Posted by Nana Hinsley on Mon, Feb 22, 2010 @ 02:37 PM
If you transport boats/yachts in and out of the water using a travelift, you probably know what the straps can do that beautiful brand new paint job. Because of customer demand, Global Plastic Sheeting has designed a foam cover for these straps to keep the straps from scratching the finish, regardless of whether it is new, or preserving the finish on a boat not being painted or re-finished.
These foam covers are in 8' sections, with "legs" to help keep them in place. The version being made currently has a 18" flat backbone section between the legs, of ½" thick closed cell foam. Give them a try on your next haulout, and see how you like them!
Posted by Nana Hinsley on Fri, Feb 12, 2010 @ 01:44 PM
Escondido, California is presently the proud recipient of the largest single building under construction in California. Palomar Medical Center West is a $615 million, 736,00-square-foot hospital. What differentiates this hospital is it can be called "A Garden Hospital". The 360 bed hospital can be regarded as perhaps the greenest and most advanced hospital ever constructed! Both staff and patients will have access to the rooftop garden and public terrace. This rooftop garden will be visible from patient rooms. Studies have shown that natural gardens have a therapeutic effect on patients and hospital staff. This hospital is expected to be completed in 2012. Global Plastic Sheeting honored to have several of its products used in this hospital of the future.
Posted by Nana Hinsley on Wed, Feb 10, 2010 @ 04:34 PM
Yesterday I was asked why surface protection is so important when one is working on a yacht or a superyacht? My first response was simply to state that it is designed to protect your profit margin in the project, because any damages are coming right out of your bottom line.
The fact is that the owners of such vessels are usually pretty particular about their babies. Most, in fact want them to be as near Perfect as they can attain. These owners, as a group of customers fall into a pretty elite class of customer. Their expectations are quite high. One does not want to disappoint them.
The day has come, and their pride and joy is coming out of the water, and being moved into a dirty, greasy, grimy industrial environment, or perhaps just worked on at the dock. Do you instill confidence, or put the fear of God in them? How you initially care for their craft tells speaks volumes about your company and the workforce entrusted with its care and returning to its original splendor.
A few dollars wisely spent on suitable protective coverings to keep easily damaged surfaces clean and damage free will pay great dividends throughout the refit, repair, lengthening, or any operation where workers are on the yacht. Not only do they put the owner's or captain's mind at ease, but they make it easier for all workers to do a better and more professional job. In fact, it constantly reminds them where they are working, and how important it is that they strive to do only the best quality work.
Posted by Nana Hinsley on Wed, Dec 23, 2009 @ 12:19 PM
On March 27, 1933, two organic chemists working for the Imperial Chemical Industries Research Laboratory were testing various chemicals. To R.O Gibson and E.W. Fawcett's surprise the white, waxy substance they were testing would become a revolutionary substance that would change the world.
Polyethylene was born!
The researchers set off a reaction between ethylene and benzaldehyde, in an autoclave. It seems their testing container sprang a leak and all of the pressure escaped. There was the white, waxy substance that greatly resembled plastic. Upon carefully repeating and analyzing the experiment, the scientists discovered that the loss of pressure was only partly due to a leak; the major reason was the polymerization process that had occurred leaving behind polyethylene. The first patents for polythene were registered in 1936 by Imperial Chemical Industries. A year later the first practical use for the material, as a film, was discovered.
Did you know that polyethylene played a key supporting role during World War II? It was first used as an underwater cable coating and then as a critical insulating material for vital military applications as radar insulation. This is because it was so light and thin that it made placing radar onto airplanes possible thus vastly reducing the weigh. The substance was a highly guarded secret.
After the war, polyethylene became a tremendous hit with consumers It became the first plastic in the United States to sell more than a billion pounds a year. It is currently the largest volume plastic in the world. Today, Polyethylene has the advantages of excellent moisture-vapor, chemical, and electrical resistance. It is widely used for making containers, wire cable insulation, pipe, linings, coatings, and engineered films. Its principal disadvantage is poor mechanical strength, unless it has a little help from scrim reinforcement! We applaud these scientists for creating polyethylene that is used in a variety of plastic sheeting products today.
Posted by Nana Hinsley on Tue, Dec 22, 2009 @ 01:00 PM
Polyester String Reinforced Polyethylene sheeting is the industry standard for use as a vapor retarder or vapor barrier when one is trying to waterproof, or reduce moisture, radon, methane, or VOC levels entering a home or any other structure from a crawlspace or basement.
The reinforced products come in a variety of types, and one should make sure that any product used in this application has been extrusion laminated. This is a method of joining together the layers of polyethylene (or other types of plastic) with the scrim reinforcement layer(s), where molten polyethylene is used, along with a lot of pressure. The resulting product is very strong, and has amazing tear resistance compared to most types of polyethylene films. Cheaper versions of the reinforced films also find their way into the US market, ones that are joined together with glue, for instance, or heat laminated. Up to this point in time, we do not know of any of these types of products doing very well in this particular application, because of the demands of the application. At this time, we recommend against using any reinforced products that are laminated using such things as glues. Definitely stick with extrusion laminated films if using reinforced films in this application in my opinion.
Why are the string reinforced films the most popular, and are they the best for basements and crawlspaces? First, when this industry was getting going, one product on the market was by far the most popular, right out of the chute. This was a 7 layer extrusion lamination, with two layers of the string reinforcement, officially 16 mil, but mostly marketed as a 20 mil to the end users, as it is to this day. A number of companies went to work marketing this material, and several similar ones, and they really caught on. For the most part, they have simply dominated the market since, mostly because the companies who control most of the market continue to use these products, and have gotten some degree of exclusivity on some of them.
The scrim reinforced films are quite appropriate for this application, and serve the purpose very well. Depending on the needs of the application, there are now engineered films that are actually better choices. Because of breakthroughs in polymer technology, it is now possible to make a polyethylene film that blocks virtually all of the extremely small particle gasses, like Radon, Methane, and many VOC's, along with water vapor molecules. While the scrim reinforced films reduce the amount of these gasses that get through, they are not nearly as effective as this new technology in this regard.
To date, our VaporBlock 20 Plus is the only product we know about on the market with the capability to block Radon, Methane and VOC's. Our engineers claim that it is over 50 times less permeable than typical high performance vapor retarders against Radon, Methane, and harmful VOC's.
The puncture resistance of this product exceeds any of the string reinforced films we know about on the market today. The string reinforcement can actually act like little knives if force is applied to the face of the film, allowing the scrim to cut into the surrounding poly, lessening its strength and vapor barrier qualities or allowing for a puncture where the VaporBlock 20 Plus would not have been punctured at all.
The reinforced films were designed more for covering applications than lining applications. While they have become hugely popular as liners in a large number of applications, their most outstanding quality is their ability to withstand winds, and keep punctures from continuing to tear. My prediction is that over the coming years, we will see a big movement toward this new technology. I can easily see homebuilders offering this kind of liner as standard fare, or at least an upgrade to the standard vapor retarder. This will offer their customers a better choice, and help mitigate lawsuits for mold and other moisture and health related issues. These lawsuits have become almost epidemic since most insurance companies quit covering anything mold related, unless it is the result of an active leak. I think this is very cheap insurance against the havoc that can be wreaked by moisture, not to mention the health risks associated with Radon, Methane, and VOC's.
Posted by Nana Hinsley on Mon, Dec 07, 2009 @ 11:05 AM
How well do you understand the terminology that is used with Adhesive Tapes? Below we will define some of the more common terms that are used freely in the adhesive tape world. Don't get stuck on terms you don't understand.
Adhesion- Is a bond that is produced between a pressure sensitive adhesive and a surface.
Adhesive- Is any material that will hold two or more objects together solely by surface contact with each other.
Adhesive transfer- Is the transfer of adhesive from its normal position on the tape to the surface to which the tape was attached. It can happened either during unwind or removal.
Backing- Is for the most part a relatively thin flexible material to which the adhesive is applied. Typically it is any material that is mostly flat, thin and flexible.
Bi-Directional- This relates to strapping tapes, where the reinforcing material consists of filaments that runs both lengthwise and in a crosswise direction. It is usually a woven cloth.
Cohesion (Cohesive strength, internal bond) - It's the ability of the adhesive to resist splitting. When there is good cohesion, there will be clean removal.
Creep- This is a slow movement of the adhesive or backing due to stress.
Double Coated Tape- This is a pressure sensitive tape that has an adhesive coat on both sides. Usually a liner is necessary to unwind the roll.
Elastomer- This is an elastic, polymeric substance, such as a synthetic or natural rubber.
Filaments- This refers to longitudinal "threads" of nylon, glass, polyester or other high-strength materials.
Flame Resistance- This is the ability of a tape to withstand exposure to flame. Fireproof materials will not burn even when exposed to flame. Flame-resistant, fire-retardant, self-extinguishing materials will burn when exposed to flame but will not continue to burn after the flame is removed.
High-speed Unwind- When unwinding or dispensing tapes at a relatively high rate of speed, usually more than 50 feet per minute.
Holding Power or Shear Adhesion- This is the ability of a tape to resist a static force that is applied in the same plane as the backing. This is usually expressed in a time required for the tape to come loose from the vertical panel.
Impact Resistance- Is the ability of a tape to resist sudden impacts, shocks or pulls that can be encountered when packages/cargo are in transit.
Laminating- This is the joining of several layers of varying materials utilizing pressure-sensitive tapes.
Offsetting- This occurs when a printed tape is unwound and some of the printing is removed by the adhesive into the adhesive.
Polyethylene- This is a tough, stretchy film having very good low temperature characteristic.
Polyester- Is a strong film having good resistance to solvents, oils, moisture, and many other chemicals. Generally it is transparent.
Polypropylene- This is a cousin of polyethylene. It has similar properties, but is stronger and has a higher temperature resistance.
Pressure Sensitive- This term is often used to designate a distinct category of adhesive tapes and adhesives. In a dry (solvent-free) form they are aggressive and permanently tacky at room temperature. The tape firmly adheres to a variety of dissimilar surfaces upon mere contact without the need of more than a finger or hand pressure. They do not require activation by water, solvent or heat to exert a strong adhesive holding force toward such material as glass, paper, plastic, wood, cement and metals. Pressure Sensitive tapes have sufficiently cohesive holding an elastic nature so that in spite of their aggressive tackiness, they can be handled with the fingers and removed from smooth surfaces without leaving a residue.
Release Coating - This is a coating that is applied to the backing on the side opposite the adhesive that provides ease of unwind and prevents delamination or tearing. Without a release coating, the tape would adhere to its own back and would not unwind.
Self-Wound Roll- This is a roll of tape where each layer of tape is directly on top of the last one. The roll contains no liner.
Silicone- This is a unique polymer system that can be a very effective release coating, or pressure sensitive adhesive capable of functioning effectively at extreme temperatures.
Tacky- The condition of the adhesive when it feels sticky or highly adhesive.
Telescoping- When the tape layers slide sideways one over the other, the roll will look like a funnel or a telescope.
Machine Direction Tensile- Tensile strength is measured parallel to the length of the tape. Unless otherwise specified, tensile strengths are measured in the machine direction.
Cross Direction Tensile- When the tensile strength is measured at right angles to the length.
Wet Tensile- This is tensile strength of tae that has been kept wet for a specified period of time. Measures ability of tape to function satisfactory when exposed to moisture.
Uniformity- The consistency of a single type of tape either within a roll or from roll to roll or from lot to lot.
Posted by Nana Hinsley on Tue, Nov 03, 2009 @ 12:19 PM
This is an excellent question. It is important to know that not all plastics are created equal. For instance, that 4 mil and 6 mil Construction grade polyethylene sheeting in the construction aisle is the lowest grade of polyethylene sheeting available on the market at any given time. It is made from up to 25% post consumer recycled goods, reground resins, and the absolute least expensive resins that can be bought from any source in any location across the globe. These films are not guaranteed to be pinhole free, and can have quite a few defects that are acceptable in this type of film. The quality control for this type of film is the lowest in the plastic's industry. While it has been an acceptable practice to use quite a bit of this type of plastic sheeting in the past as vapor retarders, that has been changing over the last couple of decades to a very large degree.
Today most experts feel very strongly that engineered films designed specifically for use as vapor retarders should be used as vapor retarders. These products are made from 100% virgin resins, and have excellent quality control. Most are tested to a standard called the ASTM E1745, which is the standard for vapor retarders in contact with soil or granular fill used under concrete slabs. These materials are engineered not to decay in this type of application, whereas most construction grade poly will begin breaking down almost immediately and will have lost most of its structural integrity within 2 years. How many times have you dug up plastic sheeting in your life that is just destroyed from being buried in the ground? I know this is a bit off subject here, but the principles are even more important when dealing with vapor retarders for hardwood flooring, which is considered a critical application for vapor retarders.
It makes some difference what part of the country you are in, what kinds of humidity levels are common in your region, whether or not your home has a good quality vapor retarder under the slab, basement, or in the crawlspace. If you already have an excellent vapor retarder, then the one you use under your hardwood floor is far less critical. If you are putting a hardwood floor over a damp crawlspace, and use a poor quality vapor retarder, you are asking for a lot of problems with the hardwood flooring, and will likely suffer problems with buckling, warping, noisy flooring, lots of expansion and contraction, and often finish problems, just to name a few.
Should you be in an area where Radon is prevalent, or methane, then the use of a barrier with capabilities to retard these gasses becomes important also. Again these films are engineered to have a very tight cell structure capable of keeping these very small molecules from passing right through the membrane. These gasses, and to a very large extent water vapor pass quite easily through the cellular structure of common construction grade polyethylene (aka Visqueen).
This is kind of a long answer to your question, but the plastics in the flooring aisle are hopefully engineered to be better vapor retarders than the ones in the construction aisle. If one wants an even better vapor retarder, then one might want to contact a plastics company specializing in vapor retarders so you can find out which is most appropriate for your application. The vapor retarder is fairly inexpensive insurance for having a great experience with a hardwood floor as compared with what can be a nightmare experience when the wrong product is used.
By Lee Hinsley, Plastic Sheeting Expert
Posted by Nana Hinsley on Wed, Oct 28, 2009 @ 12:28 PM
Our company recently joined the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) so we can better understand how we can help our customers protect themselves from the ravages of fire. In the polyethylene industry, Fire Retardant products have been around for a few decades, but have really only come into their own over the past 15 years or so in the USA. Fire Retardant products were much more popular, and were specified on all construction projects in Europe many years before they became established in the USA.
Because polyethylene is made from petroleum/natural gas related products, in its natural state, it makes what Fire Marshals deem a "VERY EXCITING FIRE." When we make polyethylene fire retardant, we interrupt the combustion process using chemistry, so the products no longer contribute as significant fuel sources to a fire. Various additive packages made by additive manufacturers are readily available today, so we can make this a reality in most types of thermo-plastic or poly based products.
Many fire retardant plastics will still burn, but at a much slower rate, and at a much lower temperature, so they are not a significant factor should a fire occur. Standard plastics can be quite a significant fire hazard, and are even used as fuel sources in incinerators where "non combustible" items are incinerated. That should give one an idea how hot these materials can burn.
Fire retardant plastics are suitable for many applications within the construction industry, health care industry, shipbuilding and repair, cruise lines, military, government, laboratories, commercial buildings, scaffolding covering, and the list goes on. In fact, it is my belief that FR plastics should be used in any application where there is any potential for a spark or fire, or where increasing fire safety is beneficial.
Posted by Nana Hinsley on Tue, Oct 27, 2009 @ 01:47 PM
The victory comes for being remembered for the excellent work that was performed for the customer, not the contant reminder of the damage that was left behind.
1) Today's surface protection films (plastic sheeting/ polyethylene films) are inexpensive insurance against damaging customer's surfaces within work areas, reducing the amount of additional work and time spent repairing damaged surfaces.
2) Clean-upon job sites is a small fraction of the time when proper surface protection is used, especially when coupled with containment of the work area to keep the mess and dust to a minimal area. Tacky door mats can also be used just outside of the contained area, so any debris from the work area is not tracked into clean areas.
3) Probably the number one reason to use surface protection is the increase in customer satisfaction that takes place when the customers see how much the contractor cares about the customer's property. This is hard to measure in dollars and cents, but the increase in referrals is not so hard to measure.
4) Contractors save time and moneyon the job sites by using these measures. Workers tend to be more careful, realizing that someone has taken these steps to make sure the job site is kept in perfect condition, which also tends to make subs do a better job within these job sites. The quality of the workmanship actually increases in many cases, because the psychology changes within the work area.
5) When workers are enclosed with a containment, there are fewer distractions, so they tend to concentrate on what they are doing, rather than looking at everything going on outside of their work area.
6) The contractor's reputation and bottom line are the two things most affected by using good surface protection means. The surface protection protects the bottom line, and keeps the profit in the project. The contractor's reputation increases every time an extremely happy customer has a successful project they can build upon.
7) Makes it much easier to get that final payment from customers. Much less chance of little things holding up the final payment. How many times has that happened to you?
Posted by Nana Hinsley on Mon, Oct 26, 2009 @ 12:12 PM
In its simplest terms, the main difference between the different types of plastic is the way their cellular structure, or molecules bond with each other, and how tightly they are formed.
- 1) Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE), most common type of plastic sheeting, very flexible, most often from 0.5 mil thick to about 40 mil in flexible sheeting forms. Good conformability to surfaces. Because the cell structure is not as strong or dense as some other types of plastic sheeting, it is not typically as strong or puncture resistant as other forms or blends, but has thousands of common uses. Widely used for everything from construction and agricultural sheeting (often called Visqueen), Engineered Plastic Sheeting of countless types for such things as Vapor Retarders (also called Vapor Barriers by many), Surface Protection films, Pond and Canal Liners, Covers, Tarps, Abatement Plastic, Containment, packaging, and the list goes on.
- 2) Linear Low Density Polyethylene (LLDPE), blended form of LDPE where the film has much more flexibility, tensile strength, and more conformability. LLDPE is "softer" and more pliable, so is an excellent choice for such things as pond liners, or blended into other films to give them extra strength and flexibility. This is perfect for an application like a self-adhesive carpet protection film, where the film needs to have an amazing amount of strength in a very thin film to absorb impacts, but not tear or puncture. In this form of poly, the molecules all line up and strongly hold together as the film is stretched to give the structure much more strength and elongation than LDPE. Most common in thicknesses ranging from 0.5 mil to 40 mil in flexible plastic sheeting.
- 3) Medium Density Polyethylene (MDPE), the least commonly used form of polyethylene for flexible plastic sheeting. Has more strength than LDPE, a little more chemical resistance, tighter cell structure, more puncture and tear resistance. Often blended with LDPE and or LLDPE to give the attributes one is looking for in a particular type of film. For instance, many pond liners have MDPE to add some strength and toughness, without adding too much stiffness.
- 4) High Density Polyethylene (HDPE, aka HD), widely used for many applications. HDPE is the strongest, toughest, most chemical resistant, and least flexible of these four types of polyethylene. It also has the most UV resistance of the bunch without additive packages to increase this attribute. HDPE has a very tight cell structure, making it very difficult for other molecules to pass through its structure on a microscopic level. HDPE is the most easily field seamed of these products, and is generally used on an industrial level in thicknesses from about 12 mil to 100 mil thick. Most golf course ponds are lined with HDPE, most industrial ponds and canal liners, secondary containment liners, root barriers, many applications where chemical resistance is needed. This is also used in thousands or maybe millions of applications in thinner forms, especially in blends with the other types of polyethylene, because the HDPE adds much strength and toughness with its very tight bonds with other molecules.
The density of polyethylene is measured in a column of water, and they are all classified depending on ranges of density. LDPE (and LLDPE) are generally within the range of 0.919-0.924 g/cm³. MDPE are generally within the range of 0.926-0.940 g/cm³. HDPE are generally within the range of 0.941-0.965 g/cm³. These numbers can vary slightly depending on your source, and are not set in stone, just general guidelines.
Written by Lee Hinsley- Plastic Sheeting Expert