Tip for anyone using expanding foam tape in hot weather or a warm house put it in the fridge to cool. It stops it from expanding too quickly. We had to keep a fridge on-site during the summer months whilst installing timber framed windows and using this tape to finish.
@@CharlieDIYtecould you please do an in depth video on how to use a stud/pipe/wire detector as I've heard people saying you haven't done any videos on this. Thanks. 👍
I LOVE it ! You told me everything - including all the tips. Controlling those pesky "draughts' is the difference between a warm efficient house and a slightly irritating slight coldish house.
Comes just the right time this. I live in an ancient property with a cold, damp cellar and gaping gaps at some points in my skirting. was gonna go the spray foam route but will be taking a good look at this.
Interesting product. When you started, I thought it was just the draft excluder tape that’s been around for years (the sort that goes really hard and crumbly after a few years ). Unbelievable expansion and I can see it being so useful. Thanks.
I'm going to have to do another video on this some time, as since doing this vid, I've discovered a load of additional benefits to this tape. In the meantime, here are a few extra points that I think it would be worth knowing if you're interested in buying expanding foam tape: - expands from sizes of 1mm up to 50mm - can be painted over with standard emulsion - compatible with all known standard building materials - seals against wind, dust and driving rain. On the rain point, it's weather resistant to 600 pascals (force 11 driving rain but is NOT water proof) - has acoustic reduction to 58 db (against the acoustic standard of 50db) - perfect for use as a thermal break as it doesn't transfer heat - fire resistant class B1 rated - vapour diffusion permeable - so allows joints to breathe whilst keeping water penetration out to 600 pascals pressure - will expand and contract in heat/ cold cycles, whereas spray foam will crack - if the tape gets wet its ventilation aspect will dry it out and anything it adheres to
@Charlie DIYte if you used expanding spray foam on a dot and dabbed wall - between the plaster board and the floor before the skirting is put onto the wall - Would that not allow the walls to breath and potentially cause damp issue. I know that walls shouldnt be boarded to the floor because of damp issues but is that still an issue with expanding foam?
I forgot to look under your show info on where to buy.? Is it available on Amazon? I’m always looking for new ideas. Appreciate all the work and valuable information you share on your DIY program. Thank you
Would love for you channel to also include home servicing as well as home DIY. Things like how to level a wobbly washing machine or how to draft seal an old front door etc. Great video.
Thanks for that - really appreciate the feedback, and actually it's really important, because for example, I fixed my dishwasher recently by flicking the pump with my finger, which had got stuck. Would be a really simple video but I wasn't sure if people would want to see stuff like that. But I'll include as much as I can going forward.. 👍
Wow. Never heard of this stuff but I have now. Not something I currently need but it’s good to have this in the memory locker. Once again Charlie well done.
I have an oak frame house and so have used this product so fill gaps where the oak has settled/shrunk/twisted. One tip I was given was to run a moist cloth along the adhesive edge which then makes it much easier to feed and position the foam strip into the gap before the adhesive grabs the surface.
That's a great tip, Ian. Thanks for sharing. This stuff must be manna from heaven for oak frame houses. I'm planning an oak framed extension of my own so I'm sure it will be put to good use on that too 👍
You are the guy Ive just come back to and watched again. I think I need this stuff.Just had new windows fitted by council and my front and back living room windows are in 2 parts. Glass and then plastic panel to meet floor. There are massive drafts coming in where the concrete subfloor meets the trim.
I used this 20x20mm tape around the walls of the home studio so that the beams don't make direct contact with each other, and now can't cause not any vibrations. it was a test but it turned out well, now i have a soundproof home studio and the neighbors are happy too and i'm happy too wall i don't hear any noise from the street or the neighbors. the whole construction took three months but it was worth it, by experimenting you always learn something new
Had no idea this product even existed, can think of a million uses, thanks for taking the time to make this video and Merry Christmas to you and yours :)
It was trade specific for years and I used it in Germany in the 90's. It used to bleed into paint and can grow sideways especially if it's not stuck down on one side. And the roll can turn into one almighty mess whilst your not looking. But like you say it has a lot of uses.
I live in a twenty year old Barratts house. The wall partitions between the bedrooms suffer this problem, horrendous gaps that you can actually shove a ruler or whatever through the gap in one bedroom into the other! I've no idea why the previous owners never sorted this out, the drafts and the sound travelling was enough for me to purchase this expanding tape. Worked a treat. Cut the drafts and cut the sound between bedrooms.
Thanks for your great channel! A video on using this foam, or the rubber equivalent, to seal door gaps would be great. I've done a few and it can be tricky to move striker plates to ensure the latch continues to line up with the striker plate. Your insights would be much appreciated!
Thanks a ton for all your videos Charlie! I love DIY and often come across your videos when searching for new methods etc and you always have loads of great tips and freely share your knowledge. Your finish and attention to detail is awesome. Keep up the good work! God bless you and your family!
Ireland must be behind the times I just searched for this product in my country and I don't think it was even heard of here. I find some products are not really ideal for some applications that are even mentioned on the package but can be great and ideal for other areas not mentioned. I can see some ideas for its use in my hobbies similar to protection and cushioning items. You did great showing this product and opened other beneficial tape ideas ideal for me. Thank you so much. I've sent a message to Screwfix a popular hardware near me and lots of branches nation wide about this product hoping they might consider adding to their stock. Great video
Aaron, you're very welcome, and likewise, I'd like to thank you for taking the time to comment. It takes an age doing the videos and editing, and so I can't tell you what a source of encouragement and inspiration the comments are - thanks so much for supporting my channel!
Hi Charlie, i had a similar issue and was fed up with the ogee skirting and caulk collecting so much dust. I ended up ripping off the skirting and tiling halfway up the room, tile meeting tile with good quality sanitary silicone. Looks great and so easy to keep clean 🙌. Thanks for another helpful video!
Thanks Andy! Great to have you on-board! Apologies though about the looped music in some of my earlier videos - a big error but you live and learn! Have a good Christmas 👍
Thanks Alan. Have no fear, the videos will keep coming - it's what keeps me sane 🤣 You too. Massive thanks for supporting the channel and I look forward to more charts in the New Year 👊
Great video with good tip at end. Was recommended to use this tape by passive house builder, for window surrounds as foam and silicone degrade (as can see from original install 18 months ago) losing airtightness, as well as being messy. Although pricy well worth it. Have to work fast, practise get better every time. Such a neat and resilient finish. Far better than other methods, tried em all over years. I put my skirting on with builder foam, glad, as have had to remove sections for fitting furniture, comes off with breadknife and doesn't rip plaster off like no-nails if do have to take off, no nail holes to fill either.
Not sure if you've seen it Charlie but I used left over Dodomat insulation from my campervan conversion. Comes in different thicknesses, highly water resistant, comes in panels or a roll and just sticks on. Brilliant stuff to use around windows. I've used it around windows and areas in my 400 yr old cottage. Then purchased PET secondary glazing panels all cut to size, magnetic and offer better insulation that double glazing.
Thanks Stephen that's very interesting! Particularly like the Dodomat and a friend who lives in a listed property up my lane does a similar thing with DIY secondary glazing panels.
Something else that would have worked is what we call at "backer rod" in the US. It's a dense foam with a circle profile that comes in many diameters. You pack it in and can caulk over later if you want. It's super cheap, effective, and easy to work with.
Good video and very interesting product, thanks for taking the time to share this. I wonder has this solved your issue of the draft? The reason I ask is this product appears to be of cellular nature with no impermeable membrane to prevent air flow. As with normal insulation the cellular region is to contain air (a very good insulator) however airflow cannot be permitted across the air-containing membrane or it will not be effective. Is something in-built into the strips?
Typically one of the better videos in it's kind. This is some other thing about it: ??cutting a large enough piece tape off in the beginning before use?? I think it has something to do with the same reason that the roll can be kept from expanding by only duct taping it in one place.
Never heard of this before great stuff! Maybe if you slide the foam tape in with the backing adhesive still unpeeled then have one edge slightly unpeeled and you can slowly peel it while it’s in situ.
Great stuff. I took out a window in my 40 year old Swedish kit house and found foam tape was used way back then to seal the gap. British house builders still haven't progressed much beyond caves yet.
John, our housing stock is appalling and no signs of it getting any better. The government falls at every opportunity it gets to change the rules on house building, choosing instead to bring in punitive new laws designed to phase out gas boilers to push everyone into heat pumps, which won't work because 90% of the UKs housing stock is badly insulated, oh and we've got a national shortage of skilled builders. 🤦
Thank you, Charlie! Great video and very informative too. I’m pleased to have come across this video for dealing with draughty gaps under skirting boards as I have two rooms that could do with this stuff. Great tips on how to handle the expanding tape. Merry Christmas to you and your family.
Lovely to hear from you Indy. Yes the more I read about this stuff the more I like it. The company I bought it from got in touch with me the other day as they must have picked up on the links in the Description - really nice people as it turns out - and I had a long chat with their technical person. It's breathable whilst being an excellent thermal break, so it will solve the draught but allow the void behind to breath without any moisture passing through. A win win! A very happy Christmas to you too!! 🎄⛄
Thank you! Now I know the name and where they also used it for (in a building nearby). They've used it to fill the gap between a wooden extension and a stone brick wall. The expanding foam tape nicely follows the rough bricks and on the other side it is nicely sticked to the wooden frame!
Great videos. The expanding foam from the the gun would have not looked as good. Probably be sealed better but would be a mess. This tape looks great for certain jobs. Nice one.
Charlie you are a diamond just ordered some from screwfix no 1m tho will have to shop around for that one I will shove under quick with my wide scraper. I was trying wire wool under it nd it was a narsty job especially slim parts I am hoping it keeps spiders out from under boards 😉 thank you
Thanks Charlie good to know this stuff exists. I am a subscriber to your channel and your videos are excellent. I followed your advice last year on how to make the floating desk which my wife was able to use to as a workbench to make our daughter's wedding dress. I noticed in this video you used a router. Would you consider making a video on router basics? Keep up the good work!
Thanks Edward - so chuffed you've found my content useful, and also thanks for sub'ing to the Channel and for taking the time to let me know - the comments are a constant source of encouragement and motivation - pretty crucial really! Yes, I should probably do that. There are a lot of videos out there by carpenters with a lot more experience than me, but I guess most of them tend to use routers tethered to a router table, whereas being a bit of a DIYer, I tend to use mine freehand. I'll add it to the list. Have a great Christmas!
Very interesting Charlie, thanks for the demo. Dont worry about the skirting board painting, they look cleaner than a lot of pricey hotels mate. Merry Christmas to you and yours.
I didn't know expanding foam tape existed. It will solve my problem. For your project, you can install a painted, 1/4 round dowel to cover and help protect your foam, followed by a clear caulk to seal both edges, touching floor and trim. I can use regular foam for my removable indoor storm windows made if polycarbonate sheets and frame.
It depends. Certainly for insulated plasterboard, the recommendation is that you seal the gap with expanding foam to eliminate any cold bridges. But I guess for non insulated plasterboard that doesn't have a vapour barrier, perhaps it's not so important and could even help with vapour diffusion. I'd be interested in anything anyone else can add to this.
Thank you Charlie I wish I gad known before having my bedroom carpet down ,it would have helped to reduce noise I love your tips as I’m just doing my kitchen
Thanks as ever Charlie for a very helpful and clear video. Your explanations are always pitched at the right level. I was intending to seal my gaps with colour-matched caulk to stop draughts. Wouldn't this sponge still let cold air through?
No it doesn't let cold air through and it will give much better thermal protection than the caulk. I wouldn't worry too much about colour matching as, once it's in, you don't see it 👍🏻
Thanks a lot Charle!!! So great to get to know to figure out gaps between floor and skirting board in my living room!! Btw could we add silicone on top of it in the kitchen dining room to prevent from getting wet? Thank you very much again💚
You're welcome. It will be quite difficult to get a neat joint with silicone but I suppose you could. This stuff is water resistant though so you question if it's worth it.
Thank you so much for the advise I have new skirting in my kitchen and has big gaps underneath . Can you put caulk over the tape for a smooth finish and to paint the boards?
This is great! I wish I had known about this when having laminate fitted downstairs in rooms where the was already skirting. It would have been brill in the expansion gaps. I would be interested to know if the room feels different temperature wise now you have fitted it? Has it meant you could turn the heating down in the room?
That material looks exactly like Armourflex tape or pipe insulation used in air condition installations. See you pack it in under the skirting I think I would now have to get some sort of square or flat ended podger to assist with packing it into the gap. Like the colour of the bathroom wall BTW, what is it??
Option 4: take off the skirting boards and use an air barrier tape like siga to prevent cold air infiltration. Replace skirting board over the tape when it's sealed.
Good point John. I was reading today that this tape is vapour permeable, ie breathable so I'm trying to work out where that leaves you with the cold bridging issue.
Greetings from Canada - very nicely presented video - well edited and informative. I’m curious if this material absorbs water, especially in a bathroom. Idea for spray foam people - different colours would be helpful although I know from experience how unwieldy it can be!
Hi there, great to hear from you. I've included the technical info I gleaned from the company when I was researching this stuff. Suffice to say that whilst it's weather resistant to force 11 driven rain or 600 pascals, it's not water proof, so if you are subjecting it to immersion, it wouldn't do the job. Air tight to 1.0m3, BG1 and BGR. Expands from sizes of 1mm up to 50mm. Weather resistant to 600 pascals (force 11 driven rain). Acoustic reduction to 58db. (A rated acoustic standard is 50db). Fire resistant class B1 rated. Perfect for use as a thermal break. Allows joints to breathe whilst keeping water penetration out to 600 pascals pressure. NOT water proof! Anti-vibration qualities. Will expand and contract in heat/cold cycles (spray foam will crack). If tape gets wet(like installed at bottom joint of bathroom skirting), its ventilation aspect will dry it out, and anything it adheres to.
Charlie DIYte wow Charlie - thank you. This is very detailed! Great channel. I don’t do a ton of diy anymore but I’m subscribing just because you’re awesome!!
He's done it again! Wanted to know how to seal between UPVC windows and brick wall and thought "I bet Charlie DIYte would have something. Took some finding but yeah! great stuff Charlie. I assume I can use this to fill the gap between the outside wall and the window frame? Can I finish off with a silicone sealant?
Glad to hear you found it useful! Yes that's absolutely the application for it. You don't need to silicone after, and actually I'm not sure how well if at all it would knit to the silicone. The foam is resistant to storm force rain and has the advantage over silicone that it produces a thermal but breathable barrier, preventing cold bridges 👍🏻
Thanks. The expanding foam tape is breathable and unlikely to crack going forward. Also if it's on show you'll want to use.. Otherwise spray foam is fine. Get a non stick gun if you go for spray foam. That way you can leave the can on the gun until it's finished.
As ever great informative video, never knew this stuff existed! Do you think this would work for filling gaps between the centres gap in French doors? Or would it start expanding again when you opened the doors?
Hi Charlie, I have a similar problem in the wooden cabin in our garden. I plan to silicon under the skirting board and then use the FUGI profiler to get a nice flush finish. What do you think?
Great informative video. Thank you so much. Just a thought about use, put a piece of duct tape on the roll right up to the cut start end before you unwind (unfortunately lengths will get shorter and shorter as circumference on roll of tape shrinks with each piece cut off of roll). Take care. Do you know if there is any measurable R value at all other than stopping (cold) drafts from entering? Happy Holidays to you and yours from America.
Our gap in the living room is more than double since the last tenant had laminate flooring down. The plaster is in poor condition so removing the skirting and lowering it would require a lot of work. The gap will be too large for filler or chaulk and I’d make an absolute mess using expanding foam so I’m thinking of using this. The gap seems around 2cm deep by 2cm height given we’ve got carpet down and I’m having to poke my finger under to measure. Not sure which tape I should use since there’s so many measurements. One says suitable for 8-15mm gaps but expands to 44mm? Confusing. Not sure which width to go for
Unrelated to the foam, but...I noticed your bath was raised up on some supports underneath the feet. Was that because you had issues getting a p-trap to fit the shallow gap under those style baths?
