Professional Documents
Culture Documents
TN 16
TN 16
TN 16
16
JOINTS IN THE BUILDING ENVELOPE
size of components relative to the specified Fire resistance. Some joints may be required
size resulting from inaccuracies in to resist fire. The requirement may be to
manufacture and construction. Joints maintain the ability to carry load or to
provide the only means of accommodating prevent the spread of flame and smoke. For
these deviations and failure to make example the joint between intumescent
adequate allowance may compromise other glazing and the frame will be required to
aspects of the joint’s performance, such as hold the glass in place and prevent
the ability to accommodate movement. combustion products escaping.
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Baffles, Seals
The selection of joint seals has always been a
Seals, difficult decision for the facade designer,
although the process is sometimes dictated by
Flashings. the choice of cladding system. There are three
options:
Fixings
A joint will require fixings for the materials Sealing strips or tapes.
either side of the joint. The fixing may be a
direct fixing crossing the joint as in a screw Sealing strips are flexible materials which
fastening of overlapping sheets of cladding or are pre-formed in a range of sizes and
indirect as in the case of rainscreen cladding sections which mainly rely on compression
panels which are not directly connected but although some adhesion to a joint face may
independently fixed to a continuous background take place. They may be considered as a
wall. special type of gasket and are of two basic
types:
The design of the fixings will need to take
account of requirements for load transfer or Mastic strips, usually manufactured from
freedom of movement across the joint. Types of relatively soft, tacky synthetic rubber to
fixing which allow a degree of movement which an easily removed backing paper is
include the following: applied; and,
Bolts in slotted holes, possibly using PTFE Cellular strips, usually based on a synthetic
washers to reduce resistance to sliding, polymer, which may also be edge-coated
with an adhesive layer.
Dowel joints, generally with an additional
fixing to a supporting structure on one side Gaskets.
of the joint,
Gaskets are pre-formed seals made from
Tongue and groove joints, generally with an flexible materials, which must remain in
additional fixing to a supporting structure compression to function effectively. They
on one side of the joint, can be of solid or hollow section and may be
formed from either cellular or non-cellular
Channel fixings, materials. They are generally made from
rubber or plastic by extrusion or moulding.
Gasket and pressure plate. The material should have a good elastic
memory and not suffer ‘compression set’.
Baffles
Baffles are used in some unsealed joints to Pre-formed gaskets offer some advantages
prevent water being blown through the joint. over sealants, particularly in terms of ease
The most common application is in joints of removal. However they have their own
between precast concrete panels where the set of problems regarding correct
installation, require careful control of the
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Joints in the building envelope TN16
joint width if they are to work properly and may not be properly tooled, trapping within
still pose a risk with material compatibility. the body of the sealant pockets of air which
attract moisture or expand breaking the seal.
Like sealants, gaskets are a target for cost Furthermore, the need for access to install
cutting; a fabricator will buy cheaper sealants generally means that they are
gaskets from another supplier just to save a located in exposed joints, where they are
few pence on the cost of each metre length, subject to the greatest environmental
without any form of guarantee that the new exposure and most likely to be damaged
gaskets will perform satisfactorily. The cost during cleaning operations.
of even a small amount of water leakage, in
terms of problem rectification/damage Technical Note 19 Selection and use of
repair never justifies the capital cost saving, sealants and Technical Note 20 Design of
but the capital cost saving is made by the sealant joints give further guidance on
fabricator, who rarely sees the clients’ costs sealants.
of repair.
There are several issues that need to be
Gaskets are described in greater detail in addressed, when selecting and designing gasket
Technical Note 18 Gaskets. seals or wet-applied sealants:
Sealants. Durability
Rubber and sealant materials are a blend of
Sealants are wet applied materials many chemicals - they are affected by
formulated to both solidify in situ and ultraviolet radiation, ozone and atmospheric
adhere to the joint surfaces in a controlled pollutants, and may react with adjacent
manner. The sealants used for joints in the materials or run-off water contaminated
building envelope are cold-applied, non- with copper or alkalis leached from
cellular materials that are based on synthetic concrete.
polymers. In the solid form they are able to
Joint design
accommodate movement by elastic or
A compression gasket usually requires an
plastic deformation.
accurately constructed joint, with little
variation in width, and flat joint surfaces.
Sealants must always be treated as a system,
Selection of gaskets must consider the
as additional products are essential for
means of their retention within the joint as
effective performance - back-up materials,
compression alone is not generally
bond breakers, and where recommended
sufficient. A positive receptor keyway into
primers or surface conditioners.
which part of the gasket can locate is
needed.
A properly applied sealant, in a well-
designed and constructed joint, offers a
A sealant joint can tolerate some variation
durable and effective seal against water
in joint width but variations in width caused
penetration and air leakage. However,
by steps in the joint faces can lead to stress
sealants are frequently the target for poor
concentrations under joint movement, which
application, cost cutting by using a lower
can cause the material to crush or tear.
specification material, and a complete
Sealants must always have an adequate
failure on the part of the installer to
bearing surface. Sealants applied to thin
understand the need for proper joint
edges of sheet metal never work.
preparation, or a uniform depth and width of
Joints will often be required in the jointing
the sealant bead. Backing materials are
materials and these joints will require
rarely used (the sale of sealant backing
careful design to avoid problems.
materials is much less than expected from
the volume of sealant sales) and the sealant
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c) Joint between mullion and transom of curtain e) Joint in a structural sealant glazing system
wall
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Summary
Transmission of forces,
Accommodation of movement,
Weathertightness,
Buildability,
Maintainability,
Fire resistance,
References
© CWCT 1999
University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath, BA2
7AY
Tel: 01225 826541; Fax: 01225 826556;
email: cwct@bath.ac.uk; website:
www.cwct.co.uk
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