BENEFITS OF USING THE SOFT BACKER ROD FOR CONSTRUCTION

There are numerous benefits of using a soft backer rod for construction projects. Soft rods are a type of polyethylene foam used to fill construction joints in different structures. They have an elongated cylindrical shape that allows them to fit easily into different types of joints. Just as the name suggests, they are soft, flexible and bendable. Therefore, they are easy to install since they can be compressed into joints without much struggle. Their flexible nature also makes them suitable to fill irregular joints. In such cases, the widest part of the joint is used to consider the diameter of the soft backer rod used. The rod can be compressed and forced to fit into the narrow sections of the joint. This type of rod can also be used to fill other types of joints such as coping joints, isolation joints, panel joints, glazing joints, control joints and expandable joints.

The soft backer rod is basically manufactured from closed cell polyethylene foam. Therefore, it is not vulnerable to most fluids. It cannot dissolve in water or other organic solvents that are corrosive in nature. In addition to this, it does not bond with the sealants during the formation of the joint. These properties make it suitable for the formation of a strong durable joint that can withstand harsh environmental conditions. The non-bonding nature leads to the formation of a two-sided joint that can expand or contract easily without interfering with the rod. Backer rods are generally used as a base for the sealants. Therefore, they reduce on the consumption of sealants during construction. This applies to all types of backer rods out there. The expandable nature of soft backer rods makes them suitable for the construction of movable joints. The reason behind this is quite simple. They can expand, contract and conform to the shape of the joint during various movements caused by contraction and expansion processes.