Which adhesive to use to glue together the individual synthetic turf carpet pieces that ultimately make up a field, is often left to the installer. It is something the tufter should provide guidance on and certainly something clients should consider as well when they really would like to get the kind of surface they have paid for.
By: Guy Oldenkotte
On face value, the industry that produces the adhesives used for gluing together individual synthetic turf carpet pieces is relatively transparent. There are adhesives for use for the “usual installation,” the ones that are done during the summer breaks, as well as adhesives that work best in cold or wet conditions. In short: there are enough options to do year-round installations. But the devil is in the detail, especially at a time when buyers of synthetic turf are willing to spend big money on a surface that is supposedly sustainable, and, ultimately, easy to recycle. For those surfaces in particular, it is the adhesive used that adds a definite touch, especially as the average football field usually has approximately 3,000m of seams. That is 3,000m of possible issues if the installation is done incorrectly or if a poor quality adhesive has been used.
From the ground up
Before we get into detail about the ingredients, the message that should stick is that it should be the tufter who decides which adhesive is best to use. In the end, it is their product that needs to be glued together. Here, it should be noted that the quality of the backing used is one of the determinates the quality of the result of the glueing process.
However, using the correct adhesive does not immediately guarantee the desired final result. Here, the experience of the installation crew makes a difference. That starts with treating the adhesive with the respect it deserves as well as taking ownership of the installation the client is actually paying for. Unfortunately, both are increasingly becoming rare, as the enormous pressure the installation teams experience, gets worse by the year. Their demanding work combined with the increasing number of installations they are expected to complete every month means that they are forced to work round the clock from early spring to late autumn, often from sunrise to sunset in order to finish the job quickly so they can move on to the next project. It doesn’t help the existing crews that it is getting more difficult to find additional members or replacements.
Treat with respect
The adhesives themselves should be stored onsite in such a way that they are not exposed to the elements. UV, temperature and moisture all have an influence on the effectiveness of the glue. Once opened, the adhesive requires time to “breathe”. This is widely accepted for a good bottle of wine, adhesives for synthetic turf are no different. Depending on the temperature, this can take anything from 20 to 50 minutes per bucket. Being clever by doing the same for multiple buckets simultaneously, won’t bring any additional benefit.
There is no set window of time that the bucket of glue needs to breathe. Here the experience of the installation crew counts. Only when they feel the glue is ready can, the activator be added and mixed. This is another process that doesn’t allow itself to be defined by a certain time window.
Once ready, the glue remains processable for approximately 45 minutes, depending on the circumstances.
Exactly the same basics apply to the carpet. Once offloaded, the various rolls should, preferably, be stored somewhere where the elements can’t make an impact. Influenced by temperatures, carpets can experience extensive expansion or shrinkage.
This needs to be controlled as much as possible as this will have a significant influence on the final result once the adhesive has been added, particularly when a field is installed that hardly uses, or actually doesn’t use any stabilising infill at all. As moisture has an influence on the final result of the gluing, backings getting wet from rain or “sweating” inside the plastic sleeve that acts as a protective cover should be avoided as much as possible.
The right ingredients
Checking the entire catalogues of all main producers of adhesives can take considerable time, unless you immediately zoom in on the various “flavours” for synthetic turf. Virtually all glues contain a plant-based oil, a reactive component (often Isocyanate) that achieves the chemical hardening which impacts the final strength and durability of the product itself, and which influences once applied, mineral fillings (usually chalk), plasticisers and additives. The different recipes of the various producers make all the difference. The real difference between the glues that the various manufacturers have available is between those for installations at average working temperatures (approximately 18°C) and one for installations where temperatures hover around 0°C. Claims about certain glues being suitable on fields with subsoil heating systems, are irrelevant. These heating systems, never produce temperatures of such a nature that they can affect the glue once the carpet has been installed.
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