An old or poorly insulated bathroom is ripe for the destructive power of moisture and air penetration. How do you avoid it? It’s all in the careful application of proper materials at the right time during the building or renovation process. Use a superior foam sealant to fill and insulate cracks and gaps, window and door perimeters, cable penetrations, and more.
Giving a home a second chance requires the right tools and the right set of hands. Keystone Home Remodeling specializes in remodeling bathrooms and kitchens in the Philadelphia area. Today, Brendan O’Sullivan and his team are working on a renovation project outside of Philadelphia highlighting how they use Loctite’s Tite Foam Spray to seal, secure, and insulate their bathroom renovation.
Bathrooms see a lot of moisture, so sealing cracks and gaps is a big part of ensuring a successful renovation and guaranteeing a functional and high-performing structure. For this task, a superior foam sealant is the primary go-to solution. The Keystone team identified three areas where using a Loctite foam sealant might be warranted.
These areas include the perimeters around windows and doors, penetrations in the floor and ceiling plates, and sealing a stud base on an exterior wall.
The above-mentioned areas and structures are highly susceptible to moisture and air penetration when not properly sealed in the early stages of building or retrofitting.
In this part of the project, Keystone Home Remodeling’s goal is to seal between the window frame and the wood stud. To do this, the team applies a layer of Loctite Tite Foam Window and Door. The foam seals those unwanted gaps that inevitably form when installing window and door frames and eliminates the possibility of pesky leaks.
The Keystone team chose this foam sealant for several reasons. Primarily, it is a low-pressure and slow-expanding foam, which is important around window frames. Low-expansion foam will not bow window frames, maintaining the structure’s integrity while air-sealing the needed areas. Loctite foam sealant is also known for its premium durability and the ability to remain uncompromised after years of installation.
Other features of Loctite Tite Foam Window and Door include:
- Expands to fill: This specially formulated foam will expand to fill gaps and cracks up to one inch in size.
- High density: The high-density foam offers exceptional durability and stability over long periods.
- Superior flexibility: This foam sealant offers flexibility and resilience, allowing it to withstand seasonal movement without compromising the original seal.
- Strong adhesion: The adhesion capacity is very high and works with a variety of building materials including concrete, metal, PVC pipe, stone, brick, and more.
- UV resistance: Windows and doors are frequently exposed to elements and UV rays. Loctite’s foam sealant is UV resistant and withstands any potential damage from these harmful light rays.
- Easily trimmed once cured: When applying the foam, it might expand outside of the window perimeter, but cleaning this up is easy. Once cured, the foam is easily cut and trimmed with a knife to create flush and precise boundaries.
- Premium Durability: This foam material is engineered for exceptional durability, giving homeowners peace of mind that the product will last and withstand stress and time.
When installing or reinstalling piping, plumbing, or cabling during a bathroom construction or renovation, a lot of cracks and gaps are left as vulnerable spaces for air penetration and moisture leaks. In addition to letting air escape, these gaps can become dangerous in the case of a fire. If there is an air leakage, those gaps can create a flue or stack effect and pull the fire through those openings, spreading flames throughout the home.
Sealing these openings avoids that scenario by effectively blocking off all possibilities for air penetration. The Keystone Home Remodeling team addresses this issue by using Loctite Fire Block Foam.
The Loctite Fire Block Foam has several benefits and is specially formulated for these hard-to-reach tight spaces, where air-sealing is imperative but not always easily accessible. This foam is designed to help prevent the spread of fire and smoke through concealed penetrations. These areas include anywhere where electrical, plumbing, or HVAC penetrations are found.
Features of the Fire Block foam include:
- Different color: In contrast with other foam sealants, the Loctite Fire Block Foam is an easily identifiable orange color. This color differentiates it from other sealants and is thus easy to spot for home inspectors and other builders who work on the job site.
- Fire rated and tested: The Fire Block Foam is rated and tested in accordance with UL 723/ASTM E-84 and ASTM E814. The ASTM E-84 is based on two metrics that include how quickly the flame spreads and how much smoke is produced throughout a certain period. Loctite Fire Block Foam is tested and verified under the highest standards.
Sealing materials that connect with the exterior walls can also be a major component of making a home airtight. In this remodel, Keystone Home Remodeling did not have any exterior cladding work, so Brendan O’Sullivan and his team sealed it from inside the home.
In this part of the remodel, O’Sullivan applied Loctite Tite Foam Gaps & Cracks along the perimeter of the bay, between the sheathing and the studs on the sides, top, and bottom. This foam sealant offers the ability to seal and insulate for top-tier performance and premium durability.
So, what makes Loctite Tite Foam Gaps & Cracks the right tool for the job?
- Expands easily and fills larger gaps: This Loctite foam sealant fills, seals, and insulates around any cracks or gaps that are up to 1 inch in size.
- Adhesion that works on a variety of materials: This advanced foam sealant is not only effective with traditional wood or steel frames but it can also be used with building materials that include concrete, brick, metal, PVC, and more.
- Flexibility that withstands movement and shifting: Every home will typically see some seasonal movement or changes. A flexible material will withstand these changes and maintain the original seal.
- Superior Adhesion: A foam sealant is more than just a barrier, it must adhere to the materials to create an impenetrable seal. Loctite formulation means it bonds to most building materials including concrete, brick, stone, metal, and more.
- Premium durability: Get a seal that lasts and withstands all the wear and tear, including years of resisting elements and shifting.
The Loctite Tite Foam Gaps and Cracks is part of an improved new generation of polyurethane-based insulating foam sealants. This material offers a variety of benefits and features; it not only creates strong bonds and seals, but it is also mold resistant, has sound-insulating properties, and is very versatile while improving energy consumption.
For avid remodelers, the drive and inspiration lies in improving an old structure and giving it a new chance at life. At the end of the day, O’Sullivan asserts that "As a remodeler, giving homes a second chance, I always keep Loctite products at hand. Just like you saw today, I use them on every job."