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Outdoor Synthetic Turf Installations
Choosing and Using Adhesives

"Green strength" is an adhesive's ability to hold two surfaces together at first contact but before it is fully cured. High green strength helps prevent separation, curling, bubbling, lifting, creeping, slipping and wrinkling during outdoor synthetic turf installations without needing metal nails, sand bags and excessive rolling.

Because most synthetic turf installations are done outdoors, under variable weather conditions, there is much more to an adhesive's selection than its ability to stick based on indoor application and test conditions. However, most test results reported by adhesive manufacturers are conducted under those indoor conditions. It's a major reason why there are so many synthetic turf failures, especially at the turf seams, after aging outdoors.

Four important factors forsuccessful outdoor Installations

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1. The adhesive's ability to be used for installations in variable and sometimes adverse weather conditions is extremely important

Installation delays due to using "Fair Weather Only Adhesives" can slow down installations for hours, days or longer. That's lost installation time and money.      The adhesive manufacturer's literature often lists the conditions in which the adhesive should not be stored before use and/or conditions when the adhesive cannot be applied. They're worth reading and checking beforehand because you may be surprised at the narrow. If the literature doesn't say, then ask the manufacturer about storage temperature limits and installation conditions limits, like temperature, rain just before or just after installation, etc.

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2. An adhesive's high "Green Strength" during installation and not after cure is often the difference between an excellent and a not so good installation.

High green strength is the most important adhesive property during installation. Green strength (grab/tack as opposed to oily/slippery) is the property that gives an adhesive the ability to hold two surfaces together when first contacted and before (still green) the adhesive develops its ultimate bonding properties when fully cured. High green strength adhesives are vital for outdoor installations because they help overcome the tendency of surfaces like synthetic turf to separate, curl, bubble, lift, creep, slip and wrinkle during installation without resorting to metal nails, excessive rolling and/or "sand bagging." Furthermore, a high green strength adhesive must be practical to also handle hourly changes in weather conditions during the installation. An adhesive's high green strength is essential in order to overcome the previously mentioned troublesome forces of "wind lift;" buoyancy from unexpected rain; expansion and/ or contraction due to surface temperature changes from sunlight, shadows, passing clouds, etc.

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For outdoor installations, synthetic turf adhesives differ in their abilities to work under variable weather conditions, including hourly changes in those conditions. Adhesive manufacturers often list their limits as to when their product should not be used, such as when wind speeds exceed a certain amount, or when it is raining or there is a threat of rain before or after the installation.

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3. The adhesive must have superior exterior durability after aging and weathering in all types of outdoor conditions that exist throughout the world.

After the installation is complete and the adhesive has cured, aging and weathering occurs. Many adhesives initially give a good bond, which tends to fool installers about aging, weathering and long-term durability. Some adhesives were never tested for those important long-term properties. Hence, many adhesives deteriorate later and fail, particularly in the seams.

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4. Metal nails should never be used to permanently install turf

Nails can cause injuries from walking on the turf with bare feet or from falling onto the turf. There is also the risk of tetanus infections from rusty nails, which can be deadly. Additionally, there is a remote, but also potentially deadly, possibility of lightning attracted to the metal nails.

In summary, safe, durable, long-lasting and profitable installations result when an adhesive can be applied and used in variable weather conditions; it has a high green strength; superior outdoor aging and weathering; and for safety reasons, nails are avoided.

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