Posted by Nana Hinsley on Fri, May 27, 2011 @ 11:13 AM
If you are getting ready to have work done that could damage your counter tops, there are several polyethylene sheeting (plastic Sheeting) products that won't slip around on counters whether they are marble, Corian, or tile, and protect them during a remodeling job. The are self adhesive plastics as well as padded plastics to do the job.
Two such products that are both made from polyethylene. One is padded and stays in place without adhesive, the other is one is self adhesive. 
Countertop Plastic is a polyethylene film that is self adhesive on the side that makes contact with the counter. It will stay in place, protecting counters from paint spills and more. The other is a padded plastic, that will keep the paint off your counters and won't slip around. Please click on the links to learn more about each.This picture of the Padded Plastic is shown on hardwood floors, but it will work just fine on your counters.
Posted by Nana Hinsley on Wed, May 25, 2011 @ 05:03 PM
Question: Can I use any construction grade 6 mil plastic sheeting as moisture barrier for wood flooring?
Answer: 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 Thu, May 19, 2011 @ 04:48 PM
Question: What is the difference between a geotextile, a geomembrane, and a geosynthetic?
Answer: The major difference is permeability. A geotextile is any permeable textile which allows the movement of air, water and fertilizer. It is often used in landscaping projects and civil engineering applications such as dams,canals, airfields, roads and roofs. A geotextile is classified based on the method used to create the "fabric". It can be woven or non-woven plastic fibers or made from a cloth like material. It is usually made from polyester or polypropylene. The woven geotextiles are fabrics formed by the uniform and regular interweaving of threads or yarns in two directions thus having a visible construction pattern. Woven geotextiles are often used for soil separation, load distribution, reinforcement, drainage and filtration. Non-Woven geotextiles are felt-like fabrics that have random placement of threads in a mat and bonded by heat-bonding, needle punching, or resin-bonding. Un-like the woven geotextiles, their thread pattern is random without any any visible pattern. Non-woven geotextiles are often used for soil separation and stabilization, load distribution and drainage- but not for soil reinforcement such as in retaining walls .
Geomembranes are impermeable membranes that are used to line canals, pits, and ponds. They are also used in landfills to help prevent chemicals or other dangerous leachate from polluting surrounding areas.Essentially, geomembranes are useful whereverliquid movement needs to be controlled. They can be used for a backyard pond or for containing a hazardous spill from a chemical storage tank. They are a kind of geosynthetic material.
A geosythetics are man-made materials used to improve soil conditions. They are typically made from "plastics" that are biologically inert and will not decompose from fungal or bacterial action. Geosythetics purpose in life is to do the following when placed in or on soil: * Control water pressure to allow drainage * prevent soil movement * reinforce soil * separation/confinement/distribute loads- It can be used in banks, hillsides, roads, alleys etc.
Posted by Nana Hinsley on Wed, May 18, 2011 @ 12:51 PM
Question: We are a movie studio, making a movie that will involve pyrotechnics. We want to protect the wall on the other side of where an explosion will take place. Can you recommend some fire retardant plastic sheeting for us?
Answer: We believe the best product in the industry for this type of application is called PyroTarp. This is an amazing product, which will basically not burn up to about 2000 degrees F. This fabric is made with a refractory intumescent structure which performs the task of stopping fire cold. This would get me highest recommendation for this kind of application. In the past we have also provided some of our other fire retardant polyethylene based products to your industry. While these products are highly fire retardant, they are really made such that they will not contribute significantly as a fuel source in the event of a fire. These films melt at a fairly low temperature, so depending on what you are heading their direction, might not be the ultimate choice for the application where you absolutely know fire will be present.
Posted by Nana Hinsley on Thu, May 12, 2011 @ 02:10 PM
Question: What is meant by, "Mechanical Property Testing of a Geomembrane"?
Answer: Geomembranes serve often a critical role when used as liners. Sometimes they are keeping dangerous chemicals from coming in contact with the earth, thus contaminating the soil. Other times they are used in the formation of ponds, and must be pure enough so that fish can thrive, and not be poisoned by the off-gassing. Geomembranes are put through a variety of test to make sure they can effectively serve the purpose they are serving. The mechanical properties of the geomembrane include the behavior/response of the membrane under the following conditions: * a tensile load: How much of a load it can endur before it ruptures. * tear: The ability to withstand tearing * impact: The ability to stand up to impacts * puncture resistance: How strong is the membrane to punctures to rocks * interface shear strength between geomembranes and other materials * environmental stress cracking behavior * shear and peal mode seam failures. The mechanical properties are some of the most important properties to be tested due to their impact on how the geomembrane will hold up under the direct load of municipal solid waste, or sometimes hazardous waste materials.
Posted by Nana Hinsley on Thu, May 12, 2011 @ 10:32 AM
Question: We have seen “sticky” poly in action on one of our job sites (that was not necessarily the name of the product, but that’s what we called it). We were impressed with how well it worked to protect carpeting, hard surface flooring and walls – and can certainly see the potential of this product for future projects. How many products are there to chose from?
Answer: What you call, "Sticky Poly" is what we refer to as "Self Adhesive Polyethylene Sheeting." We have Carpet Plastic which is sticky to adhere to the carpeting an protect it. There is Countertop Plastic, Glass Plastic, and Floor Plastic. All of these products are self-adhesive films that protect countertops, glass windows and floors respectively. There is also a door mat like product called, Tacky Door Mats, that is a polyethylene film that takes dirt off of shoes. So many choices- so little time. Just give us a call, and we will be happy to help you.
Posted by Nana Hinsley on Wed, May 11, 2011 @ 05:17 PM
Answer: We supply a large quantity of liners specially designed for the crawlspace and basement industry. All of them have at least one white side, so the space becomes nice and bright, and things like spiders are easily seen if present. The liners that are most popular are in the 12, 18, and 20 mil range. All of these are extrusion laminated polyethylene sheeting products, with reinforcement layers. The "extrusion lamination" means the layers of the product are joined together using molten polyethylene to form a single product that will never come apart. Using multiple layers allows us to use some very strong types of polyethylene, plus some excellent barrier films to create a product that is much stronger, and has lower perm rates than one can achieve with a mono-layer liner (liner all made in one single layer). With any of these sheeting products, one can crawl around with little worry about puncturing through the liner. If you have sharp rocks underneath, then I would recommend the 18 or 20 mil products.
Our most popular products for this application are Dura Skrim 12WB, 12 mil, 12' x 100', and 6.167' x 100' rolls, Dura Skrim R20WW, 20 mil, 12' x 100', and Crawlspace 1800, 18 mil, 12' x 100' and 20' x 50'. All of these products are normally in stock for immediate shipment.
We also provide the two types of tape commonly used in this application. The first is Vapor Bond Tape, a seaming tape 4" x 210', designed to permanently bond the sheeting together wherever seams are needed, and to help seal around protrusions as the outer layer of protection. Second is Butyl Seal Tape, a very aggressive double-sided tape designed to seal between concrete or other substances, and the plastic sheeting. It can also be used between overlapped layers of plastic sheeting as a very strong barrier to moisture ever coming through. This tape remains permanently soft and flexible. Where the top of the plastic sheeting ends at the wall (preferably above ground level) we recommend mechanically fastening the material, through both the plastic and the butyl tape using either push in fasteners, or batten strips.
Posted by Nana Hinsley on Wed, May 11, 2011 @ 05:00 PM
Question: Do you have a geomembrane/liner that is inexpensive, waterproof, flexible and will last for many years in the sun? . I have a second story deck that I want to waterproof, so that the space below can be used as a patio as well as for storage. The plastic will be cut into sheets and attached between joists to form a "trough" to catch the water and run it run it away from the house.
Answer: We have recently helped a customer who is building drainage troughs between the joists on some aluminum gutters to keep the space below dry. He needed the product to last 25 years in direct sun. For this application we suggest our GPS HD 20 mil plastic sheeting. Please ask for Lee and he can review your options.
Posted by Lee Hinsley on Tue, May 10, 2011 @ 04:32 PM
Hospitals are often doing a search for, "Hospital Rated Visqueen". What they are referring to are the large number of uses for the types of products supplied by Global Plastic Sheeting. Some of the products and applications include:
-Tacky Door Mats (anti-microbial) for the entrances to operating rooms, and for helping contain contaminants in construction/maintenance operations
-Heat Shrink Wrap: This 9 and 12 mil Fire Retardant product is used to wrap and contain any areas needing to be sealed off for any reason
-ZipWall poles: used to create a containment, these pole and jack systems are easily set up to create a containment of any size
-Fire Retardant Plastic Sheeting: The most popular of our fire retardant sheeting for hospital applications is ASFR-6. This 6 mil Anti-Static Fire Retardant Plastic will not give off a static electricity discharge like normal plastics, so is safe around sensitive instruments. Also does not attract dust, and hospitals love that feature. We also stock everything from Construction Grade FR Poly, to Reinforced FR Polyethylene.
-DeckProtek is popular in Health Care applications- 10, 14, and 30 mil versions provide a high level of Fire Retardant floor or wall protection. While most of this is used during periods of construction or renovations, we have also provided it to cover the floors in emergency rooms, rooms where patients have radioactive treatments, where all surfaces must be covered, and many other applications
-Carpet Plastic FR: Self-Adhesive Fire Retardant covering for protecting carpeting, quickly, easily, and cost effectively
-Fire Retardant Tapes: 225FR Duct type sealing and seaming tape, 268 Black FR tape, and others to meet the FR needs of the health care industry
-Dura-Skrim 2FR and 10FR, 6 and 10 mil reinforced FR products with very low flame spread and smoke developed indexes can be used to cover or enclose any area
-Poly Srcim, various thicknesses and colors have been popular in health care. They all meet stringent FR standards, and are available in a variety of colors, which is sometimes requested.
-Fluted Plastic Sheets: These 4’ x 8’ FR sheets are used to erect many containments in hospitals, make temporary hallways, temporary walls, tough floor protection, cover walls to protect from workmen damage, make devices for entry into the ceiling tiles for pulling cables, etc.
-PyroTarp: Line of products that stop fire cold. Fabrics that basically will not burn up to at least 2200 degrees F, water based paint that stops a fire, and epoxy coatings that stop fires Cold!
If you would like to view these product in our On-Line store, please click here. 
Posted by Nana Hinsley on Thu, May 05, 2011 @ 12:22 PM
Have you ever had a surface that you want to protect, but you don't want to stick anything to that surface, and you don't want anything like visqueen that will slip around? Have you ever wanted something to protect a delicate product or surface, without sticking anything to that product, while holding in place without using tape! Behold, there is a solution. The solution is a cohesive wrap- a product that only sticks to itself! Cohesive adhesive system sticks "face to face" around any object, only sticks to itself, and won't leave behind any residue.You just wrap this padded plastic warp around your item and stick it to itself.
What are some of the uses for this cohesive wrap we call "EZ Wrap"? The marine industry uses it to wrap and protect poles, hand rails, pipes or odd shaped surfaces during refit. Homebuilders use it to wrap surfaces prone to scratching. It's the easiest way to keep them looking like brand new, regardless of the environment.
The outer covering is HDPE- a highly chemically resistant, solvent resistant, and salt water resistant. It has an inner foam layer to provide strong padding. It's the cohesive foam layer that is coated with the cohesive, so ti will onlyl stick to itself and leaves nothing behing. Best of all it is lightweight and easy to use!
Posted by Nana Hinsley on Wed, May 04, 2011 @ 05:11 PM
Great uses for a 15 mil Polyethylene Sheeting
Containment Liners: Containment liners are used for the containment of liquids preventing pollution or contamination of the earth.
Fish Hatchery Liners: Fish Hatchery Liners are used for aquaculture, aquaponics and commercial hatcheries for creating ponds to raise the fish.
Canal Liners: Canal Liners are useful for minimizing water seepage in a canal.
Farm Pond Liners: Farm Pond Liners are used to create ponds for farms.
Decorative Ponds Liners: Decorative Pond Liners can hold fish and vegetation.
Vapor Retarders for under slabs and in walls: often used as a vapor/moisture retarder underslab and within wall
Radon Retarder: Radon Retarders are specially made liners that will retard Radon gas.