Adhesive Tape: Stick with Greengates!
Archaeological evidence shows that adhesives have been in use for many thousands of years. We can thank our Neanderthal ancestors who, at least 200,000 years ago, began using plant resins and tar extracted from the bark of birch trees to attach wooden handles to stone tools.
As adhesives have such a venerable history, it may seem surprising to learn that adhesive tape was not invented until relatively recently. In 1845, Dr Horace Day came up with the idea of adhesive tape to help secure bandages to his patients. He attached fabric strips to pieces of rubber smeared with a sticky substance but, although the idea was a good one, the result was pretty ineffective.
Jump to 1923 and Richard Drew, an employee of the 3M company, was asked to solve an ongoing problem: creating a clean dividing line between differing paint colours on vehicles. Building on Horace Day's idea, Drew was responsible for creating the first effective adhesive tape.
As with so many of the modern inventions we take for granted, adhesive tape was perfected as a result of war. During WWII, Johnson and Johnson set about trying to find a way to keep ammunition dry when it was stored in boxes. Inventors at the company applied a polyethylene coating to cloth tape which was then used to seal the boxes, providing a watertight barrier.
As technology has progressed, the basic idea of adhesive tape has been steadily improved and diversified and there is now a tape to suit almost every purpose. Here at Greengates Builders Merchants, we offer a superb selection, including:
Denso Tape™ .jpg)
This superlative adhesive tape comes from Winn & Coales International Ltd, which has continued to grow and evolve since it was established over 140 years ago in 1883. To create the reliable product, petrolatum compound is applied to a unique synthetic fabric. This results in a surface-tolerant tape that is ideal for use in many different applications, particularly for preventing the occurrence of corrosion on steel pipes and fittings. Strong, flexible and easy to mould, the tape can even be used successfully on wet surfaces. Denso Tape™ is supplied by Greengates in rolls measuring 10 metres long in widths of either 50mm or 100mm.
Mammoth Weatherproofing Tape .jpg)
A signature product from the leading Everbuild brand, Mammoth Weatherproofing Tape has an adhesive strength that is, without any exaggeration whatsoever, described as being 'aggressive'! The versatility of the product is unmatched and its hundreds of different uses include jointing applications, repairing PVC sheets and fixing cracked glass without obscuring vision. Each roll has serrated edges to facilitate easy application and measures 4 metres in length and 75mm in width.
These are just 2 of the 29 different adhesive tape options available from Greengates Builders Merchant. Browse our website to discover the full range!