Tips for Choosing Waterproof Coatings

Waterproof coatings are a general term for viscous liquid polymer synthetic materials that have no fixed shape at room temperature. After being applied, they form a tough waterproof membrane on the substrate surface through the evaporation of solvents or moisture or through reaction curing.

In fact, waterproof coatings are not as simple as everyone imagines. They come in many types and naturally have different effects. Some unscrupulous merchants often pass off inferior products as good ones to make huge profits. So today, I must introduce some purchasing tips for waterproof coatings, so you can learn about the secrets of waterproof coatings that you may not know.

Waterproofing is important, but environmental protection is even more important.

Waterproof coatings are used for waterproofing, but we also pay great attention to environmental protection! If you choose non-environmentally friendly products, although you won't see us after the waterproof layer is completed, harmful gases are slowly released under the thick tiles or cement. How can the air quality in your home be good? This is one of the reasons why many consumers are confused about why the main materials in their homes are all environmentally friendly, yet harmful gases still exceed standards.

Therefore, if you want to buy waterproof materials, you must go to a regular building materials market or supermarket and choose well-known brands. Generally, good brand products come with product testing reports, product qualification certificates, and the China Environmental Label Certification's Ten Rings mark or CTC mark. These are symbols of good products, so you must look carefully.

What I mean by body stiffness refers to our characteristics. Generally speaking, our physical characteristics can be divided into rigid and flexible types. Rigid types usually refer to cement mortar types. Although these have high compressive permeability after forming, their extensibility is poor. A slight earthquake, ground fracture, or small cracks can easily cause water leakage, thus losing waterproofing effectiveness.

Flexible waterproof layers are relatively better. Generally speaking, acrylic waterproof coatings have good elasticity and plasticity, allowing them to adapt to some structural deformations, thus providing better waterproofing. According to research, after the renovation of a new house, due to structural issues or the structure of the building materials themselves, the floor or wall will have slight changes. Usually, these extremely small changes do not affect the normal use of the house, but they pose a certain challenge to the waterproof layer. Therefore, if you choose waterproof coatings, it is best to choose those that are not stiff.

It is essential to know where waterproofing is needed.

So, where in the house do we need to show our skills? Simply put, it is the walls and floors of the bathroom, the walls and floors of the kitchen, and the balcony floor where a drainage system needs to be set up. If you live on the first floor, doing waterproofing on the first floor will have better moisture-proof effects.

Generally, the installation height of the shower and spray head in the bathroom is about 1.8 meters, so the waterproofing should also be done to this height; otherwise, it will be difficult to achieve waterproofing. The wall where the shower is not installed only needs to be done to 1.5 meters. Of course, if you don't mind spending an extra one or two hundred dollars, you can also do the waterproofing here to 1.8 meters.

How should the waterproofing in the kitchen be done? The key is to see which areas are likely to come into contact with water. It is generally recommended to do waterproofing on the kitchen floor and walls up to 0.3 meters high, and it is best to set the waterproof layer up to 1.5 meters on the wall where the sink is installed.

Different performances have their own advantages.

Based on the personality characteristics of our family members, waterproof materials can be divided into four categories: acrylic, polyurethane, polymer synthetic (also known as JS), and flexible cement mortar. Each has its own characteristics. For example, polyurethane waterproof coatings have excellent elasticity and extensibility. If we look solely at the effectiveness of forming a waterproof membrane, they have the most outstanding overall performance among all types of coatings. However, they also have their drawbacks, such as being time-sensitive, having a long construction time, and being relatively expensive.

It is worth noting that due to the good performance of the product, there are currently many counterfeit products on the market that claim to be polyurethane. Most of them are not pure polyurethane, and their environmental performance is not very good, but their prices have dropped. Therefore, you must be careful when choosing. Acrylic waterproof coatings are easy to apply, environmentally friendly, have good film performance, and are moderately priced. They are generally used in home waterproofing. JS is a waterproof coating that combines rigidity and flexibility, is easy to apply, environmentally friendly, and non-toxic. It is also a type that is widely recognized and recommended for home waterproofing. Waterproof mortar coatings have high strength when forming a waterproof membrane and bond well with the substrate. They can be directly tiled after construction, saving construction time, and are relatively economical and practical. However, their drawback is that they are rigid waterproof materials, which are not suitable for new house renovations that may experience settlement.

Calculating how much material to use is straightforward.

Many consumers feel headache when purchasing from us, wondering how much to buy. In fact, there is a certain calculation formula for using our products. If you master this rule, it will definitely help you buy just the right amount. Based on the construction height introduced earlier for the bathroom, the waterproof area of the bathroom (square meters) = (perimeter of the bathroom floor - width of the door) × 1.8 meters (height) + (floor area). Of course, this refers to making the waterproof surface of the wall 1.8 meters high. If you want to do it to 1.5 meters, just change the height accordingly. The waterproof area of the kitchen (square meters) = (perimeter of the kitchen floor - width of the door) × 0.3 meters (height) + (floor area) + width of the wall where the sink is located × 1.5 meters.

Although the area is known, generally speaking, waterproof coatings are purchased by weight. So how should this be converted? Don't worry, there is also a formula for this: for acrylic, the usage is 3 kilograms per square meter; for polyurethane, the usage is about 2 kilograms per square meter; for polymer synthetic, the usage is about 3 kilograms per square meter; for flexible cement mortar, the usage is about 3 kilograms per square meter.