From designing to manufacturing, and DIY projects to construction masterpieces, choosing the right materials and products ensures quality end results. Local producer Pratley has a range of construction and adhesive products that will help deliver the highest possible standard for any project.

The ideal solution for preparing surfaces prior to plastering, painting, or tiling is Pratley Plaster-Grip Primer®. Its unique ability to prepare almost any surface makes it possible to plaster smooth steel, smooth concrete and even glass! Plaster Grip Primer® is available in one, five or ten-litre buckets.

“Pratley Plaster-Grip Primer® saves on paint by bonding and sealing porous surfaces prior to painting, forgoing the usual three-coat method,” highlights Pratley Marketing Director Eldon Kruger. It facilitates painting directly onto old lime or whitewash surfaces, in addition to painting galvanised iron.

Pratley Plaster-Grip Primer® is ideal for use with Pratliperl® ultra-lightweight fireproof plaster. Pratliperl® is an ultra-lightweight, thermally insulating, and fireproof aggregate mixed with ordinary cement to produce thermally insulating plasters and screeds.

It is derived from a volcanic glass called Perlite. The raw material is then expanded in special furnaces to create millions of small, well-sealed Pratliperl® beads. Each bead has a small vacuum inside, giving the product its unique thermal insulation properties. In addition, the product is highly durable and features good acoustic properties. It can even be gunited when applied to large surfaces.

Applications range from underfloor insulation and insulated roof decks to lightweight screeds on corrugated iron or concrete roofs, fireproofing structural steel columns, loose-fill thermal insulation in wall cavities, and even as a lightweight tile adhesive filler.

Another product from Pratley is Flexiseal®, a superior quality, permanently flexible acrylic sealant and filler that has exceptional adhesive and elongation properties and can also be painted over. The main advantage of Flexiseal® is that, unlike silicone, it requires no primer to adhere to concrete and brickwork and is exceptionally UV-resistant. In addition, Flexiseal® is ideal for bathroom and kitchen applications as it contains a fungicide.

Applications include filling wall cracks that can then simply be painted over, sticking polystyrene insulation sheets under IBR, sealing window and door frame surrounds, and sealing such hard-to-reach areas as between a wall and a bath or basin.

It can also be used as a ceramic wall tile adhesive, and even sealing and joining leaking gutters. Other uses include concrete expansion joints, sealing around electrical wires where these go through grommet holes, and patching up nail holes in walls.