ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews most of the key decision points to consider in selecting a sealant. It presents a table that provides a checklist of factors to consider, and taken together with the discussion that follows, it should aid those who must specify sealants. The chapter discusses how much movement is the joint expected to see, and how this can be calculated or measured. A comprehensive treatment is included in the chapter. If a product is slow to cure, significant expansion or contraction will take place in the moving joints during the cure. This generally produces a deformed sealant with weakened regions or stress places built in. Sealants with such imperfections have less movement ability; if the job was designed to take the sealant to its performance limit, the job will fail. The chapter warns to be aware that different climates can affect sealants differently; and never plan to use a sealant at its ultimate performance limits.
