Construction Foams

There are many reasons why such construction foams have become an indispensable part of the modern building industry. They are relatively low cost, fast, and easy to apply, then in service, they are resistant to mold, moisture, and rot, etc. They also offer many other advantages for specific applications due to their portability in canisters and their lightweight nature.

Sika's Construction Foams

Sika provides a complete range of high-quality construction foams in the Sika Boom® range, with products and systems for all different application fields. These foams are generally supplied with a ready-to-use nozzle or used with a gun in professional applications.

The Sika Boom® product range, which consists of various types of expanding and adhesive foams, is designed for durable results and easy handling.

Watch this video to get more details about the Sika Boom® product range.

When many trades are carrying out installation and construction works, there are almost always gaps, joints and penetrations produced - the majority of which are not subsequently visible in normal daily life, as these are filled and/or covered. Such gaps commonly exist between window or door frames and the surrounding walls, or in the areas around pipework and conduit penetrations for example. To close and fill these gaps permanently, it is important to seal them with a high-quality material that will keep the joint well-insulated, especially against acoustic or thermal transfer. Gap filling foam sealants are ideal for this purpose, as they are easy to use and can seal even the most unusually shaped gaps, joints and penetrations.

The modern alternatives to cement-based adhesives for thermal insulation systems are adhesive PU foams. This is because they are easy to apply, for fast and clean installation, as well as bonding to many building substrates. When using adhesive PU foams to bond insulation panels, additional mechanical fixings may no longer be necessary. For this reason, this is now their main global application, particularly in basement works, as well as for bonding on to ceilings and flat roofing.

Low isocyanate and isocyanate-free foams are a new type of expanding foams, developed for a safer use of chemicals by consumer as well as professional users. Such products contain hardly any isocyanates or even none at all. European Parliament and Council has adopted a regulation concerning REACH to limit the use of isocyanates starting August 2023. However, in some EU countries with strict regulations, such products are widely used since many years.

Low isocyanates foams have the same properties as the traditional polyurethane foams and are used for similar applications. The absence of isocyanate in the isocyanate-free foams is noticeable in the performance. The main application is therefore limited to multi-purpose gap filling such as sealing around pipes or around windows and doors.

Rigid foams are 2C foams, so called because they are supplied with two components. Most polyurethane construction foams are supplied premixed and cure after application by reacting with atmospheric moisture. However, the 2C foams have a separate hardener component with the necessary moisture already integrated, which is mixed throughout the material immediately before or during application. The big advantage of this is very fast and controlled hardening, plus their resulting high compressive strength.

Fire resistant foams are used where a linear joint with a certain resistance to fire needs to be sealed. Here specific performance certification is usually required e.g. fire-resistance class.

Professional foams frequently need to be applied with professional equipment in order to develop their full potential (e.g. foam dispensing guns). Therefore, Sika provides these professional application guns together with a special cleaning solution to maintain them in good order.