Willseal has a full range of pre-compressed, self-expanding foam sealants that are weathertight, dust-proof, noise-reducing, thermally insulating and UV stable. The Willseal products use a solid piece of foam which allows for internal smoke barriers and waterproof membranes to be placed within the foam. This solid foam also allows for varying depths of 2”, 3” and 4” for the Willseal FR (Fire Rated) products.
About Willseal
Willseal is the original brand of pre-compressed joint sealants. They offer a complete line of pre-compressed sealants and expansion joints to satisfy a wide variety of waterproofing needs.
Willseal products are built for extreme performance through innovative design and materials and are solid sealants with a uniform core: no unbonded lamination, and no cheap filler foams.
Willseal is a company firmly committed to environmental stewardship. Our products contain no volatile organic content (VOC), satisfying the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED™ Criteria for Indoor Environmental Quality. Willseal is committed to bringing intelligent solutions to our customers, using technology-driven design to create superior sealant systems.
PRODUCTS
Awards
2023 TCA Innovative Product Awards – Second Place
Willseal PF 100
Tremco Construiction Products Group
PF100 is an engineered joint sealing solution composed of an impregnated top and bottom foam layer laminated together whereby the three components meet IBC air leakage requirements (ASTM E283) and meet moisture infiltration requirements per ASTM E331 (de facto NA standard) without invasive anchoring or wet adhesives for sidewall adhesion.
This breakthrough technology enables rapid installation by various labor skill levels and is not beholden to correct wet depth thickness. While PF100 as a standard is supplied without a sealant facer (which is not required to meet the testing standards) customers can select to include an optional factory-applied sealant facer, which can be color-matched to suit customer requests (PF100 with a sealant face is referred to as PF200).
This technology also allows for cladding or building envelope components to be sealed, during the installation or from the inside of the building without having to access the exterior after completion thereby saving time and resources associated with labour and access for transitional methodologies.
Considering the enormous growth modular/panelized construction is experiencing and skilled labor in increasingly short supply, PF100 answers the industry’s call for quality, consistency, and rapid installation.
The industry in North America had long resigned itself to complicated wet application sealants and/or invasive anchoring because the readily available European (loose equivalents) could meet ASTM E283/E331. The critical element in why traditional European options were not suitable in the North American market was European codes/permeability requirements/etc. typically have higher breathability requirements, whereas North American standards do not allow for/endorse the same level of breathability- and when European options were repeatedly tested over the years to North American requirements they would fail. By combining the European mastery of precompressed foam technology with the capabilities of an integral sealant barrier under constant expansive pressure, the path to success lay in finding the balance between how much foam with a flexible integral sealant barrier would pass North American testing *while* being reasonable for installers to use. PF100 went through numerous iterations (in depth, compression amount, integral sealant barrier thickness, etc.), but with the support of the Tremco Testing Wall in Beechwood, OH and later through third parties the right mix was found, proven, and launched. The groundbreaking and novel developments core to this innovation have already secured a Letter of Allowance from the USPTO (Application Number: 17/682,415).
Project Profiles
The Well
The Well is Toronto’s largest (non-infrastructure) construction project. It is located at Front and Spadina on a 7.8 acre site. The complex contains seven buildings and will function as both a self-contained community and destination - housing a mix of office, rental, condominium, retail, and public spaces.
The joints are pre-cast to pre-cast panel in the residential towers. The joint gap widths are ¼” a 1 ½” and the panel thickness is 10”. Due to this thickness the dual stage precast sealant drainage system sits too far to the front of the panel and would not allow any water trapped further back to be adequately drained away from the building. If they tried to ramp out backer rod, it wasn’t rigid enough to maintain profile and it was difficult to caulk.
Seismic Willseal was used where the gap exceeded ½” and Willseal 600 was used where the gap was less than ½”.
The product was installed from the interior, all the way to the outer face of the panel. This ensured they met the specified drainage plane requirement by allowing a sloped ramp. They were then able to install the exterior bead of Spectrum 1 at a later date when there was swing stage access.
Installing from the interior to exterior is a huge advantage - It allowed them to drain the panel in its entirety, vs just the front portion of panel. The backer rod would suffice if it was standard panel, because the 2 beads from the outside reach great depth. When the panel is 10’’ deep, the 2 beads, do not get very far in relation to how thick the panel is.
Using the Willseal Seismic and Willseal 600 took the guess work out for the installer, the inspector and consultant, that the seal is continuous and that there will be no weak point.
Architect: Adamson Associates
Contractor: Enco Caulking