According to a survey by the Swedish Association of Heating, Water Sanitation and Cooling System Contractors conducted in 2005, repairing moisture damage costs more than SEK 5.2 billion in the Swedish market alone. It appears that currently approved membranes are insufficient. The solution is a specially designed rubber membrane that provides a considerably better seal than previous membranes and that is also highly elastic. Trelleborg Building Systems developed the membrane from a material used to line ponds. Since the material is elastic, it absorbs movements in buildings extremely well while also being highly resistant to vapor permeation. Combined, these characteristics minimize the risk of moisture damage occurring.
It took Trelleborg Building Systems three years to develop the system, which has been given the name Rubbox. The product is an entirely new concept and there is no equivalent system in the market. For this reason, there is also a patent application pending.
Most sealing membranes currently used are painted onto the walls and floor with a roller. After that, they must dry for at least 48 hours before wall and floor tiles can be applied. Installing Rubbox is largely akin to wallpapering, with the difference that the walls and the floor are covered. Tiling can begin immediately after Rubbox has been installed. In addition to the membrane itself, the system includes seam strips, adhesive, primer, sealer and a roller.
The system has been tested by the Swedish Testing and Research Institute (SP) and the results have been astounding.
“Rubbox seals more than twice as efficiently as the sealing membranes currently in the market,” says Johan Bergström, product manager at Trelleborg Building Systems. “In fact, the difference is so great that Rubbox wasn’t even on the same measurement scale as the other materials,” he continues.
Rubbox was launched in January 2006 at the major Swedish construction trade fair, Nordbygg, and attracted great attention among visitors. However, the product has not only aroused interest among potential customers but also among competitors.
“Our competitors want to collaborate on Rubbox – recognition of the fact that we have developed an extremely good product,” says Johan Bergström. He also explains that Rubbox is to be launched in the rest of the Nordic region and Europe during the year, and that the product may also be introduced to the North American market.
“The product sets a new standard for moisture-sealed wet rooms. In my opinion, you could compare this to when ABS brakes replaced regular disk brakes in the automotive industry,” says Johan Bergström. “A product already existed, but the new one adds a whole new dimension.”
