This is in large part due to the selection of EMSEAL's DSM SYSTEM for the expansion joints.  DSM is one of EMSEAL's line of precompressed, preformed joint sealants that offers a durable alternative to backer rod and wet sealants.  In joints as small as 1/2" and up to 1 3/4" sometimes varying across that entire range in a single run, the DSM SYSTEM was sized to suit the changing joint widths. 

Unlike wet sealants in their traditional field-applied format, EMSEAL's precompressed sealants are never in tension.  Tensile stresses at the bond line AND within the cured wet sealant are the principle reasons for wet sealant failure.  Combine these physical forces with any deviation from the hour-glass geometry required for wet sealant to function and caulk-joint failure is likely to occur even after one winter cycle.

There is sometimes a misperception that precompressed sealants are difficult to install to follow joint-gap size variations and that this is not a problem for caulk-and-backer rod. On the contrary.  It is absolutely critical to switch backer rod sizes in order to preserve geometry.  This is seldom done--how many times have you seen backer rod twisted one or more times around itself in order to pack a joint too wide for the product taken to the jobsite that day?

A project, properly measured for size switching using an EMSEAL precompressed sealant will go a long way in ensuring that the joint is not only properly sealed, but that the material installed will properly handle the joint movement expected.

Mellissa Cook Stadium joins a long and growing list of sports facilities that are benefiting from EMSEAL's approach to stadium expansion joint sealing at new construction or at retrofit--Who else is using EMSEAL stadium joint sealing solutions--click here?

Posted April 26, 2010

Airport Floor Expansion Joints and the Common Law of Business Balance...in other words, "you get what you pay for".

(click images to enlarge)

As nineteenth century observer of society and the construction arts, John Ruskin commented:

“It is unwise to pay too much, but it’s worse to pay too little.  When you pay too much you lose a little money—that is all.  When you pay too little you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the things it was bought to do.  The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot.  It can’t be done.  If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run, and if you do that you will have enough to pay for something better.”

Airports especially see traffic that induces repeated rolling point loads that reek havoc on lightweight expansion joints.  MIGUTRANS from EMSEAL's comprehensive selection of durable floor joints, is a heavy-duty, interior floor expansion joint system that provides a smooth rolling and traffic surface, handles heavy loads, and integrates aesthetically into floor finishes.

Posted February 26, 2010

Technical personnel at EMSEAL created CAD details and manufacturing plans to adequately address the hundreds of feet of plaza expansion joint to be installed in this retrofit application. They paid particular attention to maintaining continuity of seal through the transitions at direction cahnges around columns as well as at terminations.

The result today is a watertight solution at Lincoln Center’s famed plaza. Exposed to severe water, snow and the temperature ranges found in the northeast United States, as well as hundreds of thousands of visitors and accompanying foot traffic each year, EMSEAL’s MIGUTAN system is keeping water from leaking through the deck. Avery Hall, the Metropolitan Opera House, the NY State Theater and the Julliard School of Music finally have a watertight public plaza deck worthy of the Lincoln Center’s great fame.   

Posted February 2, 2010

Curved Expansion Joints?  EMSEAL Bends Over Backwards, Longways, and Sideways for You...

Posted January 20th, 2010

We all came from somewhere. 

Before concrete there was stone.  Before microsphere-modified acrylic polymers, there was tar. 

EMSEAL is proud to have evolved with changes in material and building science.  We would love to share with you, in person, the latest in expansion joint sealing—from our breakthrough SEISMIC JOINT SYSTEM, to our revolutionary fire-rated, watertight, sound-blocking, hurricane-resistant EMSHIELD product line for floors, walls and decks.  As proud as we are of the product line, our approach to expansion joint treatment is as developed.  Continuity of seal, non-invasive anchoring, 3-D joint design, and checklist-based quality assurance are all hallmarks of an evolution in expansion joint treatment.

Once again EMSEAL will have a Trade Show Suite at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas to coincide with the 2010 World of Concrete.  If you would like rest your weary trade show feet and knees during a personal meeting with the EMSEAL staff to discuss a project or to be introduced to the state-of-the-art in joint sealing, contact us to set up an appointment.  We are scheduling meetings in our suite Tuesday afternoon through Friday Morning. 

Email Christine to set up your appointment: cattwood@emseal.com  or give us a call: 800-526-8365 or 508-836-0280.

Cartoon courtesy of Julia Hensley--artist and teacher who's series dubbed "The EM-SIDE (with appropriate what have yous to Gary Larson)" will occasionally be featured here in the future.

Posted January 20th, 2010

(click images to enlarge)
 

Unlike noisy self-centering-bar and coverplate joints, SJS has absolutely no metal anchors into the concrete.  The foam-flanked centering spline holds the plate which rides on the concrete or on EMSEAL's sound and impact-absorbing nosing material.

Since its installation, the SJS SYSTEMS has been maintenance free.  Featuring aluminum coverplates (stainless steel also available), and an ADA compliant coefficient of friction, the SJS SYSTEM is watertight, quiet, traffic durable, non-invasively anchored and aesthetically coordinated.

Posted January 19th, 2010

Anyone can make joints watertight in cross-section.  But expansion joints exist in 3-D. Where they jog around columns; go up a curb and over a sidewalk; or terminate into a vertical plane surface like a wall or parapet, is where expansion joints leak.  Water tests (above right) should be a standard to ensure that installation of transitions is watertight as well.

Posted January 18th, 2010

(click images for larger view)

The custom-tailored solution takes into account the locations, traffic, movement, and existing joint sizes at each expansion joint location.  Consequently systems from EMSEAL's entire selection of stadium expansion joints have been utilized where they are best suited.  SEISMIC JOINT SYSTEM-SJS is the latest to be installed and was chose where existing joints were too large for a winged-compression seal system like THERMAFLEX that was used elsewhere on the project.

The picture above left illustrates the unique ability of SJS to ensure continuity of seal in plane changes. The view is looking down over the railing at the transition between the upper and lower seating bowls.  It shows how the expansion joint system has been supplied and installed to be watertight throughout this transition.

Above right is a view looking down the completed installation of the SJS SYSTEM in the seating bowl.  The sandblasted coverplates are skid resistant and feature a long chamfer on its edges to facilitate pedestrian traffic.  Other EMSEAL systems used on the project include double-sided SEISMIC COLORSEAL, DSM SYSTEM, SEISMIC COLORSEAL and THERMAFLEX with hundreds of factory-fabricated inside and outside transitions to follow the treads and risers.

Scott Stadium joins the Packers, Colts, Jets/Giants, Patriots, Yankees, Mets, Phillies, U of Michigan, U of Minnesota, U of Maryland, U of Cincinnati and many more on a long list of successful new and retrofit stadium expansion joint projects featuring EMSEAL expansion joint products and custom solutions.

From prisons to factories, military bases to schools, and airports to stadiums the EMSHIELD product line is combining life-safety, sound blocking and insulation with the traditional roles of sealants in filling and sealing structural and other joint openings.

When we launched our DFR2 (for floors and decks) and WFR2 (for concrete and gypsum walls) versions of our EMSHIELD product line, we knew that the years of R&D in addressing the shortcomings of other technologies had been achieved.  We are hugely gratified by the market response to the product in the less-than-one year since their launch. 

Today’s wall and floor systems are being designed and constructed to perform a growing number of functions. Beyond simply separating rooms or enclosing a structure, they are now expected to maintain thermal conditions, contain the spread of fire, suppress the transmission of sound, and seal out the intrusion of water and wind.

The bottom line: why wouldn’t you specify and install a product with an inherent UL 2079 certified fire rating?  There is no reason to compromise life safety while at the same time satisfying ALL of the functions of the wall or floor assembly into which the product is installed.
 

The DSM System, as well as all other EMSEAL preformed foam sealants, is able to be put in place quickly because its non-invasive installation design utilizes the foam’s backpressure to firmly hold the DSM in place within the joint gap. The substrate is simply re-smoothed, cleaned and prepared and the DSM System is then installed into the gap. This single pass installation was ideal for the tall concrete walls which comprise the sides of the lock.

EMSEAL also had to meet a quick engineering and production timetable to work within the four week installation period. EMSEAL’s large manufacturing plant focused their output on quickly turning out the sizable quantity of DSM. Because there were variations of widths within the gaps throughout the Lock, each length was manufactured at a predetermined width and labeled for specific locations to make the installation move as quickly and correctly as possible.

The entire project proved to be a great success. The complete DSM order was manufactured and delivered on time and the installation went quickly enough to finish ahead of the Army Corps of Engineers’ schedule. The Port Allen Lock project illustrates EMSEAL’s unique suitability and popularity in large public works projects

Posted December 16, 2009

Products:
DSM (CLICK HERE)


 

Especially noteworthy are transitions where different widths of sealant join together. At North York General Hospital the differing gap widths demanded that north-south expansion gaps require TCR-500 and east-west gaps require the narrower TCR-400 or TCR-300. Each turn and tee necessitated joining materials of different widths--all successfully completed in the EMSEAL factory. The final system was delivered as a series of lengths of membranes with transitions prefabricated and ready to be installed.