Watertight Expansion Joints and Construction Sealants by EMSEAL

Seismic Colorseal®

Watertight primary seal in wall expansion joints

NOTE: Wabo®Seismic WeatherSeal (SWS) will now be supplied as Seismic Colorseal. 

A wall expansion joint, Seismic Colorseal is a silicone-coated, precompressed primary seal for high-movement wall joints. Seismic Colorseal ensures watertightness in vertical-plane structural, seismic, and abutment joints  in almost any substrate..

Continuity of seal and continuity of thermal insulation throughout changes in plane and direction are hallmarks of Seismic Colorseal. The product’s ability to maintain watertightness when installed at inside corners, and while handling curves and direction changes further sets it apart from rubber-and-rail strip seals. Seismic Colorseal is positively secured without invasive anchors while color-switching makes the product aesthetically versatile.

Seismic Colorseal was developed to restore the function of the building envelope where it is breached by the location of a movement joint. As a result, the performance tests required to certify curtainwall and other building envelope systems are the basis of performance of Seismic Colorseal as well. Seismic Colorseal has been tested to and exceeds the requirements of performance tests including: for Water Penetration: ASTM E-331; Wind Loading: ASTM E330; Air permeability: ASTM E283-04; Sound blocking: ASTM E90-09; R-Value: ASTM C518-04; Low-Emitting Material : CDPH/EHLB/Standard Method Version 1.2, 2017; as well as in-house Temperature Stability, Bleeding, Staining & Recovery testing to ensure performance under conditions modeling real life.

Seismic Colorseal®

Watertight primary seal in wall expansion joints

Features

Sizes

1/2″ to 10″ | 12mm – 250mm

Note: Sizes under 1 1/2″ (40mm) are manufactured with a single bellows (See Colorseal-On-A-Reel) and are supplied as 10′ lengths on reels. Larger sizes incorporate multiple bellows and are supplied as 6.56′ (2M) long ‘sticks’.

Movement

Total 100% (+50% and -50%) of nominal supplied size.

Color

Uses

Watertight—the low tension silicone bellows is installed just back from the wall surface. This ensures watertightness is achieved at the face of the wall preventing water getting trapped against the substrates or within the joint cavity.

Non-Invasive Anchoring—there are no hard metal-to-substrate connections in the system. This includes embedded pins, anchors, screws, bolts or tracks, trays or rails that often damage sensitive substrates and act as a thermal bridge. Non-invasive anchoring means the system is locked to the joint faces by means of the 1) backpressure of the foam, 2) the injected silicone corner bead at the joint face to foam and silicone bellows interface.

Continuity of Seal—as in all EMSEAL expansion joint systems, continuity of seal through changes in plane and direction is an essential performance differentiator. Details for watertight, transitions using factory-fabricated Universal and Custom transitions pieces are available from EMSEAL. Seismic Colorseal Roof Closures are also available to ensure continuity of seal from wall joints to our RoofJoint roof expansion joint system.

Aesthetics & Versatility Standard colors, uniform bellows appearance, ability to handle variations in joint size are among other system features.

  • Produced by infusing a cellular foam base material with a hydrophobic-acrylic impregnation, and coating the surface with a high-performance silicone to suit the application.
  • The external silicone facing is factory applied to the foam at a width greater than maximum joint extension and is cured before final compression.
  • Silicone application and curing takes place in a temperature and humidity-controlled factory environment. This ensures, in contrast to field applied liquid sealant and backer rod installations (‘caulk-and-backer rod‘), that no movement takes place during curing that can cause deformation or stresses in the sealant material.
  • The material is precompressed to less than the joint size for easy insertion.
  • When compressed, a bellows is created in the coating. As joint movement occurs the bellows simply folds and unfolds free of tension on the bond line, and virtually free of tensile stresses in the silicone material.
  • The material is supplied in 6.56 LF (2m) shrink-wrapped lengths (sticks). After removal from the shrink-wrap and hard board restraining packaging, it expands gradually.
  • The foam provides a resilient backing to the silicone coating, making the system capable of resisting air pressure differentials caused by building climate controls as well as by wind, hurricane and tornado events.
  • Substrates must be clean, parallel, plumb, have sufficient clear depth to receive the material specified, and be capable of resisting 2.5 psi backpressure from the foam.

Universal-90’s
(US Patent 9,200,437; 9,637,915)

  • Universal-90’s (or U-90’s) are factory-made 90-degree transition pieces that ensure continuity-of-seal where expansion joints change plane.
  • Use of U-90’s eliminates the field work needed to make plane changes making overall installation fast and efficient.
  • Watertightness through the plane change is guaranteed–leaving nothing to chance in field-fabricating inside and outside transitions.
  • U-90 transitions are symmetrically coated on both faces allowing them to be installed as an inside corner or as an outside corner.
  • Straight-run sticks are joined in the field to the U-90’s.
  • U-90’s have a 12-inch (305mm) long leg and a 6-inch (152mm) vertical piece on each side of the elbow.

Custom-90’s
(US Patent 10,570,611)

  • Custom-90’s, are factory-fabricated inside and outside 90-degree transition pieces coated on just the weather-facing faces.
  • Custom-90’s are available when field conditions and measurements are known up front.
  • Custom-90’s are widely used in applications where numerous inside and outside 90-degree transitions are required. Consult EMSEAL.
  • As with any construction product, the useful life of the material can be maximized with routine inspection and repair if required.
  • Clearing of surface debris and inspection will reveal any damage to the product or adjacent substrates that might affect building performance.
  • EMSEAL precompressed sealants are easily repaired–requiring only damaged sections to be removed and reinstalled–not the entire length of the joint as is typical of extruded-seal systems.
  • Available for shipment internationally.
  • Prices are available from local distributors or representatives. For more information, contact EMSEAL.
  • The product range is continually being updated, and accordingly EMSEAL® reserves the right to modify or withdraw any product without prior notice.

Performance Testing:
Water penetration: ASTM E-331
Wind Loading: ASTM E330
Air permeability: ASTM E283-04
STC Rating: ASTM E90-09
OITC Rating: ASTM E90-09
R-Value: ASTM C518-04
Temperature Stability, Bleeding, Staining & Recovery

Physical Property Testing:
ASTM C661, ASTM C510, ASTM G26-77

  • Regional Materials
  • Low-Emitting Materials (CDPH/EHLB/Standard Method Version 1.2-2107) Certificate

Standards & Codes Recognizing CDPH/EHLB Version 1.2:

  • USGBC LEED Version 4
    • EQ Indoor Air Quality, Credit: Low-Emitting Materials
  • The WELL Being Standard
  • ANSI/GBI 01, Green Building Assessment Protocol
  • Green Guide for Healthcare V2.2
  • Collaborative for High Performance Schools
    • EQ 7.0/7.1 – Low Emitting Materials
  • California’s CALGreen Building Code