LAYING RESIN HOT WEATHER
With many of us throughout the UK experiencing extremely warm weather conditions, it has brought to light some of the challenges that may be faced when attempting to lay resin bound stone outside of the optimum conditions.
It is well known that cold conditions can have an adverse effect on resin bound stone installations but what many don’t realise is that in areas of intense heat, this may also be problematic. The reason for this essentially boils down to the viscosity or the thickness of the resin.
Most resins used for the purpose of resin bound stone are designed to perform at their peak at 23 degrees Celsius – the viscosity of the mixture will increase/get thicker as the temperature drops and will decrease/get thinner as the temperature increases. The result is that once the temperature rises, the decreased viscosity will cause the resin to become too thin and ultimately will not stick to the aggregate as expected, this will cause the stones to get loose over time and fundamentally mean that the installation will require repairs.
That said, it is not impossible to combat these issues. Any experienced contractor would allow for certain weather conditions and can prevent the viscosity of the resin decreasing too much by the controlled use of thixotropic agents which when used correctly can achieve the equilibrium viscosity for the project as required.
For more information on how we can assist you with your resin bound stone requirements, please contact us on 0800 195 63 95 for a free of charge quotation.
