Everyone knows that details determine success or failure. The quality and longevity of a project depend heavily on details. Here, we're referring to key details in the project, such as door and window openings and small corners. These areas are crucial; improper handling can create hidden dangers for the insulation system. Why? First, doors and windows are frequently touched and easily damaged. Damaged corners, if not repaired promptly, will eventually crack due to weathering and water seepage. Furthermore, the corners are where the stress on the external wall insulation is most concentrated, making them most prone to cracking. Because polystyrene boards are often intersecting at corners, variations of 5mm or more are common. Construction workers struggle to control the plaster thickness, and areas with uneven application can only be leveled with polymer and mortar. Applying too thick a layer can cause cracks. Moreover, polystyrene boards are glued on piece by piece; any quality issue during the assembly process can have significant consequences. Furthermore, the worker's skill, construction techniques, and selection of raw materials are all crucial. During high-altitude operations, the lack of coordination between the suspended platform and the construction workers, due to the platform's swaying and natural movement, makes construction difficult. Then there's the issue of the mesh fabric being uncooperative; during the overlapping and wrapping of corners, repeated squeezing is required, wasting time and making quality control difficult. Currently, we commonly encounter two problems. One is: when bonding polystyrene boards, using polymer mortar to level the surface from the inside out. This is a ridiculous practice, because everyone knows the problems that will occur if this material is applied too thickly. The reason for doing this is a gamble. First, cracking won't show up immediately. Second, supervisors can't clearly see some details underneath, and you can't demand improvement for things you can't see.
Then, during the corner wrapping process, the mesh fabric often bubbles, especially in small corners and edges. To avoid affecting the verticality of the corner and reduce the thickness of the plaster layer, the construction workers cut the mesh fabric with a utility knife and reapply the plaster. This defeats the purpose of wrapping the corner with mesh fabric. Why does this happen? The lack of cooperation from the suspended platform is one factor. Our workmanship is also crucial. If the process is changed, the mesh fabric should be laid from both sides of the corner, and then the corner protector installed. This avoids bubbling at the corner. Furthermore, corner protectors can conceal problems caused by excessively thick plaster layers. Even if problems occur, they are hidden inside the corner protector, not affecting the overall quality and appearance. Additionally, some mortar mixtures are improperly prepared and not strictly adhered to national design requirements. This creates hidden dangers in the project, and these dangers are not immediately visible. They may take a year or two, or even longer, to manifest. Once these problems appear, it is difficult to find remedial measures, repair costs are high, and it is difficult to ultimately determine who is responsible.
Why use corner protectors? What is the difference between using them and not using them? Corner guards maintain the verticality and horizontality of wall corners, effectively controlling the thickness of the plaster layer and preventing excessive shrinkage, which can lead to corner cracks. If a corner cracks, water seepage will occur. The polystyrene board suddenly absorbs a large amount of water, and as we all know, water flows downhill, so the seepage area increases, thus increasing the load on the polystyrene board. Currently, no more perfect method has been found to control this phenomenon in external wall insulation construction. The sudden influx of moisture is unacceptable to the polystyrene board; if not treated properly, it will retaliate, causing wall seepage, condensation, and cracking. At this point, we begin to ponder and search for answers: why does this happen, and where did the problem occur? The key lies in certain details. Construction at inside and outside corners is often done by feel, especially in hard-to-reach areas where there are no fixed standards. Construction workers, in their rush to save time and earn more money, often overlook these details, leading to problems. Furthermore, the intense sunlight after rain can cause a large amount of gas to form in the wall. If this gas isn't released promptly, it can cause the polystyrene board to detach from the wall. Even if it doesn't detach immediately, freeze-thaw cycles will eventually cause the wall to slowly crack, inevitably reducing the lifespan of the external wall insulation. Now, we use corner protectors to cover up these shortcomings, binding the corners together vertically and horizontally. Even if a single polystyrene board cracks accidentally, it's unlikely to cause widespread detachment of the entire system. With PVC corner protectors, it's impossible to make the corners crooked, as our products have a uniform thickness and size and come with a 10cm mesh, eliminating the need for complicated mesh wrapping. This increases the corner's impact resistance, making it easy to achieve perfect verticality and horizontality. It also extends the lifespan of the external wall insulation, improves the building's quality, and maintains the permanent aesthetics of the corners.
