CONSTRUCTION SUSTAINABILITY: WHY USING SEALANTS IN NEW, EXISTING BUILDING PROJECTS IS BENEFICIAL

Sustainability initiatives are a growing expectation in all industries, especially construction.

Why is construction sustainability so important, and how can it be achieved? Let’s find out:

Building construction and operation consume significant resources and raw materials. As a result, sustainable construction has become essential for securing long-term environmental, economic and social viability.

New Construction Sustainability:

Sustainable building materials enable designers, contractors and owners to decrease a building’s environmental footprint from the start.

Using sealants is one important way to improve construction sustainability. According to adhesives.org, sealants play a vital role in the following:

• Controlling energy consumption
• Preserving longevity of the building structure
• Enhancing structural strength

Additionally, today’s sealant technology allows products to bond to many common building materials in a variety of conditions. This is important for the following reasons:

• Sealants improve a building’s ability to prevent or reduce infiltration of wind, rain and airborne contaminants.
• They exhibit a wide range of temperature performance, which enables dynamic joints to compensate for building movement while retaining adhesion.
• By preventing elements from entering a building’s structure, sealants help preserve other sustainable building materials. This increases the structure’s overall sustainability.

Existing Construction Sustainability

Sustainability practices also help during renovation projects for existing construction. An article in Adhesives and Sealants Industry Magazine details the sustainable solutions for improving an older building’s drafty windows.

Sealants also offer numerous sustainability improvements for existing construction:

• Sealants increase the longevity or service life of repaired dynamic and static joints.
• They offer an easier and effective way to add to overall building sustainability without replacing all of the existing building materials.

Sealants used in new and existing construction also provide the following financial benefits:

• Reduced energy costs (heating and cooling)
• Improved return on investment
• Increased resale value

Bostik’s Sustainable Sealant Solutions

Bostik offers high performance sealant products for new and existing construction projects. Our sealants contain 95% or more solids, making them more environmentally friendly than other products on the market that contain a higher percentage of solvents.

Additionally, Bostik’s increased solids percentage means that less product evaporates into the air. This in turn means fewer total cartridges, cases and other packing materials are needed, improving the environment.

Furthermore, our sealant solutions sometimes replace nails, screws or other fasteners. These traditional items create holes that increase in size over the years, leading to quicker degradation than if the proper sealant solution is used.

For more information on our sealants, call 800-7-BOSTIK.

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