What Are the Different Types of Construction Adhesives?

When it comes to constructing a building or structure, both the quality of the materials utilized, and your building plans play a major role in whether or not a project is successful. Although there are many different construction adhesives available, knowing where to buy the best adhesives can come in handy.

Learn about the different adhesive types, how to choose the best one, and where to buy them below.

What Is Construction Adhesive?

Construction adhesive is a multipurpose adhesive that attaches tile, molding, drywall, and fixtures to walls, ceilings, and floors. It is often in tubes and used with caulking guns to join two surfaces together. The substance is as strong and reliable as rivets, screws, or nails.

The best construction adhesives are surprisingly simple to apply for home remodeling projects. The adhesive, sometimes known as liquid nails, is also perfect for do-it-yourself home improvement jobs. We’ll walk you through all you need to know, so don’t worry if you’re not sure how to choose the best type of adhesive for your needs.

Different Types of Construction Adhesives

Understanding how each type of glue interacts with diverse materials is important when choosing the best adhesive for a project or repair. Manufacturers create adhesives for almost all applications. Listed below are the different types of adhesives you can use.

Epoxy Resin Adhesives

Epoxy resin adhesives may be structurally attached to most materials, including metals, ceramics, construction adhesive wood, and plastics. These adhesives & wood glues also highly tolerate temperature changes and solvents. The components of an epoxy adhesive system are a base resin, an accelerator, a hardener, fillers, flexibilizers, additives, and diluents. Epoxy resin adhesives depend on the base resin used in their production for their chemical resistance and thermal stability.

Hot Melt Adhesives

A hot melt adhesive is a thermoplastic adhesive frequently sold as cylindrical sticks with different diameters. The sticks fit on a hot glue gun with a constant heating element. Hot melt adhesives can coat entire surfaces before solidifying into a polymer when heated to a liquid state. That is why most industrial sectors value these universal fast adhesives for their safety, durability, and environmental friendliness.

Acrylic Adhesives

Acrylic adhesives are resin-based adhesives made of acrylic or methacrylic polymers. An acrylic adhesive is effective at forming several connections and is very strong. Due to its resistance to environmental conditions, including intense sunlight and heavy rain, it is popular in the building business.

Water-Based Adhesives

Water-based adhesives, often known as waterborne adhesives, can either be delivered as solutions or dry powders. However, they are mixed with water before using dry powders, and this is because water-based adhesives gain bonding strength as they lose water through absorption or evaporation.

Remember that most water-based adhesives don’t have a long shelf life, making protracted storage impractical.

Solvent-Based Adhesives

The efficacy and efficiency of solvent-based adhesives depend on the formulation’s polymer system. Since most solvent-based adhesives are universal fast adhesives, they include flammable solvents. Therefore, it is crucial to exercise due caution to reduce the possibility of a fire. A solvent-based adhesive’s total viscosity rises after application because the solvent evaporates.

Anaerobic Adhesives

Anaerobic adhesives consist of di-methacrylate monomers and only cure in the absence of oxygen. Anaerobic adhesives are less harmful, milder, and don’t corrode metals than other adhesives, making them perfect for construction use.

Pressure Adhesives

These construction adhesives are low-modulus elastomers requiring little deform pressure and can apply to wet surfaces. They are often purchased as tapes or labels for non-structural applications and are highly durable for light-load applications.

Electrically Conductive Adhesives

Electronic applications frequently employ electrically conductive adhesives, particularly when an electrical current must transfer between two or more components. 80% of the ingredients in this kind of adhesive are conductive, and it dries in less than two minutes.

Plastisol Adhesives

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) particles dissolved in a plasticizer make up plastisol adhesives. They are appropriate for use in construction because of their high flexibility and excellent peel resistance. Plastisol adhesives’ sensitivity to shear stress is the main issue, though.

Thermoset Adhesives

The majority of thermoset adhesives are two-part products. The desired setting time is obtained by mixing resin and hardener. Even though the resin and hardener are both usable in one-part form, these are less frequent because they must be at low temperatures. A substantially shorter shelf life can come from storing them at high temperatures, which can cause the desired reaction to happen too soon.

How to Choose the Right One for You?

Now that you know some of the most common adhesive types, let’s discuss the factors you should consider before making a purchase. The following considerations are essential to choosing the finest glue for you because each type of adhesive has distinctive qualities.

Surface Type

Surface type is a reference to the surfaces you intend to bond. This surface should be your top priority because choosing the wrong adhesive on a specific surface will be ineffective. There isn’t a single construction adhesive that suits all applications; instead, various adhesives function by forming molecular bonds with the construction material.

Construction adhesive wood, glass, concrete, and metal have different molecular and chemical characteristics. For example, adhesives & wood glue like epoxy resin adhesives work best with construction adhesive woods.

Conditions

Conditions here refer to the surroundings or the settings under which you will be bonding the surfaces. It is important to consider because, in addition to other safety features, certain adhesives also offer water- or UV-resistant qualities.

Durability

Durability means how long the glue will last. While external circumstances can affect durability, you should opt for long-lasting adhesives.

Drying and Curing Times

The drying and curing times are the lengths needed for the adhesive to dry and cure. Although there is no “right” or “wrong” drying or curing time, if you’re short on time, you might want to use adhesives with a faster rate of drying or curing.

Application

For construction adhesives, there are a few distinct application techniques. Although the application method is not the most important consideration when purchasing, you should ensure you have the time and resources to use it. The instructions on the product or the manufacturer’s website will explain how to use it properly.

Where to Buy Construction Adhesive in Canada?

SSG Brands is the distributor for Akfix, Tover, and Jesmonite in Canada, the USA, Puerto Rico, and various countries worldwide. Regardless of your upcoming project, each of our top adhesives & wood glues offers something worthwhile.

You are welcome to browse our wholesale building supplies and pin your favorite product for further thought and consideration. Shop online or get in touch to find a dealer near you to see where you can buy construction adhesive.

Also read: What Are Wood Oils and What Do They Do?