ADHESIVE INSTALLATION TIPS Polymer Engineering Recommend The Following Application Tips To Ensure Successful and Professional Installations JOB SITE CONDITIONS Always condition the job site. Maintain a stable temperature for three days before and three days after the installation. Sweep, vacuum and mop to remove all dust, wax, paint, grease, oil and loose particles. Heated concrete floors should be switched off 48 hours before installation and after installation heating should be allowed to rise slowly. Refer to Australian standard AS 1884-1985 for instructions. New concrete floors must have had sufficient time to cure and an industry standard is approximately one month curing time for each 25mm of slab thickness. The floor must be free of hydrostatic pressure and excessive alkalinity. For moisture testing procedures, see Australain Standard Appendix A of AS 1884-1985. All cracks and uneven areas must be filled with a good quality cementitious floor preparation material such as manufactured by Polymer Engineering. Highly absorbent, powdery or chalky floors should be primed with an appropriate "Floor and Wall Primer"such as Polymer 6000 Acrylic Floor and Wall Primer. ADHESIVE OPEN AND SET UP TIMES Allow longer open times in high humidity conditions. The higher the humidity the longer the set-up time. Reduce high humidity by circulating air with fans. Keep the lid on! After 30 minutes in an uncovered pail, the adhesive that clings to the sides, becomes stringy and unstable. Scrape the sides of the pail with the smooth side of a trowel immediately after pouring the adhesive and replace the lid to keep the adhesive fresh. Allow adhesive to tackup or get "legs" before laying into the adhesive. Carpet set into wet adhesive will absorb moisture, causing bubbles and ripples. A simple test is to put your finger into the adhesive spread onto the floor and lift. When "legs" develop, the adhesive is ready to accept the floor coverings. When installing over non-porous substrates, allow longer adhesive set-up time. The set-up time can double on floors like, linoleum, sealed concrete, terrazzo and marble because the floor won't allow moisture to escape. In cold or damp weather, adhesive can take much longer to tack up. The trowel notch size also affects the set-up time, the larger the notch size the longer the set up time. ADHESIVE TRANSFER A successful installation = 100% adhesive transfer. Three factors determine a successful installation, sufficient adhesive, proper trowel selection and use of the correct roller on the floor covering installed. The greater the transfer, the better the bond. USE THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF ADHESIVE Always use the recommended amount of adhesive. How much adhesive to use depends on the floor covering to be installed and the floor it is being installed over. For carpet, the adhesive should reach the recessed areas of the carpet backing. For sheet goods, the adhesive trowel marks should run together when the job is rolled. CHOOSE THE CORRECT ADHESIVE FOR THE JOB Different jobs require different adhesives. Choose an adhesive based on the traffic conditions and the type of floor covering installed. Generally speaking, the higher the amount of foot traffic, the higher the quality adhesive required. TROWEL SELECTION IS IMPORTANT The trowel is a measuring tool designed to put down a specific amount of adhesive. If a trowel is worn or the notching size is incorrect, the right amount of adhesive transfer will not occur. See the chart below for Polymer Engineering's recommendations for proper trowel selection. Choose the correct trowel to achieve 100% transfer. Round off the corners of the adhesive trowel on double stick installations to prevent a sharp corner from snagging the underlay. USE THE RIGHT ROLLER If a roller is too heavy, it will force the adhesive up into the backing of the floor covering. If it is too light it will not give the right amount of adhesive transfer. For sheet goods and vinyl tile use a 45-50 kg roller. For direct stick down carpet and non-foam backed carpet, use a 25-30 kg roller. For double stick and cushion backed carpet, a 25-30 kg roller is best. Always use the recommended roller weight per floor covering manufacturers installation instructions. Top