In many cases, special meshes made of thin wire are used in construction, designed to reinforce cement screeds and plasters. Reinforcing metal meshes are also used to reinforce facade cladding, faience and terracotta linings, accumulating screeds for underfloor heating, floating screeds for thermal and waterproofing, screeds on balconies and terraces.
They are made of contact-welded wire rods of different diameters /1.6; 1.8 or 2 mm/ and have a hot-dip zinc coating, which protects them from corrosion.
The meshes are very convenient to work with because they have bent spacers that allow them to be easily placed in the middle of the layer of putty or plaster. Every two adjacent mesh sheets are placed by overlapping one square in width. If necessary, the meshes are shortened by cutting the wires with pliers, not with an angle grinder, so as not to burn the zinc coating.
WHERE ARE REINFORCEMENT MESHES USED?
The most common application of these nets is for reinforcing thin-layer cement screeds, their role being to protect them from cracking during the drying and hardening process. Another very common application of these nets is the reinforcement of so-called "floating cement screeds". Such a screed with a thickness of about 40 mm is laid over floor thermal insulation boards, with XPS boards being the most suitable for this purpose because they are pressure-resistant. It protects the thermal insulation from mechanical damage, evenly distributes the load on the floor structure and serves as the basis for the top floor covering - soft coverings, tiles or parquet flooring. This screed is necessarily reinforced and essentially represents a thin plate lying freely on the thermal insulation, without resting on the walls, i.e. it "floats" on it. Hence the name that has gained popularity.
A typical case is the construction of reinforced cement screed over underfloor heating systems, whose pipes or cables are laid in the cement screed. In this case, the role of the reinforcement is particularly important, because it protects the screed from cracking and possible peeling from the base due to thermal expansion due to its heating. In these structures, the mesh is placed in the screed layer lying above the heating system.
Reinforcing mesh is also used for outdoor terrace flooring. In this case, the reinforced cement screed is laid over the waterproofing tarpaulin and thermal insulation, protecting them mechanically, and the cladding tiles are glued onto it.
REINFORCEMENT MESHES ARE ALSO PARTICIPATED IN THERMAL INSULATION SYSTEMS
Recently, thin reinforcing meshes have found another, very rapidly expanding application - for applying reinforced plasters on thermal insulation systems, as well as for their cladding with decorative tiles. The technology for performing external thermal insulation requires that a thin putty of special glue be made on the glued and mechanically strengthened plates, which is necessarily reinforced with a fiberglass mesh. This results in a hard coating with a thickness of 6–7 mm, which tightly covers and protects the insulation plates - mechanically and against atmospheric influences. A very thin layer (2–5 mm) of artificial decorative plaster is applied to this putty.
In many cases, however, other solutions are sought for covering the thermal insulation, such as sticking with thin ceramic or plasticized cement mortar tiles, imitating decorative bricks or natural stone slabs. In such cases, the thin reinforced putty cannot bear the load, which is not small at all, since the facing tiles are not at all light, and the adhesive also participates in the system with its weight. Therefore, a steel reinforcing mesh is placed in the layer of adhesive with which the tiles are glued.
HOW ARE REINFORCEMENT MESH PLACED AND STRENGTHENED?
The fabric reinforcement mesh is placed on the thermal insulation from the bottom up, preferably lying on its long side. It is fastened to the wall using long polyamide dowels for thermal insulation with a PVC washer and nail. The dowels pass through the thermal insulation and enter the brick wall to a depth of at least 4 cm. For a cladding height of up to 3 m, 6 dowels are placed per square meter of mesh. They are driven in horizontal rows near the overlap of the meshes. It is good to know that when drilling holes for dowels in bricks or aerated concrete, the impact action of the perforator must be turned off. Otherwise, the hole will enlarge and the dowel will not rest tightly against its walls. For facades with a height of over 3 m, polyamide dowels with a steel nail are used, and their number increases to 8–12 dowels/sq. m.
The metal mesh thus takes the load from the cladding. The tiles are glued from bottom to top, and it is very important that the first row rests on a solid base, for example a concrete plinth. The adhesive is placed on the back of each tile and it is hammered into place. After the row is glued, the remaining cavity behind is filled with adhesive.
For higher claddings, the help of a structural engineer-designer should be sought, because the load is already critical, and a detached tile falling from a height can cause injury. Therefore, from a certain height upwards, in addition to gluing, the tiles must also be secured mechanically.
ADVANTAGES OF REINFORCEMENT MESH
- Prevents cracking and lifting of screeds and plasters
- In case of possible cracks, it does not allow the joints to expand
- Does not bend when walking on the reinforcement
- Does not rust – has a perfect zinc coating
- Allows for minimum screed thickness
- Bent spacers - no need to lay down stools
- Economical - overlap about 10 cm
- Does not float when applying the screed
- Does not damage foil insulation
WHAT DO WE OFFER?
With us you can find products with a wide range of applications. We also offer sheet metal and metal roof tiles, decorative products, fittings, etc.
In this product group in our store we have also included the extremely functional mosquito net for the door, which is simply a must for the house or cottage in the summer. It is fixed with magnets to the door frame and prevents any insects from entering the living space. This way the room remains open and the necessary ventilation is ensured.
The prices of the nets in our store are competitive with those offered by other retailers.
