BASF’s Wall Systems Business and SPEC MIX Combine Forces

Offering high performance systems, advanced stucco formula and innovative delivery

By Kent Stumpe

The Wall Systems business of BASF Corporation and SPEC MIX®, Inc., specializing in factory pre-blended construction products and silo material delivery systems, announced a unique joint marketing agreement. The program enables contractors to combine the advantages of BASF’s stucco finishes, water-resistive barriers, reinforcing base coats and PermaLath 1000 fiberglass lath with computer-batched SPEC MIX Fiber Base Coat (FBC) stucco in systems that are covered by a single source warranty.

SPEC MIX Fiber Base Coat stucco (FBC) is an ICC code approved, dry, pre-blended cement stucco basecoat that is engineered with proprietary admixtures and fibers that reduce shrinkage and checking. Produced at more than 40 manufacturing facilities in the United States and Canada, SPEC MIX FBC is computer batched for consistency and performance unmatched by traditional field-mixed stucco. It can be installed as a "one coat stucco" basecoat or as the scratch and brown coat in a traditional stucco application. Available in 80 and 3,000 pound packages, the product meets the requirements for ASTM C 926.

The computer-batching process and strict quality control procedures ensure that the finished product complies with tight design and specification requirements. The portable SPEC MIX silo systems introduced to the construction industry in 1989 can be enclosed to permit year-round construction in all climates. These unique material delivery systems increase a contractor’s productivity and provide a means of eliminating disposable packaging and jobsite waste. Pallets and bulk bag containers are reusable and are picked up when a new load of material is delivered to a site.

The SPEC MIX system also helps eliminate the shoveling and heavy lifting associated with field mixing to reduce the potential for job site injuries. Randy Donovan, Manager of Technical Services for BASF’s Wall Systems business, likes what this automation means to the eventual quality of the wall. “By eliminating shovel work, there is no chance that a worker will produce a mix that has too much or too little sand. A proper mix is essential to the performance of the wall.”

BASF will issue warranties for SPEC MIX FBC projects that include key Wall Systems components, including finishes, PermaLath® fiberglass lath, fluid applied water-resistive barriers and reinforced acrylic base coats supplied by BASF’s Senergy, Finestone, SonoWall or Acrocrete distributors. The durations of the single source warranties range up to 15 years, depending upon the system configuration.

For additional information, visit www.wallsystems.basf.com or call your local Wall Systems distributor at BASF.