Silicones Sealants Protect Buildings and Their Occupants

Tag : weatherproofing sealant

With the Atlantic hurricane season, builders are increasinglyrelying on silicone glazed impact-resistant glass and siliconewaterproofing sealants to protect property from sustained winds andpounding rains.
Hurricane-prone areas require the best weatherproofing and glazingproducts available to protect building structures and preventleaks," said Larry Carbary, Associate Industry Scientist, DowCorning Corporation. "Silicone weatherproofing, glazing and impactresistant sealants are the preferred solution because they providemore building protection and are proven to decrease structuraldamage and water infiltration under high wind speeds and pressurescompared to other materials."
Structural silicone sealants are important in the effort to protectbuildings from extreme weather events such as hurricanes becausethey strengthen building facades and windows, helping themwithstand extreme temperature fluctuations, gale-force winds, acidrain, ultraviolet radiation, thunderstorms and even earthquaketremors. Silicones are strong but also flexible, allowing for thewide range of unique building designs characteristic of modernarchitecture.
Hurricane-prone regions of the United States have had great successusing silicone sealants in the past to meet tougher building coderequirements.
"The combination of structural strength and flexibility in thesealant is a key to meeting the impact-resistant glazingstandards," said Mark Baker, president of IBA Consultants, who hastested silicone sealants against other glazing materials in theconstruction of the Westin Diplomat Hotel in Florida. "Whileseveral other material types could deliver the strength towithstand the test's initial impact requirement, I'm not aware ofany sealant other than silicone that also provides the flexibilityto hold up under the 9000-cycle wind load testing that follows."
About Dow Corning
Dow Corning provides performance-enhancing solutions to serve thediverse needs of more than 25,000 customers worldwide. A globalleader in silicon-based technology and innovation, offering morethan 7,000 products and services, Dow Corning is equally owned byThe Dow Chemical Company and Corning, Incorporated. More than halfof Dow Corning's annual sales are outside the United States.
Source: Dow Corning