5 pages TUFF-TAC TM BRIDGE MEMBRANE INSTALLATION GUIDE The following will describe the proper procedure to use when installing Tuff-Tac TM bridge deck membrane. The guide will cover recommended tools to use, deck preparation before membrane installation, the membrane installation and the procedures to follow when placing the asphalt-wearing surface on the membrane. TOOLS RECOMMENDED 1. Application tools or equipment to apply the 9. Tape Measure Adhesive/Primer. (See adhesive application 10. Gloves (solvent resistant) Section) Material can be applied with brooms, 11. Screw Driver squeegee s and rollers, or spraying equipment 12. Caulking gun. 2. Utility Knife 13. Garbage bags 3. Chalk Line 14. Rags 4. 6-foot Broom Handle or equivalent 15. Citrus cleaner 5. 20lb propane bottle 16. Tiger Torch 6. Stirring Paddle, or Jiffy mixer blade with 7. Drill 8. Soft Push Broom and/or Asphalt hand roller The above may not be all the tools that an individual installer could use, but these tools are enough to perform a proper installation. MATERIALS NEEDED 1. Tuff-Tac Bridge Deck Membrane 2. InfraPrimer S 3. SBS Mastic Edge Sealer All the above materials can be ordered through your Canadian Construction Products Representative, a Canadian Construction Products Distributor, or by calling Canadian Construction Products direct at (604) 888-7171. PACKAGING AND STORAGE Tuff-Tac TM membrane is packaged in a reflective, high optical density wrapper material that provides protection from ultra-violet light during storage. However, it is recommended that the product be stored in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight. Storing the membrane in the sun on a hot day may make the membrane very sticky and hard to work with. On cooler days one may want to keep the membrane in the sun prior to placement to enhance the tackiness. Infraprimer should be stored at room temperature in a dry place until used. SBS Mastic edge sealer should be stored in a covered location and at room temperature prior to placement. DECK PREPARATION Tuff-Tac TM membranes can be placed over all types of new or old deck surfaces. The decks can be concrete, asphalt, wood, or steel. 1
DECK TYPES 1. New concrete decks must be properly cured before membrane is applied. That curing time will be a minimum of 14 days or otherwise specified by the engineer. The surface texture must be smooth enough to avoid tenting of the membrane. Prior to placement of the membrane, the deck should be lightly sandblasted or hydroblasted and compressed air cleaned to remove loose surface material. A. Old concrete decks must be in good structural shape. Remove all sharp projections, repair all broken concrete, and fill cracks and holes over 4mm using Stop-A-Drop liquid membrane. Use proper patching methods and materials to accomplish a long-term successful waterproofing job. B. Old concrete decks with a membrane and asphalt overlay, will require that systems removal before the Tuff-Tac TM system is applied. All of the old membrane must be removed exposing the concrete deck. If milling is used to remove the old asphalt and membrane, a smooth surface with less than 5mm grooves needs to be left so the membrane does not tent over the deck surface. CCP recommends a profilemilling drum be used, that has a 5mm spacing between teeth. If the milled surface is not smooth enough, a thin scratch/leveling course of asphalt using a maximum aggregate size that is one half the thickness of the overlay lift to provide a surface that is acceptable for membrane placement. 2. Old Asphalt bridge decks are not common not recommended for membranes. Canadian Construction Products recommends the use of Stop-A-Drop liquid membranes. Please contact your Canadian Construction Products distributor for more information. 3. Wooden bridge decks do, on occasion, require membrane waterproofing. Whether new or old the deck planks must be secured in such away to not allow individual planks to walk, which will cause reflective cracking and membrane failure. When possible a scratch/leveling course of asphalt should be placed on the wood deck to provide a smooth surface to place the membrane on. If the membrane is placed directly on the wooden deck, nailing using roofing nails is required to prevent slippage between the membrane and the wood. Contact your Canadian Construction Products distributor for more information on nailing procedures. 4. Steel bridge decks on a new surface will require a scratch/leveling course of asphalt applied to it. If the deck has an existing waterproofing system already installed, some or all of the old system needs to be removed, and a scratch/leveling course must be placed. It is not recommended to mill the old material to the steel as the cutters will gouge the steel causing sharp protrusions that can puncture the membrane. The scratch/leveling course will cover any fasteners that hold the steel deck in place, and/or provide a good surface for the membrane to bond too. GENERAL DECK PREPARATION PROCEDURES Once the deck type has its primary preparation done, the primer must be applied. The deck must be clean, dry, and free of all loose debris. Start by thoroughly sweeping or compressed air cleaning the surface to remove latent material, stones, and debris that will effect adhesion or puncture the membrane. 1. Treat oil/grease contaminates with a suitable detergent or solvent to prevent interference with adhesion. Make sure these areas are dry before continuing. 2. Use dry compressed air to remove any loose dirt, grit, sand, stones, pebbles, etc left after sweeping. 3. Apply the adhesive primer to fully coat the surface without pooling. Do not let the sealer stand overnight uncovered to minimize dust collection on the deck which would adversely affect adhesion of the membrane. 2
DECK MOISTURE CONTENT Primarily on concrete decks that have received a high level of rain the moisture in the deck should be checked to help prevent membrane blistering. To see if the deck is dry enough for the membrane system application, use the plastic sheet method to determine moisture content. Place an 18-inch square piece of plastic or membrane on the deck. Put weight on the piece to hold it in place for one half-hour. Remove the plastic or membrane piece, turn it over to see if the surface that was against the deck is wet and look at the deck area for moisture. If either is moist or wet you cannot apply the membrane system. An artificial method, such as infrared heating can be used to accelerate the drying time. Once dry, the system installation can proceed. EDGE SEALER APPLICATION SBS Mastic should be applied as a generous continuous bead to all membrane system edges, cuts, and patchwork. Patches shall have a continuous bead of mastic on the cut out section, the patch is placed on top, and mastic is placed at the perimeter edge of the patch. As a preferred alternative, Stop-A-Drop rubberized liquid membrane can be substituted for the SBS Mastic. ADHESIVE/PRIMER INSTALLATION Canadian Construction Products Tuff-Tac TM is to be installed with Infratech Polymers Inc. Infraprimer TM S. Please read all data sheets pertaining to the Adhesive/ Primer being used. These products are solvent based and require the use of a respirator. 1. Open the container and thoroughly mix the Adhesive/Primer. The use of a jiffy mixer blade and drill is recommended for the 5- gallon containers. Always premix immediately prior to spray applications. 2. Application rate is 0.15 to 0.25 litres per sq.m. NOTE: AGAIN, THE DECK MUST BE CLEAN AND DRY BEFORE YOU APPLY 3. The primer after placing must dry to an almost tack free surface. This drying takes around 60 minutes on a 70 degree day. Moisture in the air and temperature will speed up or slow down the drying time. Do not apply membrane to Adhesive/Primer that is not dry. 4. Apply the Adhesive/Primer only to the deck area you intend to cover in a 24-hour period. Primed surface aged more than 24-hours or otherwise contaminated with dust or dirt should be re-primed with a very light coat of Adhesive/Primer. For enclosed areas or areas sensitive to solvents, Infraprimer TM E, a water carried primer is also available. 3
MEMBRANE APPLICATION 1. Application of the membrane can start once the Edge Sealer and Adhesive/Primer is in place and dry. On crowned deck surfaces place membrane sheets in a shingle fashion working from the curbside to the center crown. On flat deck surfaces start at one curb and proceed across to the other. Measure the width of the deck in at least three places and divide the widest number by 1.1m (the width of a roll minus the overlap) to get the number of sheets it will take to cover the deck width. You want to minimize the number of sheets, therefore having the fewest longitudinal seams. 2. Once you have decided the number of runs that it takes, put a chalk line 1.2m (48 inches) from the curb. You want the first sheet to be as straight as possible which allows the following rows to lay easily. Start the roll with the Zip Strip away from the curb, laying that edge on the chalk line. 3. The manual placement of the membrane requires 4 people. One person holds the beginning of the roll in place, at the beginning of the deck. Two men roll out the membrane using a broom handle or similar device guiding the edge so it follows the chalk line. The fourth person will remove the release film from the bottom. That person pulls the film off at a 45 degree angle, to the placing direction. This helps keep tension on the membrane as it lays down minimizing the wrinkles. Once the roll is down the first person needs to push the membrane into good contact with the deck using a push broom or a hand roller. 4. A second method can be used on a cooler day, when the Adhesive/Primer is not as tacky. Roll the membrane out on the deck, lining it with the chalk line. The first person holds the beginning of the in place. The second person holds the end the roll in place. The third person pulls the release film off in the same way as the first method except the membrane is on the deck. This method also minimizes wrinkles. It is important to not trap air under the membrane, and to work out all air that may be trapped. 5. If more than one roll is needed to cross the deck, start the second roll overlapping the first roll by 150mm (6 inches). This transverse joint will need to be heat sealed. We recommend heat sealing to be completed at the end of the working day. If you have an extra person, they can heat seal as the job progresses. Heat Sealing is the process of using a propane torch and heating the membrane area you want to seal. Look for the point when the top of the membrane shows signs of melting and apply even pressure along the seam. The technique should not take a long time to learn, but make sure you do not apply too much heat and melt through the membrane. Use a tiger torch or roofers torch to completed heat sealing. A unit that uses a 20 lb. propane bottle is sufficient. 6. Once the first row of membrane is completed, start the second, overlapping the leading edge of the first row, the width of the Zip Strip which is approximately 4 inches wide. Use the edge of the Zip Strip release film as your guide. Do not remove the Zip Strip release film until the complete roll is in place on the deck. Start at one end of the roll and pull the Zip Strip release film from between the overlapped rolls. 7. The transverse joints must be staggered. This can easily be done by using the piece of roll that was cut of on the first row to start the second. It is very rare to get a bridge that has equal length to the rolls. 8. Continue to place rows until the center of the bridge is reached. If the bridge is closed completely then start laying membrane from the opposite curb to the middle. Overlay the two sides with a center stripe as roof is overlapped at it peak. If the bridge must be opened to traffic on one side before the other side can be waterproofed, then leave a minimum of 8 inches of membrane exposed from the asphalt end on the first side. 4
When overlapping longitudinal seams that do not have a Zip Striped edge, you need to allow 6 inches of over lap to insure a good seal. All edges that are overlapped without a Zip Strip between the overlap, must be heat sealed. 9. At the end of each work day it is recommended that all transverse and longitudinal joints are heat sealed as stated in the previous item. Do not leave a partially complete job overnight without heat sealing. Exposed edges improperly set can allow unexpected rainfall to penetrate under the membrane system. Canadian Construction Products recommends the use of a Stop-A-Drop 100mm wide edge band on all daily edge terminations on incomplete membrane systems. 10. Patches: There is always a chance to trap a small stone under the membrane when placing it. The stones must be removed so they do not puncture through when the asphalt is placed. To remove the stone make a C shaped cut around the stone. Peel back the membrane, remove the stone then push the membrane back into place. Cut a 6 inch by 6 inch patch from a piece of membrane to cover the cut. Place it over the cut and then heat seal the patch. Similarly, cots, nicks, gouges, rips, tears, etc. are repaired using the same procedure. Refer to edge sealer procedure for mastic work. 11. Curb Strips: If required by specification, this detail strip is positioned so the curb strip edge is 12mm below the top of the proposed wearing surface. Adhesive primer needs to be applied on the vertical curb surface, to the height of the finished surface. Establish a reference by striking a chalk line. Curb Strips are installed before the deck membrane is installed, but it does not change the curb detail involving the SBS Mastic. Heat sealing the curb strip to the deck membrane and to the curb is required. Use a small trowel to press the vertical edge against the curb as you are heating it. Again make sure you are not over heating the membrane. 12. The Asphalt Overlay needs to be applied as soon as possible after the membrane installation to avoid damage to the membrane. The asphalt temperature needs to above 290 degrees F and all areas are compacted to specification to insure good bonding. Minimize equipment turning on the membrane, causing damage. This covers the entire general requirements for Tuff-Tac TM membrane installation, if you have any questions on this Guideline or on an issue not covered, please contact Canadian Construction Products technical department, or contact your local Canadian Construction Products Representative. Revised: 05/08/06 5