant put together, even after this pass, do not know how to install the rubber strip, their own doors and windows of the rubber strip installation position is right ...
In response to these problems, Peng Ge made a small summary for everyone to avoid a thunder first.
1. Purchase articles
We can take a straightforward approach to the purchase of sealant strips, asking merchants, "Is there a brand for this strip?" What is the brand name? What is the material of the strip? How much does the glue content account for?"
Starting from the brand of sealing tape: Haida (the leader of domestic sealing tape), Lianheqiang, Ruide, Window Friends, Yian, Aoshun, Gaoshida, etc.
The glue content determines the quality of the rubber strip, the higher the glue content of the strip, the faster it returns to its original state after pressing and stretching, the smaller the deformation change, the better the rubber strip, and the content of about 30 % is very good.
In the choice of rubber strips, we want to choose the press-in type.
Press-in adhesive strips can be "seamlessly" connected in the corners of the window (when cornering) without violent truncation, thereby improving the overall sealing of doors and windows, and making it easier to replace them later.
Ask the owner of the door and window: whether your window strips are worn in or pressed in. It can also be observed that the notch of the penetrating rubber strip is longer and shallower than that of the press-in adhesive strip; it can also be observed from the finished window, whether the rubber strip at the corner of the window is staged, or whether there are traces of glue adhesion.
Each place of the overall door and window will be equipped with different shapes of rubber strips to achieve sealing performance, if all the sealing strips of a window are a shape, then it may be biased in the design of sealing performance.
In the specific parts of the door and window of the rubber strip selection, such as the door and window window frame, the corner position of the fan, the hinge position is the weak link of the glue strip connection, if you encounter obstacles to directly disconnect the rubber strip, it is bound to affect the overall sealing of the door and window.
Some merchants will take the direct cutting of the rubber strip, or cut the rubber strip at a 45-degree angle, without other treatment; the better way to deal with it is to connect the truncated port with glue, and then choose a special corner rubber strip and vulcanized integrated rubber strip to improve the overall sealing of doors and windows.
Be careful to choose the style of the rubber strip, such as a one-line flat strip, the thickness of the strip is too thin, and the doors and windows cannot be deformed when locked.
In addition to the knowledge points mentioned above by Pengge, if you want to distinguish the advantages and disadvantages of the sealing strip, you can use a look (the surface of the inferior oil-mixed rubber strip will be yellow), two smells (pvc tape is accompanied by a pungent taste), and three presses (more pressing pressure, feeling whether the rebound is excellent, whether the squeeze is strong) methods.
Directly start to open and close the window sash, feel whether there is a squeeze from the rubber strip, if you do not feel the sense of compression on the doors and windows, it may indicate that the strip can not play the desired effect.
2. Installation
When pressing the rubber strip in the glass, be sure to let the installer press a little more, like a window with a circumference of 1 m, it is best to press the rubber strip of 1.05 - 1.1 m to prevent the rubber strip from shrinking.
When pressing the corner of the rubber strip in the glass, the installer must not be allowed to cut it directly, but ask him to cut a small opening and bend it over, so as to ensure that the glass is constantly open and there is only one connection and is sealed.
The rubber strip has the problem of thermal expansion and contraction, in the window frame, fan and other corner positions of doors and windows, we must reserve a shrinkage margin of 2 - 3 cm in advance to prevent the rubber strip from retracting.
When pressing the corner of the rubber strip in the glass, the installer must not be allowed to cut it directly, but ask him to cut a small opening and bend it over, so as to ensure that the rubber strip in the glass is constantly open and there is only one connection opening, which is sealed.
3. Replace the article
When the following situations occur in the adhesive strips of home improvement doors and windows, we must "keep an eye".
If the sealing tape is damaged, broken, hard and other phenomena, this will have a certain impact on the sealing of doors and windows, and consumers can choose whether to replace them as appropriate.
When replacing glass, it is recommended that the sealant strip can be replaced at the same time. We must first remove the debris of the notch, ensure that the gap between the two sides is uniform, and make fixed adjustments in time to prevent the glass from colliding and shifting and deviating from the center of the notch.
<h1>04 Other problems with the strip</h1>
1. Glue strip oil leakage
Some Pengyou mentioned that their own rubber strips will leak oil and frost in this winter, I don't know where the problem is, can such adhesive strips continue to be used?
When the oil leakage of the rubber strip is not very serious, we do not have to worry too much, this is a natural phenomenon of the rubber strip (the oil caused by plasticizers, carbon black or recycled rubber in the rubber strip is analyzed), and it has little to do with the quality of the rubber strip.
What we have to do is to clean the grease on the rubber strip in time to prevent the expansion of the rubber strip from causing deformation and sealing failure.
2. Choose the strip or glue
Take the rain leakage problem of doors and windows as an example, even if the main sealing strip is done well, the rainwater directly enters the fan cavity through the outer rubber strip of the glass or the gap between the glass and the profile, which eventually leads to the leakage of the doors and windows, and the rainwater enters the room.
It can be seen that in the face of the sealing problem of doors and windows, the sealing of any place cannot be ignored.
In this case, there are two main forms of sealing on the side of the window that you want to solve - rubber strip and glue sealing. PengGe believes that when the quality of glue and rubber strips, the construction level of workers, etc. are on the same level, there is no good or bad distinction between glue and glue strips, or it is necessary to analyze the specific situation.
In the typhoon-prone area, the process insurance of the rubber strip is not enough insurance, the glass is easy to move indoors under strong winds, and it is recommended that the outdoor side be more reliable with gluing.
Like some cold areas, try not to use the way of glue, in the outdoor of minus twenty or thirty degrees, even if the quality is good, the price is expensive glue, in a few years can give you frozen cracks.
The construction content of the rubber strip is lower, neat and beautiful than the glue, the safety factor is high, and the future replacement is more convenient than the glue (the glue needs to be scraped off the original glue, and it is repeated), the glass outer rubber strip has been pressed on the window frame or window sash before leaving the factory, and in the case of reserving the drainage hole, there is no need to worry about the leakage caused by the glass outer rubber strip.
The structural design of some products is not suitable for the case of pressing the rubber strip, so the rubber strip is selected, and when the design of the rubber strip is not perfect, the glue can also play a role in improving the watertightness.
Some Pengyou will ask, so what if I want to combine the two, and glue strips and glue?
The idea is very bold, it is difficult to achieve, the viscosity of epethylene propylene is very general, the compatibility between the two is poor, and it is impossible to play a good auxiliary.
3. The "ceiling" of the sealing strip
And as a consumer to buy rubber strips, there will always be some merchants claiming that T.B.P. rubber strips are used in cars, ships and even aerospace, saying that it is called a ceiling, remember Pengge a sentence, so perfect, must be deceitful.
The performance of epoxyethylene propylene rubber strip is outstanding, but it is not as divine as the gimmicks advertised by some merchants.
In the "thermoplastic elastic system sealant strip", the thermoplastic vulcanized adhesive sealant strip (TPV) contained in it has good heat resistance and oil resistance, and can be used repeatedly, in contrast, the degree of deformation is not as good as that of epoxy propylene strip, while polyurethane rubber sealant strip (TPU), in terms of elasticity and oil resistance are excellent, tensile strength and elongation are superior, but the price of raw materials is high.
Therefore, different types of sealant strips have strengths and weaknesses, and EPDM rubber strips are not the "ceiling" of the sealing strip industry.