Structural Expansion Joints and Joint Sealants by EMSEAL

1-800-526-8365 -- 508-836-0280 --  techinfo@emseal.com -- Fax: 508-836-0281

Last modified: September 03, 2008

Featuring:  SJS-SEISMIC JOINT SYSTEM ; DSM SYSTEM ; & Double-Sided COLORSEAL

Structural & Architectural Expansion Joint and Joint Sealant Products:

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Gaskets, Sealant Tapes, Specialty and OEM Sealants:

Log Home Sealant Tapes--Metal Building Sealant Tapes--Telecommunication Shelter Sealant Tape
RVS Recreational Vehicle Sealant Tape--Multi-Use Sealant Tape--Grain Bin Sealant Tape
Awning & Sign Sealant--UST OEM, Component, and Converter Sealant Tape--Multi-Use Farm Sealant 

1-800-526-8365 -- 508-836-0280 --  techinfo@emseal.com -- Fax: 508-836-0281

The EMSEAL Approach to Successful Expansion Joint Treatment--Collaborative, 3-D Design, Detailing, Construction, Fabrication, Installation

It’s not just about products.

While EMSEAL prides itself on having high-quality, innovative and durable materials for use in sealing and bridging small and large, building component and structural expansion joints in foundations, decks, walls, and floors, the company’s track record of successfully completed projects is equally attributable to its approach to expansion joint treatment:

Anybody can make an expansion joint appear watertight in cross-section.  However, joints leak at changes in plane, direction and where dissimilar joint materials meet. 

Successful projects with expansion joints that don’t leak are characterized by a collaborative commitment by the A/E team, the general contractor, the joint manufacturer, and the waterproofing sub-contractor to think, design, detail, specify, construct, fabricate, and install three-dimensional solutions.  

The process begins at design with the visualization by the A/E team and the joint manufacturer of expansion joint locations, layout and impact on all other adjacent materials and spaces. 

This visualization is aided by the use of simple isometric line sketches of joint layouts which reveal conditions that could be designed-out, simplified, or for which details must be developed.  The A/E then supplements the usual cross-sections with axonometric details of conditions involving changes in plane, direction and between dissimilar materials. 

To these conditions, the expansion joint manufacturer must furnish axonometric CAD details showing their materials adaptation to these conditions.   The manufacturer’s application of their material to the designed conditions should be warrantable as watertight at all agreed upon changes in plane, direction, and intersection between various joint materials.  The final isometric layout(s) and all cross-section and axonometric details then become part of the bid documents and working drawings.

Before and during construction the general contractors' role is to elevate the place the expansion joints typically occupy in the sequencing path.   ALL trades must be held accountable for their work in relation to expansion joints.  The joints, for example, must be protected from construction traffic damage and cannot become a place to accumulate construction tolerances. 

The expansion joint subcontractor must commit to taking field measurements from which the manufacturer can fabricate and furnish factory-welded, warranted assemblies to install into the relevant joint locations.

This collaborative approach is not just theory.  It is a practice that has resulted in the successful execution of watertight expansion joints on new and retrofit projects on structures of every type.  From the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, to the enormous, newly constructed mixed-use development—Atlantic Station in Atlanta, to the retrofit of FedEx Field Washington Redskins Stadium, and the newly constructed Citizens Bank Philadelphia Phillies Ballpark,  owners, A/E’s, general contactors, EMSEAL, and a select group of like-minded waterproofing sub-contractors are proving this approach possible and practical.

If this collaborative and disciplined approach is not adopted as the basic philosophy on any project of any scope, whether a stadium, hospital, school, government building or airport, it can be expected that leaks at expansion joints will constitute a high percentage of post tenancy headaches.

We invite you to make EMSEAL your partner in success on your expansion joint project:

1-800-526-8365 -- 508-836-0280 --  techinfo@emseal.com

The EMSEAL Approach to Gasket, and Sealant Solutions:

For more than 30 years, EMSEAL materials have and used in  gasket and OEM sealing applications.  EMSEAL's preformed, precompressed sealant tapes as well as sheets, rolls, pads, and master rolls have be supplied to OEM's and converters worldwide.

Applications include, automobile, marine, log home, recreational vehicle, awning, telecommunication shelters, HVAC, building systems, awnings, precast concrete building systems, precast walls, precast foundations, windows, metal roof and building systems, retrofit roof drains, and many more.

The Specialty Market Division of EMSEAL was expanded in 1995 to incorporate product application specialists devoted specifically to assisting OEM's in selecting sealants to suit their component sealing needs.

Grounded in the latest innovations in impregnated foam sealant technology, EMSEAL sealant tapes deliver extraordinary value through durability and performance.

EMSEAL sealant tapes are a unique hybrid of the best features of liquid-adhesive sealants infused into a cellular foam matrix that provides resilience, compression recovery and unmatched durability.  EMSEAL sealant tapes compress into their own matrix and do not extrude, squeeze out, or spill over like liquid or butyl sealants.  This extraordinary combination of features results in a material of significant versatility, aesthetic advantage and suitability to a wide range of uses.

Contact us now to discuss your application and get your FREE SAMPLES for evaluation.

Contact us now at:
1-800-526-8365 -- 508-836-0280 techinfo@emseal.com