RAL quality mark awarded for classic joint sealing tape

The award was made on 5 April at one of the press days at company headquarters in Aalen held by ISO-Chemie to celebrate its 40th anniversary as a manufacturer.

Handing over the award, Bernfried Stache, CEO of the RAL quality association for joint sealing components and systems, explained that the RAL quality mark is coupled with a number of special conditions.

“The RAL quality association for joint sealing components and systems has stipulated particular quality and testing provisions for joint sealing tapes. ISO-BLOCO 600 was successfully tested against these stringent criteria by ift Rosenheim,” said Bernfried Stache.

Durable weather-resistance

Permanently elastic RAL joint sealing tapes such as ISO-BLOCO 600 consist of a pre-compressed PUR soft foam impregnated with a flame-retardant synthetic resin.

They are used to create air tight seals that are resistant to driving rain for connecting and movement joints in buildings. At the same time, they offer both UV resistance and durability.

The open-celled material structure required by the RAL quality association (as offered by ISO-BLOCO 600) creates a seal that is permeable to vapour diffusion.

Any moisture enclosed in the joint can thus be dissipated inwards or outwards in a controlled manner according to the heat flows.

Compliance with quality and testing requirements confirmed by ift Rosenheim

In its test report, ift Rosenheim confirmed that ISO-BLOCO 600 fulfils all the requirements concerning temperature stability range, thermal conductivity, building material class B1, resistance to vapour diffusion, BG 1 classification, resistance to driving rain of at least 600 Pa, joint permeability above a-values up to 0.1 m³/[h•m•(daPa)n] and soundproofing values up to 58 dB. It also received positive results for suitability for overpainting and compatibility with adjacent materials.

The available dimensions reliably seal joints from 2 to 42 mm. The joint sealing tape is also excellent to use as it can be installed in any weather and the joint requires no pre-treatment. ISO-Chemie also offers a 10-year functional warranty and a particularly long shelf life of at least two years.

Natural weathering with 10 years external monitoring

RAL quality-assured joint sealing tapes require regular testing to DIN 18542 for airtightness and resistance to driving rain up to at least 600 Pa.

The quality and testing requirements demand both monthly in-house monitoring and a biannual external inspection by a neutral testing institute.

These characteristics must be maintained even after 10 years of natural weathering; this is checked on an annual basis.

At the award ceremony, Marketing Manager Inge Knorn explained: “To demonstrate the lasting airtightness and resistance to driving rain of our ISO-BLOCO 600 joint sealing tape, we started a long-term test on the roof terrace of our company building over 10 years ago. Since then, the joint sealing tape has been exposed to sun, rain, snow, wind and temperature changes all year round without any protection.

ift Rosenheim has been monitoring this long-term test right from the start. Since the initial, as-new test, the naturally weathered joint sealing tape has been tested every year for the required airtightness and resistance to driving rain.

The open air endurance test shows that the ISO-BLOCO 600 joint sealing tape is still fully functional and unchanged even after 10 years of natural weathering.

Quality and planning advice for emission-free products

ISO-BLOCO 600 also stood out with respect to hygiene, health and environmental protection. The quality joint sealing tape has long been rated "very low emission” by the GEV mark EMICODE® EC1 PLUS.

This premium classification by the Gemeinschaft Emissionskontrollierte Verlegewerkstoffe, Klebstoffe und Bauprodukte e.V. (GEV) means maximum possible protection against ambient air contamination. 

Where sustainability is concerned, ISO-Chemie impresses across the board with an environmental product declaration (EPD) for its range of sealing tapes and its certification to the ISO 14001 international environmental management standard.

As a manufacturer of quality-assured joint sealing tapes, ISO-Chemie offers installers, architects and specialist planners comprehensive support with its “BAUFUGE 4.0” concept, which includes training courses, e-mail and telephone support and on-site advice.