Knowledge Articles

Roofers face multiple problems on site today. 80% of failed roofs and leaks are caused by non-roofers. Therefore, it is a main priority to protect the roofer’s craftmanship from traffic on the rooftop during the total building phase, during construction and beyond.

Choosing to buy proper amount of tile grout and tile adhesive is important. Lack of understanding to calculate, lead to abundant quantities or shortage than expected. So what are appropriate quantities of tile grout and tile adhesive shall you buy? Difference factors e.g. tile size, tile gap and application area are what you have to concern. The calculator from Sika will bring you a more convenient, just a few clicks.

PU Foam is a polyurethane foam in spray foam type. They can be used for fixing, insulating and filling connection joints around window and door frames, pipe entries, air conditioning vents and roller blind housings and filling large cavities, fill and insulate against noise, cold, and drafts and waterproof, easy to apply with nozzle valve, can be cut, sanded and over painted. The foam texture looks like a mousse and cure in contact with moisture when applied. Therefore, PU foam is widely used in both construction and DIY. Below you can learn more about their properties and preparation and application process.

Successful sprayed concrete requires the combination of many aspects of modern concrete technology especially concrete admixture chemistry, together with modern materials handling technology. The increasing demands for cost-effectiveness and the protection of health and the environment mean that sprayed concrete has been in continuous development. Thanks to more than one hundred years of experience, expert knowledge and a focus on performance and economy, Sika is able to provide the newest generation of sprayed concrete solutions.

A functional and purpose-built floor is key to a safe and hygienic production environment in food and beverage facilities. Floors that are hygienic, non-slip, easy to clean, and durable provide a safe and attractive place to work. Choosing and installing the right floor are critical to every work environment. This article looks at getting it right the first time — achieving satisfactory and long-term flooring in a food processing environment.

A well-crafted color palette can do wonders for a healthcare facility. The use of color and graphic images can align to the existing logo and symbolic color of the facility to achieve an overall visual aesthetic, while it can also elicit emotions and unique perceptions of space. It has an ability to calm or excite, can make a room appear smaller or more grandiose, or even trigger subconscious reactions. Color is the most vital, impactful and expressive design element in a designer’s toolbox.

Employee safety is one of the most important requirements for any workplace. Slips and falls are among the most common injuries at work. They account for about 86% of total injuries, and 90% of these happen because the floor is wet. These injuries are particularly prevalent in the food industry, where they occur four times more often than the average in other industries. Injuries can create significant impacts to all involved. The most significant is the suffering and possible disabling of the person injured. The next is impact on the company — financial, loss of key staff, loss of productivity, and liability.

Infection prevention and control is of utmost importance in hospitals and other healthcare facilities. Building owners, facilities managers, healthcare architects and all others involved in healthcare design decisions need to consider how the materials used within a building contribute to this issue.

Smart use of water–based materials can be an effective strategy against moisture-related problems in floor constructions. This is what we implement in our Sikafloor® MultiDur water-based epoxy range. Tough and water vapor permeable, plus low VOC & odor, Sikafloor® MultiDur water-based epoxy flooring systems are especially suitable for your next functional floors if you have issues of humidity or rising moisture in the floor slab. Additionally, among the range, the system Sikafloor® MultiDur WS-26 has the unique performance of the fire classification A2fl -S1.

In warehouses and logistics buildings the concrete slab and flooring are critical to the effective functioning of the operations. However, it is often the perception that the concrete floor is one of the most straight forward elements of the project, and many times the overall attention paid to design and construction detail is less than proportional to its ultimate importance in the efficient operation of the facility. The expectation is that these large area floors must be constructed with lowest possible cost and provide problem free service year after year.

Cool roofs are typically covered with white membrane or reflective coating which reflects sunlight. Their energy efficiency can be measured with three main indicators: solar reflectance, thermal emittance and solar reflectance index.

Many urban and suburban areas have higher temperatures than their rural surroundings. This temperature difference indicates that they are urban heat islands. The annual mean air temperature in a city of a million or more people can easily be 1 to 4°C warmer than in the rural surroundings. On a clear, calm night the difference can measure even 12°C or more. The main cause of urban heat island effect is the modification of the land surface in cities. Natural vegetation is replaced by the built environment. Most surfaces of new structures are characterized by low solar reflectance and high impermeability. Additionally, they are often built with high-density materials which absorb great amounts of thermal energy and release it as heat.

Are you a building contractor or working in a similar field and looking for the best concrete products and solutions for all your projects?

Dry shake aggregate floor hardeners are commonly applied to the surface of freshly placed concrete to improve wear resistance and occasionally to color a concrete surface. They decrease typical plain concrete negative properties like dusting and liquid absorption by improving the abrasion resistance and reducing surface permeability.

Waterproof concrete is an impermeable concrete used for long-lasting, durable watertight construction. To improve the impermeability of the concrete, water-resisting admixtures can be added. Nevertheless, design and construction of a watertight concrete structure is a system approach, and waterproof concrete is only one element of it. Water impermeability is determined by fulfilling requirements to limit water permeability through the concrete itself, the joints, installation parts and cracks.

The task of wood floor adhesives is to firmly bond the organic wood floor elements to the generally inorganic screed. The adhesive must hold the wood in place, connect it to the underlying screed and transfer stress originating from the natural expansion and contraction of the wood to the generally rigid screed. The undesired but natural movement of the wood can become visible in cupping, joint formation, or in extreme situations failure of the adhesive or screed.

The ability to appreciate concrete as an aesthetically versatile construction material has led Sika to many innovations in architectural concrete. The flexibility of concrete in design enables the designer to create structures not possible with other construction materials. Combining this flexibility with Sika’s over one hundred years of experience and expertise in concrete formulation and optimization allows structures of true architectural value to be realized.

Tunnel boring machines (TBMs) are commonly found with diameters from five to 17 meters. There are also microtunnel boring machines which are smaller, with an excavation diameter up to four meters. Today, they are extensively used to construct many kilometers of underground infrastructure worldwide. Microtunneling is a fast alternative to conventional pipe installation systems, since it is a fully automated method of boring and pipe installation without the need for disturbing the surface.

The facade is the face of buildings. In contemporary architecture, the facade is of special interest expressed by large dimensions, unconventional shapes and high material diversity. Especially with these unique shapes and connections, joint design is demanding and prone to mistakes. For integral joint specification, following some rough guidelines will result in a long-lasting and tight building envelope.

The SikaFiber® software for calculating fiber-reinforced concrete slabs on grade is a powerful tool for optimizing designs. The software has been developed in accordance with two globally recognized guidance documents and is free to download.