Selection reference
Choose an Emseal system by joint location
Emseal systems share one idea: an impregnated foam core, precompressed smaller than the gap, faced with silicone or polyurethane and locked to the prepared joint faces with epoxy and injected sealant bands. What separates them is where the joint sits and what it has to survive. Start with the plane and the exposure, then confirm movement, rating and depth.
| Joint location or condition | What to confirm | Systems in this range |
|---|---|---|
| Exterior walls, facades and curtainwall | Gap width at a recorded temperature, expected movement, substrate and whether one face or both need to be sealed. The visible silicone face is a color selection made with the order, and paintable coatings are available for low-movement work. | Seismic Colorseal, Seismic Colorseal-DS, Colorseal-On-A-Reel, Backerseal |
| Trafficked decks, plazas and parking structures | Traffic type and wearing surface, whether the work is new construction or a retrofit into an existing blockout, drainage, and how the joint turns up at curbs and walls. Deck systems bond to prepared joint faces instead of anchoring through the slab. | DSM System |
| Bridges, abutments and highway gaps | Gap size and its movement range, header condition, recess below the wearing surface, and whether the owner agency keeps an approved-products list. Existing embedded angles often decide which system fits without demolition. | Bridge Expansion Joint System (BEJS), EMV-Seal |
| Fire-rated and security-rated floors and walls | Required rating and hours, the UL 2079 assembly listed for your construction type, and whether the exposed surface has to resist picking or tampering. Only a UL 2079-tested joint belongs in a life-safety application. | Emshield WFR2 (2-hour wall), Emshield SecuritySeal SSF2 (2-hour pick-resistant floor) |
| Water containment, potable and food-contact joints | Whether exposure is continuous immersion or intermittent wetting, the head of water, the chemistry present, and which compliance the specification names — NSF/ANSI 61, NSF 51 or FDA CFR 177.2600. Head pressure moves the choice from DSF to Submerseal. | DSF System, Submerseal |
| Interior acoustic gaps and partition closures | That the gap is non-moving, the substrate on each side, and the sound rating the assembly has to meet. The two-sided SHH suits wall-to-wall, wall-to-mullion and head-of-wall conditions; a glazed condition uses the three-sided SHG. | QuietJoint SHH |
Movement, fire and immersion ratings belong to a specific system at a specific size in a specific tested assembly. Confirm the current Sika Emseal data sheet and UL listing before treating one system as a substitute for another.
Field planning
Plan the Emseal installation
These are made-to-measure seals, so most field problems trace back to the measurement, the blockout or the corners rather than the material. Work through the four items below before the order is placed.
Measure the joint and record the temperature
Precompressed seals are manufactured to the field-measured gap, and the gap changes with the structure. A width taken on a cold morning is not the width at noon in July, so the measurement and the temperature at measurement travel together and the material size is adjusted to mean temperature.
Measure at several stations along the run and report the range rather than one number. Record the available depth as well; each system needs clear depth to receive the size specified.
Movement capability and how it is counted
Movement is published against nominal material size, not against the gap on the day of installation. Most primary systems in this range are rated at +50% and −50% of nominal, a total of 100%. Backerseal, a secondary seal behind field-applied sealant, is rated at ±25%.
Fire-rated and security systems carry their own limits by size and by listing. Check the size-specific value on the current data sheet rather than applying a single figure across the brand.
Non-invasive anchoring and substrate condition
These systems hold through foam backpressure, epoxy adhesive on the joint faces and field-injected silicone bands. There are no embedded pins, tracks, rails or coverplates, which is what makes retrofit work practical without shutting the structure down.
In exchange, the joint faces have to earn it: clean, sound, parallel and able to resist roughly 2.5 psi of backpressure without deflecting. Spalled or out-of-tolerance blockouts need repair as part of the scope, not after the material arrives.
Corners, transitions and terminations
Straight run is the straightforward part. Inside corners, changes in plane, deck-to-wall transitions and end terminations are where joints leak, and Sika Emseal supplies factory-fabricated 90-degree and transition units so the seal stays continuous through them.
Count corners, transitions and terminations during the takeoff and list them with the linear footage. Adding them after the run has been manufactured costs time on a lead-time item.
Before you order
Emseal sizing, ratings and submittals
Use the project specification and the current Sika Emseal data to confirm the size, the rating and the documents your submittal will need.
Field-measure and size
Record gap width at several stations, the temperature at measurement, the clear depth available, the plane the joint sits in, and whether the installation is new construction or a retrofit into an existing blockout.
Confirm the required ratings
Fire rating and hours with the matching UL 2079 assembly, NSF or FDA compliance where water or food contact is involved, movement class, and any owner-agency approved-products requirement. Request an engineering judgment early where no listing fits the assembly.
Take off lengths and accessories
Total linear feet by size, the count of corners, transitions and terminations, and the epoxy adhesive and silicone supplied with the system. Face colors and paintable options are specified at the time of order.
Project orders
Request Emseal project pricing
Send the joint sizes and locations for your project. If the system is still being selected, send the joint conditions and the specification section and we will work it through with Sika Emseal.
Include with your request
- System name, or the joint condition and specification section
- Joint width, temperature at measurement and available depth
- Plane and exposure: wall, deck, bridge, immersed or interior
- Total linear feet plus corners and terminations
- Delivery ZIP and required-on-site date
Emseal questions
Is Emseal the same as Sika Emseal?
Yes. Emseal Joint Systems is part of Sika, and the line is published as Sika Emseal. Product names such as Seismic Colorseal, DSM System, Emshield and BEJS are unchanged, and the combined range also carries Wabo and Watson Bowman Acme items. Order under either name; we quote from the current Sika Emseal data.
What are Emseal expansion joints made of?
Most of the range is a hybrid: an acrylic-impregnated foam core supplied precompressed to less than the joint width, factory-coated with silicone or with a hardened polyurethane on the security systems. The material is installed into epoxy adhesive on the joint faces, expands against them, and is finished with injected sealant bands. EMV-Seal is the exception, an extruded silicone gland unrolled into bridge and highway gaps.
Which Emseal joint is used on a parking deck or plaza?
The DSM System is the trafficable horizontal deck joint in this range, used on parking structures, plazas and stadium decks in both new and retrofit work. Confirm traffic type, the wearing surface, blockout condition and how the joint terminates at curbs and walls before sizing it.
Which Emseal joints are fire rated?
Emshield WFR2 is a 2-hour rated wall joint and Emshield SecuritySeal SSF2 is a 2-hour rated, pick-resistant floor and deck joint; both are tested and certified to UL 2079. Use the UL listing that matches your assembly, and ask for an engineering judgment where a tested listing does not cover the condition.
Can an Emseal joint be used in potable water or a swimming pool?
The DSF System carries the NSF/ANSI 61 compliant silicone face for potable water and FDA-regulated food-contact areas. Submerseal is the system for continuous or intermittent immersion under head pressure, including chlorinated and saline water. Confirm the head of water and the chemistry, because that is what separates the two.
Why is there no price on the Emseal products?
Every system is manufactured to your measured joint size, run length, face color and rating, so it is quoted rather than stocked. Send the sizes and quantities through the project pricing form or call 888-809-2365 and we will price it with lead time.
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