If you are a landscape professional, you can save a lot of time and money when you use hardscape adhesives instead of mortar or conventional outdoor adhesives. This makes the task of choosing the right landscape adhesive very important to your business. So which product do you choose and why? Let’s look into the subject a little deeper.
Do You Really Need Special Adhesives?
For centuries, hardscape professionals have gotten by with standard adhesive products. However, over the years, cement and mortar have given way to special adhesives for several reasons, such as:
- Less time spend in preparation and installation
- Quicker bonding time
- Waterproof sealing
- Extended life of projects
- Increased profits – less time to complete the job and higher quality work not only saves money, it is a good way to earn more business.
Choosing an Adhesive
Here are important properties to look for when you shop hardscape adhesives:
- Meet or exceed APA-AFG-01
- ASTM D3898 standards
- Waterproof adhesion – this is especially important for retaining walls and your adhesive should be recommended for this type of work.
- Adhesion plus gap filling – a gap filling landscape adhesive is important because it fills in spaces where moisture can collect and eventually penetrate the structure. This can be accomplished with a relatively new concept called collapsing gel technology.
- Strong enough for mounted fences
The Importance of Collapsing Gel Technology
When you choose special adhesives with gel technology, a change occurs after you dispense the product. It collapses forming a gel-like material. This lets it to seep into tiny cracks and gaps much better than standard adhesives. The gel allows the product to flow, and since it is not a true liquid it does not run off.
There are additional advantages with collapsing gel. For example, it resists all kinds of moisture and wet conditions. In fact, you can apply it to frozen blocks or lumber as long as it is within the proper installation temperature range.
These products are very versatile and can be used on a wide range of materials, such as:
- Concrete
- Wood
- Masonry
- Metal
- Vinyl
- Many other construction materials
Application
Proper installation is important. Be sure to wear the recommended protection and clean the surfaces of all foreign material. This allows for the best possible adhesion. Check your landscape adhesive product instructions for important things like application temperatures and cure times.