Why do you need a damper tape

In this article, we will talk about the damper tape or, as it is also called, compensation, wall, edge, edge. You will find out what a damping tape is for. What functions does it perform and what will happen if you do not stack it.

So, you have started to repair the apartment and are faced with the fact that you need to do a high-quality floor screed.  It has been known since school physics lessons that when heated, bodies expand, and during cooling they narrow. This thesis also works in the field of repair, since concrete is subject to expansion and contraction under the influence of temperatures. The running meter of frozen concrete changes by 0.5mm/m.turn off every 20 degrees. Such a slight expansion is usually enough to form cracks, potholes, and bulges.  The solution to this problem has long been known and its name is a damping tape.

The damping tape is a strip of foamed polyethylene with a thickness of 5.10mm and has an "apron skirt" made of polyethylene film. A damping tape is laid along the perimeter of the room. When laying the screed, the tape can be fixed with liquid nails, or pressed down with a solution.

There are several types of damping tapes:

• Homemade is a roll of foamed polyethylene, which is cut into strips of the desired width (the thickness of polyethylene is chosen depending on the area of the heated room). These strips are laid out around the perimeter of the room, this option is the most budget-friendly and the most inconvenient, since the tape does not hold and builders use double-sided tape, liquid nails or a construction stapler to fix it.
• The damping tape – I mentioned it a little higher in this article. It already comes with an "apron", has several thickness options: 5.10 mm. The "apron" is wrapped on the laid thermal insulation.
• The damper tape is self–adhesive - it is believed that this tape is the most convenient. There is an adhesive layer on the outside of the tape, covered with a protective layer. To glue the tape, you need to remove the protection and press it tightly against the wall. This allows you to save time on laying the tape, as well as lay it without waves.
• T-shaped tape is used when the room area is over 10 ^m2. By dividing the screed into so-called rectangles, this minimizes internal stress. This tape is made of chemically crosslinked polyethylene, which allows it to keep its shape.

The tape should be higher than the screed. The height is calculated as follows: the height of the screed at the highest point and 2cm (not lower than this formula). The tape must necessarily protrude above the concrete in order to completely eliminate even the slightest contact with the wall.
Whatever tape you use, after the floor covering is completely laid, the protruding part is cut off. In the case of laying tiles, this happens after grouting the seams.

The use of a damping tape is a proven panacea for filling the screed without cracks and other deformations. Despite the low price, the material has proven its effectiveness in the construction materials market. The choice is yours. To get advice, please contact us by phone.