The Importance of Silicone Concrete Expansion Joint Sealants for Your Driveway

If you’re a builder, home renovator or joint sealing contractor, you’ll know as much as we do about Expansion Joints at Seal’em Solutions Australia.

When doing any construction work outdoors, such as building a driveway or repairing a concrete pavement, the concrete sealants you use must stand the test of time. Otherwise, the job could cost you more than you initially budgeted for.

Your outdoor concrete construction will only be durable when you use Concrete Joint Sealants or Expansion Joints with high quality Silicone-based Sealants in them.

In Concrete Construction, you can use Two Types of Sealants

1. Polyurethane Sealants
2. Silicone Sealants

Polyurethane Sealants are a cheaper sealant option. Not very durable, they last only around 5 years. Their poor durability make them unsuitable for outdoor projects.

Polyurethane sealants are an organic building material. Because of their organic nature, they tend to degrade quickly. The disadvantage is that this proves to be more expensive to work with in the long run.

Silicone Sealants are slightly more expensive than polyurethane sealants. However, they work out to be more economical in the long run as they last twenty years, on average, versus five years as is the case with polyurethane sealants.

Why Silicone Concrete Expansion Joint Sealants are the best option for your concrete driveway?

When you install Expansion Joints in a Concrete Pavement, Driveway or Outdoor Construction, they give the concrete the space they need to expand and contract without leading to cracks.

This causes a problem though – rainwater can get under the concrete – weakening it. Because of this, Expansion Joints need to be filled with a pliable material that prevents the rainwater from seeping through. This material could be polyurethane or Silicone Sealants – the latter being a long lasting solution that we suggest to our clients here at Seal’em Solutions Australia.

A Bond that’s Permanent

For sealants to work, they must bond effectively to the concrete structure they are applied on.

They must also be resistant to temperatures and seismic quake as these factors are out of a builder or home owner’s control.

Silicone Sealants have a chemical backbone that is different to polyurethane sealants. Polyurethane sealants wilt under pressure caused by fluctuations in temperature because they are made from materials that are organic.

Silicone Sealants don’t suffer this issue as they have been chemically altered to increase their strength – also their resistance to changes in pressure and temperature.

This is why they are the First Choice of Builders and Home Renovators today.

A Polymer Joint Sealing Contractors will love

If you’re a Joint Sealing Contractor engaged in outdoor or indoor construction work that involves Expansion Joints, Sealants, Sealing Solutions, Concrete Joint Sealing or Silicone Concrete Expansion Joint Sealants, then do give us a call at Seal’em Solutions Australia.

We’d love to get to know your business and you, and answer any questions on Sealants you may have. To speak to a Joints & Sealants specialist, please call us on 1300 377 577.