The current building and construction marketplace is highly region-focused with specific requirements for various applications. Demands for new products are driving the growth of new adhesives and the way they are being used. Local environmental regulations are a special driver of change, resulting in reduced use of solvent containing adhesives, both in the home for DIY and on the building site.

Conventional hot melts, water-based adhesives, and solvent-based adhesives are all used in a variety of applications including flooring, wall covers, insulation, panel lamination, tile and ceramic cements, MDF and chipboard veneer laminations, edge-veneering, and wood and fiberglass composites. Sealants are also used for a variety of internal and external applications.

Key technical requirements for building & construction adhesives are:

• Precise viscosity control for optimized adhesive application.
• Open and setting time.
• Correct adhesion/cohesion balance.
• Aging and weathering stability.
• Adhesion to a variety of dissimilar substrates.
• Good low temperature performance.

Tacolyn resin dispersions provide excellent performance in water-based adhesives for building and construction applications.

Eastman G polymers  allows better wetting, reduced viscosity, higher tensile strength, better impact resistance and permits higher filler levels in filled plastic composites. In polymer alloys they allow the mixing of normally incompatible materials such as polypropylene and nylon.

Eastoflex amorphous polyolefins are commonly used as asphalt modifiers for roofing membranes and in hot melt sealants and window bedding compounds.

Piccotac hydrocarbon resins are widely used as tackifiers for duct tape.