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What preparation steps are different when applying adhesive with a roller?

Before applying adhesive with a roller, it is crucial to ensure that the substrate is extremely clean. When you are standing to apply the adhesive with a roller, you may not see grains of dirt or other debris that you might otherwise would have noticed with a trowel application. It is always a good idea to vacuum the floor with a high-quality vacuum system before application. In addition, make sure that your floor is flat (as opposed to smooth). Roller-applied adhesives go down very thinly, so any substrate defect left on the floor is probably going to show through. We recommend using a MAPEI self-leveling compound before installing Ultrabond ECO 379 to ensure a flat, porous substrate on which to work.

How is Ultrabond ECO 379 different from Ultrabond ECO 373 or Ultrabond ECO 399?

Ultrabond ECO 379 differs from its sister products in that it is specifically designed to be applied using a roller. Its viscosity is low and easy to apply using a roller, but it would be difficult to apply using a notched trowel. If necessary, Ultrabond ECO 379 could be applied using a trowel, but the result might be a bit messy if the trowel is moved quickly across the floor as with Ultrabond ECO 373 or Ultrabond ECO 399.

What are the advantages of roller-applied flooring adhesives like Ultrabond ECO 379?

There are a few great reasons why applying a flooring adhesive with a paint roller is a good thing. The first, and probably the most obvious, is that you get to apply the flooring adhesive from a standing position. It's no longer necessary to crawl across the floor on your hands and knees when you can stand up and apply using a roller. Another advantage is that your coverage will increase on a per-gallon basis. Roller-applied adhesives typically are applied rather thinly, which extends the coverage by as much as 50% – a real savings on a per-square-foot basis. Yet another advantage to applying adhesive with a roller is that the drying time is much faster than with traditional trowel applications. Being that it is applied in a thin coat, the adhesive flashes off quickly, allowing for flooring installation much faster than with traditional methods.

Can I install carpet tile using Ultrabond ECO 379?

Yes, you can install any form of carpet tile into Ultrabond ECO 379.

Does Ultratop [NA] (self-leveling, sealable/polishable topping) meet – or exceed – LEED, Cradle to Cradle, Red List, etc., requirements and guidelines? Is it eco-friendly and not harmful to the environment?

Ultratop [NA] contributes to the following LEED credits:

MRc4 Material Ingredients – We do not have Cradle to Cradle; instead, we have Manufacturer Inventories (or, MIs). Our third-party-verified MIs contribute to 1.5 products for projects pursuing LEED v4.1 certification or by substituting any LEED v4 credits with LEED v4.1.
IEQc2 Low Emitting Materials – We have SCS Indoor Advantage Gold VOC emissions certification, as well as SCAQMD-compliant VOC content.
Red List is for Living Building Challenge projects; we provide project-specific Red List letters upon request.
We also have Sustainability Product Reports available for all our Ultratop products.

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Why are there so many trowel recommendations per adhesive type?

The reason for so many trowel types is that there are so many flooring types. Think about what is being installed: Everything from thin vinyl sheet to 3/4" solid hardwood flooring. Each flooring material has unique properties. For example, a thin vinyl sheet is very flexible, so you don’t want heavy trowel notches on the floor as they will show through to the surface of the vinyl (an effect called “telegraphing”). So for thin resilient flooring, we typically recommend very finely notched towels. Wood flooring, on the other hand, has a variable backing structure. Some can be smooth and others grooved or cross-cut, so you need a trowel notch that can lift and shape the adhesive in such a way that it comes into solid contact with the flooring material. Further, wood flooring is very rigid and does not bend or conform to the subfloor. Therefore you need to use a trowel notch that accommodates for subfloor flatness and still brings the adhesive into contact with the back of the flooring. Using a thin-notched trowel for this would not allow for proper adhesive transfer. The same thing is true of broadloom carpet. Typically broadloom carpet has a rough-textured backing. In order to get proper performance out of a carpet installation, you need to make sure that the adhesive gets into this texture and that is why this application includes recommended trowel notches that create high ridges. In summary, smooth-backed flooring materials are typically installed using finely notched trowels while texture-backed materials get installed with larger-notch trowels.

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Does Mapecrete Protector FF (single-component polish guard) meet – or exceed – LEED, Cradle to Cradle, Red List, etc., requirements and guidelines?

Mapecrete Protector FF contributes to the following LEED credit:

IEQc2 Low Emitting Materials – We have SCS Indoor Advantage Gold VOC emissions certification, as well as SCAQMD-compliant VOC content.

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How long does an adhesive trowel typically last?

The answer to this question depends on what substrate you are working over. If you are installing adhesives over soft surfaces like plywood, then a trowel can last quite a while. If you are installing over a concrete or hard, abrasive surface, then a trowel may last about 2,000 square feet before the notches wear down. An installer may think that this is a good thing because his coverage will get better per gallon of adhesive, but in the end this is not a good situation as there may not be enough adhesive on the floor for proper bonding. Some trowels may last longer, but this is always something to check before getting started on any given flooring project: Make sure that your trowel is in good condition and will deliver the right amount of adhesive required for the project.

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Does Primer SN [NA] (two-component, filled, epoxy primer) meet – or exceed – LEED, Cradle to Cradle, Red List, etc., requirements and guidelines?

Primer SN [NA] contributes to the following LEED credit:

IEQc2 Low Emitting Materials – We have SCS Indoor Advantage Gold VOC emissions certification, as well as SCAQMD-compliant VOC content.

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What is the proper way to hold a trowel?

For most trowels used for floor-covering installations, the correct angle to hold the trowel is 45 degrees to the floor. There is a reason for this angle. First, the angle creates a bit of a hydraulic pumping action by compressing the liquid adhesive and forcing it through the notches. If you were to hold the trowel at a 90-degree angle to the subfloor, you wouldn’t get the compressing action and would just cut through the adhesive on the floor. Without the compression from the 45-degree angle placement, the adhesive may actually skip through the trowel notches and leave you with an undesirable result.

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Why should I be concerned about moisture content in a concrete slab?

Because you will be directly touching it with an adhesive and flooring material, both of which may not function properly when in contact with a damp substrate. For example, if your goal was to install a solid vinyl sheet flooring over a damp concrete slab using a wet-lay, water-based adhesive, once you covered the adhesive with the sheet vinyl there would be nowhere for the moisture in the adhesive to absorb into; the existing moisture would remain in its liquid state and the installation would be a mess. Another example would be to install prefinished solid wood flooring using a urethane adhesive over a damp concrete slab. The urethane adhesive would cure nicely because it cures by coming into contact with moisture, but the wood flooring would absorb moisture coming from the slab and cup, warp, curl or swell – causing a nightmare of a problem. The bottom line is that there's a reason for the moisture-limits statements of adhesives and flooring materials. As such, the installer should calculate the appropriate measurements for moisture to determine if he can proceed or if he needs to do something more to isolate that moisture from the flooring installation. Learn more here:

What does "working time" mean?

This term refers to the amount of time, after the open time or flash time (if any), during which the adhesive you just applied will accept the flooring material and still provide an adequate bond. If you leave certain adhesives open to the atmosphere for too long, they will skin over or cure out and not be wet/sticky enough to accept the flooring material. In other words they will dry out. It is important to note that working time is often affected by the ambient temperature as well as the ambient humidity. For example, in arid parts of the country when the temperature is very high, working times will be much shorter for water-based materials but much longer for moisture-curing materials. Areas of high humidity and high temperature will have longer working times for water-based materials but potentially shorter working times for moisture-curing products. Cold temperatures are going to slow everything down whether the products be water-based or moisture-curing. For reactive adhesives like epoxies or epoxy-modified polyurethanes, temperatures will greatly affect the working time. Reactive adhesives are very sensitive to temperature, so cold conditions will extend the working time and hot conditions will speed things up.

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