What's the stuff called for filling gaps in windows?

[Kitty]

What is the French (or English for that matter) for the stuff that builders use to fill in gaps when they are installing windows.  It's yellowy and looks like polystyrene and gets injected in with a gun-type tool.

I have a new wooden garden shed (with no floor) that has just been erected onto patio tiles. The rain gets in by falling on the tiles and then seeping under the first course of wood.  I was thinking that I could seal it with this window stuff.  Cheaper than putting in a floor.

Help me out someone!

 

[Pierre ZFP]

I think you mean expanding polysterene foam.  You can get it in a presurised can for a one-off use as the gun is quite expensive.  It's very good and I think it is a brilliant idea you have.  Be warned that you will only use the can once as the jet invariably get clogged up and that this stuff expands a LOT (as I found out when I was a bit too enthusiastic filling up a gap once)  Oh yeah, wear old clothes as if you accidently get any on you as it won't come off.

[Alex H]

Mouse expansif (sp?)(I think - I don't have a can here [:)])

You can get in in Mr Bricolage in many colours - I accidently bought a lime green can - just as well I was painting over it [:)]

[Ford Anglia]

Yes Mousse expansif, and it DOES come off with Acetone.

[Chancer]

Not when it has cured and grafted to your skin it doesnt!

[Kitty]

Ok thanks.  The Forum comes up trumps again for me.

I'll be off tomorrow to Gedimat or Point P or M Bricolage and I'll don my overalls and gloves, once armed with the lethal can of mousse expansif.....

I'll let you know the results later this week.  Await with baited breath....

 

 

[Weedon]

Cathy....whilst in theory the expanded polystyrene works fantastically well for filling gaps, I am assuming here that you don't actually have much of a gap in which to squirt the stuff.  This polystyrene stuff comes out with a bit of a rush and you don't have much control over how much is laid in a straight line, eg. along the inside edges of your shed walls.  If you have never used this E/P before, and it sounds like you haven't, it's going to make a helluva mess.

Have you thought about lifting the shed slightly, and whilst supporting it, squirting some silicone around the base before lowering the shed down onto the silicone.  After cutting off the excess on the inside, you could then apply a neat amount all the way around where the shed walls meet the tiles.

The trouble is when asking for advice a dozen people reply giving you a dozen ways of doing it[8-)]

[Kitty]

[quote user="Weedon"]

Cathy....whilst in theory the expanded polystyrene works fantastically well for filling gaps, I am assuming here that you don't actually have much of a gap in which to squirt the stuff.  This polystyrene stuff comes out with a bit of a rush and you don't have much control over how much is laid in a straight line, eg. along the inside edges of your shed walls.  If you have never used this E/P before, and it sounds like you haven't, it's going to make a helluva mess.

Have you thought about lifting the shed slightly, and whilst supporting it, squirting some silicone around the base before lowering the shed down onto the silicone.  After cutting off the excess on the inside, you could then apply a neat amount all the way around where the shed walls meet the tiles.

The trouble is when asking for advice a dozen people reply giving you a dozen ways of doing it[8-)]

[/quote]

Interesting idea.  I have an English builder here so I'll have a word with him.  The shed is just about liftable, I think.  One of my worries is that in a storm (like the 1999 one), the shed may fly off and land in the Gironde.

 

[Framboise]

Ah the Wizard of Oz in France.......................

We used that stuff and it acts like it has a mind of its own, so before you know it there are yards of stringy bits poking out of all sorts of nooks 'n crannies you didn't even realise were there.   Have also seen it force someone's roof tiles up and made their leak even worse than it was before they tried to repair it with expanding foam.  If you can mask off the area in question somehow that would help though.

As weedon says, another different way of doing it [:)]

[robbie]

I would go for lifting it and then resting it on a smaller/narrower piece of treated wood. That will then give you more of a gap to use the foam from the tin. The power of the foam should (I think) help support the weight of the shed too when it has cured so will be as good as putting it on a solid floor direct. It will allow you to get a better thickness of foam in the area and hence a better seal.

I dont know how wide the base of the shed is, but if the new piece of wood was of the right size, it may allow a bead of foam on BOTH inside AND outside the shed with a nice double seal. A bit more messing around bt might be worth thinking about

There's yet another way of doing it [:D]

[Weedon]

[quote user="Cathy"][quote user="Weedon"]

Cathy....whilst in theory the expanded polystyrene works fantastically well for filling gaps, I am assuming here that you don't actually have much of a gap in which to squirt the stuff.  This polystyrene stuff comes out with a bit of a rush and you don't have much control over how much is laid in a straight line, eg. along the inside edges of your shed walls.  If you have never used this E/P before, and it sounds like you haven't, it's going to make a helluva mess.

Have you thought about lifting the shed slightly, and whilst supporting it, squirting some silicone around the base before lowering the shed down onto the silicone.  After cutting off the excess on the inside, you could then apply a neat amount all the way around where the shed walls meet the tiles.

The trouble is when asking for advice a dozen people reply giving you a dozen ways of doing it[8-)]

[/quote]

Interesting idea.  I have an English builder here so I'll have a word with him.  The shed is just about liftable, I think.  One of my worries is that in a storm (like the 1999 one), the shed may fly off and land in the Gironde.

 

[/quote]

 

Funny thing is...well it is now.  In the hurricane of 1987 I was standing at my bedroom window watching my roof slates landing in a heap on the ground, when all of a sudden my next door neighbours shed landed in my front garden, thing is it was originally down the bottom of his back garden.

Best tack a card with your address onto the door[:-))]

[Kitty]

The shed is for my 8 year old son, who yearns to have his own den.  He has his spy kit ready - periscope, listening device, invisible ink etc.  He has already made a hole in one of the knots so that he can see our voisins coming and going.

Upon taking occuaption, expect a mixture of dead tadpoles, dirty socks, aviation stamps from Hungary, lego window, one Action Man boot, a red crayon, pair of pants 18 days' old, half-sucked gobstopper, a copy of March 2006's Beano....

Bring back memories, boys?

 

 

 

[Cendrillon]

"Cathy....whilst in theory the expanded polystyrene works fantastically well for filling gaps, I am assuming here that you don't actually have much of a gap in which to squirt the stuff.  This polystyrene stuff comes out with a bit of a rush and you don't have much control over how much is laid in a straight line, eg. along the inside edges of your shed walls.  If you have never used this E/P before, and it sounds like you haven't, it's going to make a helluva mess."

 

Some of the people who have been on the forum for years may remember an amusing post by Swissbarry who used this type of product which got out of control and grew and grew!

[Weedon]

[quote user="Cathy"]

The shed is for my 8 year old son, who yearns to have his own den.  He has his spy kit ready - periscope, listening device, invisible ink etc.  He has already made a hole in one of the knots so that he can see our voisins coming and going.

Upon taking occuaption, expect a mixture of dead tadpoles, dirty socks, aviation stamps from Hungary, lego window, one Action Man boot, a red crayon, pair of pants 18 days' old, half-sucked gobstopper, a copy of March 2006's Beano....

Bring back memories, boys?

 

 

 

[/quote]

Those were the days my friend, we thought they'd never end, we'd sing and dance for ever and a day...............

[Jonzjob]

The last time I used it the valve stuck open when I was putting the spout/tube on. Our dog was quick enough to get out of the way, but the only way that I could contain it was to grab a BIG black bin bag and chuck it in there. I contacted the makers and they asked me to send the container back to check. It was found to have a faulty valve. They told me to use sunflower oil to get it off our outside kitchen wall and any clothes and skin. It worked, but the stain didn't come out of the reconstituted stone wall. It's gone from my skin, but that was about 5 years ago!!

Oh, and as a matter of interest they sent me a cheque for £100 to compensate me for the inconvenience!!

I have used it again to seal the outlet pipe for our new loo where it comes out of the wall, BUT I was ready to run like hell!! Me nervous??[:-))]

[Pierre ZFP]

Same sort of thing happened to me but I didn't have the presence of mind to bin or throw the can away.  I ended up looking like the Michelin Man.  There was so much of the stuff on me you could have chucked me off a high building and I'd have bounced. [:'(]  I had to throw away the old shirt and trousers I was wearing.  Not a pretty sight, me standing in the garden dressed only in me undercrackers trying to get rapidly setting foam out of important little places (you have no idea how well it sticks to hair).  Didn't know to use acetone or sunflower oil but on second thoughts the acetone could have made things worse in places and as for the oil....well that would have given the neighbours something to talk about!

Never thought about contacting the makers either [:(]

[Chancer]

I find that the aerosol type cans of the stuff can only be used once as no matter how little you use or how well you clean them they are blocked the next time.

By the time you have thrown away a few of these not to mention have to go and buy a new one, and it will always be too late to get there before the 2 hour lunch! You might as well have bought the professional gun.

Once bought you will wonder why you ever used anything else, it is controllable down to the smallest bead and as long as you firmly screw closed the regulation screw after use you can leave the can connected without any risk of hardening.

And if that is not enough to convince you it works out cheaper to use the professional refill cartridges.

[mikeyg47]

Cathy,

You could always get some damp proof membrane or polythene and cut a strip (around 150mm or less), fix it around the outside bottom edge of the shed to give the water somewhere to run off and disperse. This would be a neat and tidy solution and would provide a waterproof skirt around the edge where the shed meets the floor.

Hope this helps.

Mike

 

[Ford Anglia]

[quote user="J.R."]Not when it has cured and grafted to your skin it doesnt![/quote]

Give over..........once it's cured, it just rubs off[:D]

[Kitty]

Well - I have bought the mousse expansif today - only colour, yellow.  I was going to try one of the other solutions suggested but thought that this mousse sounded more fun!  Live dangerously.  And it was on offer for 7 euros...

It's raining today so I can't use it.  I shall have a go on the next sunny day and let you know the results.  I am going to put a piece of wood on the other side (a sort of splint) so that it can't go wild.  I can't wait.  I have dirty overalls ready and I haven't painted my nails - only joking.  I have gloves as well.

Thanks for all your help.  Watch this space...

 

[Ford Anglia]

Hint: if you read the instructions carefully, you'll see that it adheres to, and expands better when in contact with, a damp surface.

Also, you can't OVERdo the shaking before use[;-)]

[Weedon]

[quote user="Cathy"]

Well - I have bought the mousse expansif today - only colour, yellow.  I was going to try one of the other solutions suggested but thought that this mousse sounded more fun!  Live dangerously.  And it was on offer for 7 euros...

It's raining today so I can't use it.  I shall have a go on the next sunny day and let you know the results.  I am going to put a piece of wood on the other side (a sort of splint) so that it can't go wild.  I can't wait.  I have dirty overalls ready and I haven't painted my nails - only joking.  I have gloves as well.

Thanks for all your help.  Watch this space...

 

[/quote]

As you say...the mousse sounds more fun.  But please..please take pictures so we can all join in[:D]

[BIG MAC]

I work in the construction Industry and recently recieved a technical bulletin relating to aerosols of expanding foam. Apparently a chap was killed recently by a can exploding and the base of the can hitting him on the chest with such force that it stopped his heart!

Has anyone thought of using foam strip with an adhesive backing to form a gasket between shed and tiles? neater, quicker, easier and as effective.

[Kitty]

Well - I have survived!  [:)] The foam (mousse expansif) didn't win - I did. [:D]

Very carefully and cautiously, it was difficult getting a straight line but the result is pretty good.  The foam is light cream and so it looks quite nice.  I'm putting a ground sheet over it anyway.  I have at least half a can left, which I shall have to jettison as the foam will stick in the tube - it was very tempting to continue with another line to use it all up (the result of paretns living through war time and expecting to use everything).

By asking on this Forum, I was far more careful.  If I hadn't, I would have just merrily done it without realising the potentially disastrous consequences.  I can see how easy it is to go wrong.

Thanks for all your suggestions.  It was great fun and I'd use it again.

 

[Kitty]

[quote user="BIG MAC"]

I work in the construction Industry and recently recieved a technical bulletin relating to aerosols of expanding foam. Apparently a chap was killed recently by a can exploding and the base of the can hitting him on the chest with such force that it stopped his heart!

Has anyone thought of using foam strip with an adhesive backing to form a gasket between shed and tiles? neater, quicker, easier and as effective.

[/quote]

Big Mac - thanks for your idea, which came too late for me to try.  I won't leave the half used can around for the children to pick up by mistake.  I'll take it to the dechetterie.