Gulf Construction Online - Additive promises to resolve sticky issues

UAE Focus

Poraver ... cost-effective option.

Additive promises to resolve sticky issues

01 April 2009

GERMANY’S Dennert Poraver aims to raise the bar in the tiles adhesives, repair mortars and insulating plaster segments with a lightweight aggregate used their production.

Called Poraver, the product has been launched in the UAE through local distributor Dubai-based Taj Al Mulook (TAM).
Poraver is a lightweight aggregate made from recycled glass, offering very low density and high-compressive strength, excellent thermal and sound insulating properties, and is resistant to chemical and alkaline attack, says Nadeem Raza, chief operating officer of TAM. In addition, it is non-combustible, weather resistant, inert and – due to its amorphous glass structure – prevents a silicosis hazard, he adds.
According to Raza, dry mortars containing Poraver are suitable for bonding and armouring all types of insulation panels. “They are up to 34 per cent more effective in terms of thermal conductivity and energy saving than other conventional dry mortars,” he says. “The beauty of this additive is that it drastically reduces the weight of the end-product and so reduces the dead weight of the final structure. This leads to considerable cost-effective foundations design.”
Raza sees good scope for Poraver in the tile adhesives market.
“Tile adhesives are a highly segmental market, where high-quality CT1 and CT2-classification adhesives represent less than 15 per cent of the total adhesive market share,” he explains. “It is, nevertheless, a significant market throughout the Gulf, and particularly the UAE for five-star hotels, business towers and residential villas and palaces.”
He continues: “The importance of a quality adhesive cannot be overstressed. Recently, at a prestigious project in the Dubai Marina, high quality Italian wall tiles were specified, but sub-standard quality adhesives were used. The result was that, as tiling progressed upwards, the tiles on the lower floors fell off with many breakages.”
This is a problem that needs to be redressed, says Raza. “Whilst the architect and consultant working can specify the requirements, it is the contractor who ultimately makes the final decision on what materials are used, working to his ‘bill of quantity’ – where price is the determining factor to his profitability. It is, therefore, important that we highlight the true quality of the Poraver aggregates and its key benefits such as cost-effectiveness and durability.”
To this end, TAM is offering a range of Poraver products between 0.1 and 0.3 mm, and 1 and 2 mm for commercial batch trials. Manufacturers in Europe have found that grain sizes 0.1 to 0.3 mm and 0.25 to 0.5 mm ensure a smooth consistency and seamless handling during the mixing and application of the adhesive, TAM adds.