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Polyethylene sheeting has many names. It goes by the names visqueen, poly sheeting, plastic sheeting, plastic film, polyethylene sheet, and poly film to name a few.  Polyethylene sheeting is a plastic film made from petroleum. That is why the price of the product can vary depending on what oil prices are doing. It is sold in rolls where in additives can be added to change the functionality of the film.  Additive such as U.V. inhibitors, fire retardants, anti-static  additives are added so each variation can best serve it's intended use. Additionally plastic sheeting comes is a wide range of thicknesses. The thicker the virgin film, the stronger it is. The film gets "thicker" as the numbers of "mils" increase. A 10 mil film is thicker than a 3 mil film and so on.

Polyethylene sheeting (film) has a big role in offering plastic protection. It is used in construction as vapor retarders, window films, flooring and counter top protection, and even in roofing. Polyethylene sheet can be used to seal off rooms, cover building materials, and be used in lead abatement projects.  There are so many variation of the film, each one engineered for its project. The key is to educate yourself of the options so you get the most useful film to make your job easier.  For example, why use a drop cloth on carpeting when you can use self adhesive plastic that sticks to the carpeting. If you knock over the paint can, the carpet won't get ruined. A drop cloth can easily be moved and not protect where you thought is was.

Even though polyethylene sheeting takes a hit from environmentalists for its slow rate of decomposition, HDPE plastic sheeting is there to protect he ground water from toxic chemicals from oil drilling or from landfills.  It is used to slow run-off on hills, and keep lead out of the ocean during shipbuilding projects.  Polyethylene sheeting is such a versatile product used in all aspects of life.

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So often people want to understand how the thickness of polyethylene is measured. In this article we will touch on the density of polyethylene.  Much of the Global Plastic Sheeting website is dedicated to a wide variety of polyethylene such as high density polyethylene, low density polyethylene and the like.  How is the density of these plastics measured?  The density of polyethylene is expressed as g/cm³. This is how the industry distinguishes between the various grades of poly discussed above.  The variation comes from the differences in crystallization structure that forms during polymerization of ethene. 

LDPE (Low Density polyethylene) had a density range of 0.910 to 0.940 g/cm³.

HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) has a density of greater or equal to 0.941 g/cm³.

MDPE (Medium Density Polyethylene) is defined by a density range of 0.926 - 0.940 g/cm³.

LLDPE (Linear-Low Density Polyethylene) is defined by a density range of 0.915 - 0.925 g/cm³.

What is fascinating is how close the densities actually are to each other, yet each form of polyethylene has unqiue characteristics.

Geosynthetic, Geotextile, Geomembrane- what's it all mean?  There are many words starting with the three letters "GEO" (Geotextiles, Geogrids, Geonets, Geomembranes, Geosynthetic Clay Liners, Geofoam, Geocells, and Geocomposites).  All these words fall under the grand category of Geosynthetic.

A geosynthetic describes classes of products that fall within the polymeric family.  They are used in both environmental projects and civil engineering projects.  Due to their polymeric composition these products are excellent candidates to be used in the ground where high levels of durability and longevity is required.  An added feature of these geosynthetics is their ability to hold up in exposed weather conditions.  Applications for these geosynthetics include, landfill liners, oil field drilling, erosion control, canals, resevoirs, aquaculture and agriculture.  What makes geosynthetics super stars is the fact that they don't easily degrade when buried in the environment. This is crucial in applications where it is essential to protect the ground water and the soil below the toxic contaminants that are often laid upon these Geosythetics.

Under the umbrella of geosynthetics falls geotextiles. They are one of the two largest groups of geosynthics.  Geotextiles are a fabric/ textile but they are made from synthetic fibers so they can have a long life protecting the environment.  Geotextiles are porous to allow liquid to flow through them, but to varying degrees. Geotextiles have four main functions, they separate, reinforce, offer filtration and/or drainage. 

The next large group of geosynthetics are geomembranes.  They represent the largest volume of dollars spent in the geosynthetic market.  Geomembranes are the work horse for containing dangerous toxic chemicals and the like.  Geomembranes are surprisingly thin, and their primary job is containment. They not only contain liquids, but they stop roots from wrecking chaos to adjacent structures and sidewalks.

Question:   I am looking for a plastic sheeting product that will adhere to concrete. I need to protect holes in precast concrete structures from filling with water.  Will your Glass Plastic product stick to a very smooth concrete finish? 

Answer:  If you were to try to use Glass Plastic on concrete, regardless of how smooth the finish, you would swear it had no adhesive.  Yet if you took the same roll and tried it on glass, it would stick beautifully.  Part of what we take advantage of with glass protection is the ionic nature of glass. 

For your project, a much more aggressive adhesive would be needed.  This depends on how smooth the concrete being covered is, and whether or not it has been sealed.  We have had quite a few customers use one of our products to cover concrete while they are re-surfacing asphalt parking lots. This is honestly about the only experience we have with covering concrete, because we normally recommend against it.  The product that has been used is a 6 mil film with an adhesive system called 479.  It is fairly aggressive as surface protection films go, but this is normally needed to adhere to concrete, and even then the concrete needs to be pretty smooth or it will not adhere well enough to support its own weight.

It is important to know how long the film would be in place.  Surface protection films must be applied to cured surfaces in temperatures fairly close to room temperature for the adhesive systems to “wet out” properly.  In colder climates, quite a few of our customers warm the rolls, and say they work pretty well on colder surfaces.

Microscopically speaking, concrete has a very open porous system, and it often holds quite a bit of moisture.  Moisture is the enemy of adhesive systems of the types used on surface protection films.  A water-based adhesive system is slippery until the water is removed, then it becomes sticky.  If water is present it can re-hydrate the adhesive system to some degree, and cause not only the loss of adhesion, but can also cause adhesive residue transfer.  If the surface protection film is left on concrete for an extended period of time, adhesive residue transfer becomes more and more likely.  Really the only applications where we have had reports of it being used successfully are for days, not weeks or months.

If the concrete is sealed, then the film adheres much easier, and the chances of problems are reduced significantly.  Once the film is well adhered to sealed concrete, it will usually stay adhered, even during inclement weather.

If you want to experiment we can send some samples for you to test.  Yours is a difficult application for anything self-adhesive unfortunately.

We are often asked, "what is the best tape to use with vapor retarders?" Essentially here are three tapes which are ideally used with vapor retarders. 

For seaming, we have an excellent Vapor Tape, which has been formulated to be waterproof, and to stick extremely well to polyethylene vapor retarders.  It also seals well around protrusions. It is a single sided tape that tear easily

Another frequently used tape is called Butyl Seal Tape.  The Butyl tape has a reinforcement between double coated adhesive sides.  This double-sided tape is used to attach vapor retarders to foundation walls, to protrusions, and ideally between overlapped layers of the vapor retarder as added insurance against penetration by water or water vapor (and many other types of vapors).  This tape is permanently flexible, completely water-proof, and is incredibly sticky.  It creates a permanent seal, which does not lessen over time.

 Very few tapes are as ideally suited to this difficult application as these two tapes.  First many tapes do not adhere well to polyethylene sheeting of any kind.  Second, the introduction of water or water vapor on a long-term basis adversely affects many tapes. Many tapes and types of adhesives age over time, and basically deteriorate.  The tapes we use are high performance tapes that have been tested and used in these applications for decades.

Question:  What is the difference between ASTME 84 and CPAI-84?

Answer:  ASTM E-84 measures the flame spread and smoke index, which are considered the surface burning characteristics of a material.  Depending on the numbers, materials can have classifications of Class A, B, or C according to NFPA , ANSI/NFPA No. 101, "life Safety Code" , 2006 Edition, or IBC (International Building Code), 2006 Edition, Chapter 8, Interior Finishes, Section 803,  if they pass any level of this standard.  The test is conducted in a fire tunnel using a 22" x 24' sample of the material.  The ignition source is 7 seconds in duration, total test is 10 minutes.  The flame front cannot exceed 24" during the test.  Results are expressed as Flame Spread Index, and Smoke Developed Value.

CPAI-84 does not measue flame spread. It measures the char length and mass lost as well afterflame.  CPAI-84 does not insure that a fabric is flame retardant.  It is a test method for evaluating the flame resistance of fabrics and other materials such as plastic sheeting.

Reinforced plastic sheeting is also referred to as "string reinforced plastic", "Scrim reinforced liners" and "cord reinforced liners" to name a few.  Reinforced plastic sheeting can come in clear, natural, black, white, blue, or any color your heart desires. The key for a custom color is quantity. 

Reinforced plastic sheeting is used for a multitude of applications.  The fact that it is string reinforced makes this plastic sheeting hold up under harsh environments. The string not only adds strength to the plastic, but it inhibits/ stops tears in the vicinity of the puncture.  Due to its versatility, one of its popular uses is as an enclosure film.  Builders will use it to enclose an area when they are are working to keep the elements out. They may also want to keep dust from traveling to another part of the building.

Reinforced Plastic Sheeting can be used as a hay tarp.  UV additives are added to the formulation so the tarp will not readily disintegrate in the sun.  Hem and grommets can be added to this reinforced liner in order to hold it in place. 

The theater is another place you will see scrim reinforced plastic sheeting.  When hung on stage, lighting can be placed in a variety of places to create the desired effect.  It is used as a way to portray a revelation about one thing or another.  It can give off a ghostly vanishing effect. Again, the uses are endless.

Click here for a selection of reinforced plastic sheeting options. It's such a great product that can be reused when properly cared for.

Question:  Which NFPA code covers structures such as haunted houses?

Answer:  NFPA 101 3.3.25.8 defines haunted houses as, "a building that is temporary, permanent, or mobile that contains a device or system that conveys passengers or provides a walkway along, around or over a course in any direction as a form of amusement arranged so that the egress path is not readily apparent due to visual or audio distractions or intentionally confounded egress path, or is not readily available due to mode of conveyance through the building or structure.  Such structures include amusement such as haunted house, a roller coaster type ride within a building, a multilevel play structure within a building, a submarine ride, and similar amusements where the occupants are not in the open air."

If you visit the NFPA site you, look for section NFPA 101 12.11 (Assembly Occupancies) and section 13.4.7 (Special Amusement Buildings), you will find requirements for Haunted Houses.  The local fire authority has jurisdiction over enforcing all applicable fire and life safety regulations.  We have heard from haunted house customer after customer who has had their haunted house shut down on the spot for not having fire retardant plastic sheeting. Non-fire retardant plastic goes up in flames in a flash. This is why fire marshal's insist upon Fire retardant plastic- whether it is black or white.

Contact Chanel at 866-597-9298 if you would like to know more. You have quite a few options when it comes to obtaining fire retardant products.

Question: Can I use any construction grade 6 mil plastic sheeting as moisture barrier for wood flooring?

 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!