Patent Publication Number: US-2018030735-A1

Title: Joint-sealing tape and sealing arrangement with such sealing tape

Description:
The present invention relates to a joint-sealing tape as well as a sealing arrangement with such sealing tape for sealing of building structure joints, especially for sealing against sound and smoke and if applicable against fire. 
     In particular, the invention relates to acoustic, smokeproof and/or fireproof sealing of connecting joints in drywalls, especially of expansion joints. These are found in the region of connection to the inter-story ceiling, to the floor and to massive walls. Due to weight loading or thermal influences, the ceiling in buildings may be forced upward or downward. To prevent damage to the drywall, the upper connecting joint in this case is made as an expansion joint. The ceiling profile is made in such a way that a relative movement between ceiling profile and the vertical wall components is possible. 
     In general, a channel profile constituting part of the studwork is fastened to the connecting building parts. The gypsum boards themselves are attached at a well-defined spacing to the connecting building part. Usually sealing of the system is provided in the gap between gypsum board and ceiling. For this purpose, either a suitable sealing compound is introduced or else the gap is filled with mineral wool and provided at the surface with a sealing layer. In both cases, the material present in the joint presents relatively strong resistance to movement, with the consequence that comparatively large joint widths are necessary in order to achieve adequate movement absorption. 
     In particular, sealing of the gap with sealing compound has some disadvantages. It is particularly laborious, and in the course of time the sealing tends to crack when overloaded. Furthermore, sealing can be performed only after the gypsum boards have been mounted, and it requires access to the finished drywall from both sides. Furthermore, this procedure is error-prone, since the user himself or herself must dose the correct quantity of material in order to seal the gap adequately. Above and beyond this, the drywall builder must make the width of the joint correspond to the material and expansion properties of the sealing compound. During installation of the sealing compound, nothing but the joint can be filled. During expansion of the gap, it must be ensured that the sealing compound adheres sufficiently strongly to the underlying surface and that it is able to absorb the tensile forces that develop. Frequently this not the case, and the danger exists that the sealing compound will become detached from the underlying surface or that the sealing compound itself will be overloaded and tear. In the case of a narrower gap, the sealing compound can be compressed to only a limited extent, because of its material properties, and the danger exists that it will be forced out of the gap if the joint is incorrectly dimensioned. Due to the limited expansion and compression capability of the sealing compound (max. +/−25%), it is very important to ensure adequately large dimensioning of the spacing between gypsum board and ceiling. This is frequently underestimated, and so adequate imperviousness often cannot be guaranteed during use of customary sealing compounds. 
     Some further approaches exist for sealing of joints, especially joint cords or joint sprays, which to some extent suffer from the same disadvantages as have been described for sealing compounds. 
     The object of the invention is to provide a joint-sealing tape that avoids the disadvantages of the known materials, that in particular is easier and safer to use, simplifies the mounting of further building parts and ensures good sealing as soon as it is applied. 
     A further object of the invention is to provide an arrangement that, in the event of fire, permits better sealing of the joint between two building parts, especially between a drywall and a connecting building part, such as a wall, a ceiling or a floor, and thus provides better and durable sealing against sound and/or smoke and if necessary better and durable fire protection, and can be mounted reliably and free of defects with little work effort. Furthermore, the invention makes it possible, by appropriate choice of the sealing materials, to adjust the proper spacing of gypsum boards relative to the connecting building part, especially relative to the floor, without additional auxiliary means. 
     According to the invention, a joint-sealing tape is provided for sealing a joint between a first building part and a second building part, with an elongated carrier and at least two separate sealing strips, which are disposed on the carrier, spaced apart, side-by-side and running in the longitudinal direction of the carrier, which tape is characterized in that the sealing strips have a round cross section. Preferably the sealing strips are disposed on the outer region of the carrier. 
     With the inventive joint-sealing tape, irregularities of the surface of a building part can be safely sealed as soon as one building part is disposed on another building part, since the sealing strips of the joint-sealing tape are pressed sufficiently firmly against the surface of the one building part and at the same time against the side faces of the other building part. 
     The carrier of the joint-sealing tape may consist of a film, for example of a plastic film, of a fabric, especially of a noncombustible material, such as inorganic fibers, for example glass fibers, a nonwoven or the like. 
     According to the invention, the sealing strips consist of a deformable material. This material may be either plastically or elastically deformable. “Deformable” means that irregularities in the building part, against which the sealing strips are pressed, can be evened out. In this connection, “plastically deformable” means that the sealing strips are deformable and no longer return to their original shape after deformation. Analogously, “elastically deformable” means that the sealing strips are deformable and return to their original shape after deformation, i.e. the material can be deformed reversibly to a certain extent. In particular, the sealing strips consist at least partly, preferably completely of a material that is resilient after compression, for example such as foam, sponge rubber, cellular rubber or the like. The inventive sealing strips preferably consist of a soft foam that is resilient after compression. Common foams such as polyethylene and polyurethane foams or cellular rubber can be mentioned as foam material. This foam may be an open-celled foam with very low air passage resistance, or else an approximately closed-celled foam with extremely low air permeability values. Even foams with air permeability values lying between the two extreme cases mentioned in the foregoing may be used within the scope of the present invention. The foam may be impregnated with an impregnating agent that increases the sealing properties of the foam. In order to achieve imperviousness to smoke, at least the outer surface of the sealing strips must be of closed-pore nature. Alternatively, an open-celled sealing strip may be provided with a cover layer or jacket, for example of a film, especially plastic film. The cover layer or the jacket may be formed by the carrier or by a separate material. 
     It has proved advantageous when the sealing elements consist of a slow-burning foam, such a cellular rubber or polyurethane foam, for example. In the case of a slow-burning foam, there is no possibility that fire will be propagated by the foam. Spontaneous inflammation is ruled out by the above-mentioned foam-type starting materials. It is also advantageous that no dripping occurs in the event of fire. A slow-burning foam should still have at least 20%, still at least 25%, preferably still at least 30%, between 20% and 60%, between 20% and 40%, preferably between 25% and 30% of its initial volume in a temperature range between 500° C. and 800° C. Furthermore, a slow-burning foam should still have at least 10%, at least 20%, preferably still at least 30%, between 10% and 40%, between 10% and 30%, preferably between 15% and 20% of its initial mass in a temperature range between 500° C. and 800° C. 
     Furthermore, the material may contain appropriate additives if fire protection properties such as intumescence, for example, are desired. In this connection, “intumescence” means that, under the effect of heat, such as in the event of fire, the material swells and forms an insulating layer of flame-retardant material. The formation of a voluminous insulating layer, namely an ash layer, may take place due to the chemical reaction of a mixture of compounds that are appropriately matched to one another and that react with one another under the effect of heat. Such systems are known to the person skilled in the art as chemical intumescence, and they may be used according to the invention. Alternatively, the voluminous insulating layer may be formed by swelling of an individual compound, which releases gases under the effect of heat, even though no chemical reaction has occurred between two compounds. Such systems are known to the person skilled in the art as physical intumescence, and they may also be used according to the invention. According to the invention, the two systems may be used respectively alone or together as a combination. 
     In some embodiments, it is even sufficient when the carrier alone is impervious to smoke and/or gases. 
     It must be ensured that, after installation of the joint-sealing tape, this seals the building-structure joint against the penetration of sound, smoke, gases and/or fire, depending on which property is desired or required. 
     The sealing strips may consist of one piece made from one material or else of multiple parts made from several materials and, for example, may exist as a layered body. 
     The positioning of the sealing elements on the connecting element may be achieved by fastening means, for example in the form of an adhesive layer, especially a self-adhesive layer, or with a double-sided adhesive, in the form of interlocking or frictionally acting means, such as suitable profiled shapes, or by means of welding, such as thermal welding, for example, or ultrasonic welding, or the like. Positioning of the sealing elements on the connecting element by means of an adhesive layer or welding is preferred. For one-piece joint-sealing tapes, the positioning is predetermined by manufacturing factors. 
     In turn, the carrier for the sealing strips may have means for fastening to a building part, such as a drywall profile, for example in the form of a self-adhesive layer, in the form of interlocking or frictionally acting means, such as suitable profiled shapes or the like. 
     The dimensions both of the sealing strips and of the carrier are chosen to correspond to the planned use of the joint-sealing tape. 
     In one embodiment of the inventive joint-sealing tape, the sealing strips are firmly joined to the carrier at least over part of their circumference. Hereby a firm joint is created between the carrier and the sealing strips, so that, even under severe stress and strain of the fastening region and partial detachment of the sealing strips from the carrier, complete detachment of the sealing strips from the carrier is prevented. 
     In a further preferred embodiment of the inventive joint sealing tape, the sealing strips are firmly joined to the carrier over their entire circumference. On the one hand, optimum and durable fastening of the sealing strips to the carrier is achieved hereby, thus making detachment of the sealing strips from the carrier almost impossible. On the other hand, if the carrier material is smokeproof, an open-celled foam material may be used for the sealing strips. 
     The region of the carrier disposed between the two sealing strips, or more accurately said between the two points of attachment of the carrier to the sealing strips, defines a support region. This support region comes into contact with a building part during application of the joint-sealing tape. The width of the support region is chosen such that it corresponds at least to the width of the face of a building part on which the joint-sealing tape is applied. Hereby it is achieved that, when the joint-sealing tape is pushed onto a building part with channel-shaped outer profile, such as a channel profile of a drywall studwork, for example, the sealing strips extend beyond the channel profile with an exactly defined projecting length. When one building part is disposed on a connecting building part, this projecting length is squeezed together due to the compressible sealing strips and thereby closes any irregularities that may be present. Furthermore, a torque is generated in the sealing strips and presses them in the direction of the building part on which the joint-sealing tape was applied, so that it also presses sealingly on that building part. 
     The inventive joint-sealing tape is particularly suitable for safely sealing a building-structure joint between two adjacent building parts in simple manner, especially against sound and/or smoke and if necessary also against fire. To ensure that the joint-sealing tape can fulfill its function, the regions with which the two building parts are adjacent to one another must be of different widths. 
     Accordingly, a further subject matter of the invention is a sealing arrangement for sealing a joint between two juxtaposed building parts, with at least one first building part, one second building part and the joint-sealing tape described in the foregoing, wherein the side with which the second building part bears on the first building part has a face (F 2 ) with a width (B 2 ) and the first building part has a face (F 1 ) with a width (B 1 ), on which the second building part bears, with the condition that the width (B 2 ) is smaller than the width (B 1 ). The sealing arrangement is characterized in that the sealing strips are positioned in the outer region of the joint and are configured to seal the joint from outside. In this connection, “positioned in the outer region of the joint” means that these sealing strips are disposed on the second building part, especially laterally. 
     The region of the carrier disposed between the two sealing strips, or more accurately said between the two points of attachment of the carrier to the sealing strips, defines a support region. This support region comes into contact with a building part during application of the joint-sealing tape. The width of the support region is chosen such that it corresponds at least to the width of the face of a building part on which the joint-sealing tape is applied. Hereby it is achieved that, when the joint-sealing tape is pushed onto a building part with channel-shaped outer profile, such as a channel profile of a drywall studwork, for example, the sealing strips become upright and extend beyond the channel profile with an exactly defined projecting length. When one building part is disposed on a connecting building part, this projecting length is squeezed together due to the compressible sealing strips and thereby closes any irregularities that may be present. Furthermore, a torque is generated in the sealing strips and presses them in the direction of the building part on which the joint-sealing tape was applied, so that it also presses sealingly on that building part. 
     So that sealing relative to the first building part can be guaranteed solely by disposing the second building part on the first building part and thus applying pressure to the sealing strips, the following condition must be fulfilled: for predetermined radius (r) of the sealing strips, the width (b) of the support region is chosen as a function of the width (B 2 ) (where B 2 =p) of the second building part in such a way that the width (b) of the support region corresponds to at least the width (B 2 ) (where B 2 =p) of the face (F 2 ) of the second building part, but the value of the perpendicular from the plane of the face (F 2 ) of the second building part to the center of the sealing strip does not correspond exactly to the value of the radius (r) of the sealing strips. An intermediate value, depending on how large the projecting length is supposed to be, is ideal for the projecting length (h). 
     The size of the projecting length (h) or the dimensioning of the joint-sealing tape may then be calculated simply on the basis of the following formula, where b is chosen in such a way that h assumes a positive value: 
     
       
         
           
             
               Projecting 
                
               
                   
               
                
               length 
                
               
                   
               
                
               h 
             
             = 
             
               r 
               - 
               
                 
                   
                     r 
                      
                     
                       ( 
                       
                         b 
                         - 
                         p 
                       
                       ) 
                     
                   
                   + 
                   
                     
                       ( 
                       
                         
                           b 
                           - 
                           p 
                         
                         2 
                       
                       ) 
                     
                     2 
                   
                 
               
             
           
         
       
     
     According to the invention, the joint-sealing tape may be used on all kinds of connecting joints where one building part encounters another building part, provided the faces with which the building parts abut one another are of different sizes. Accordingly, the joint-sealing tape may be used on all profiles, even closed profiles or wooden beams, which must be sealed to a connecting face. 
     In a particularly preferred embodiment of the sealing arrangement, the first building part is a wall, a ceiling or a floor of a building structure and the second building part is a frame profile of a drywall studwork, for example a channel profile. 
     The invention will be described in more detail hereinafter on the basis of the application of the joint-sealing tape on a channel profile of a drywall studwork, without hereby restricting the scope of protection. The person skilled in the art is aware that application to any correspondingly styled building-structure joints is possible without any or without large adaptations of the joint-sealing tape. 
     A connecting joint, above all in dry construction, can be sealed particularly effectively when at least two further building parts are provided that are disposed laterally on a second building part. In this case, one further building part is disposed on one side and the second further building part is disposed on the opposite side of the second building part, each being spaced apart from the first building part. Thereby a joint bounded by the three building parts is formed. 
     A particularly preferred use of the joint-sealing tape therefore relates to the sealing of profiles in dry construction, wherein the first building part is a floor, a ceiling or a wall of a building element, for example a masonry structure or concrete building element, and the second building part is a ceiling, floor or wall profile or a metal or wood studwork of a dry construction element. The profile may be any of the profiles commonly used for dry construction, regardless of whether it has a slotted or non-slotted web or slotted or non-slotted flange. The further building parts are gypsum boards, which bear closely on the profiles and are fastened to the studwork. In order to permit vertical movement of the gypsum boards, for example in the event of an earthquake, the gypsum boards are mounted to be vertically movable at a spacing from a wall, a floor or a ceiling. Thereby a space (also referred to as joint herein) is formed between the gypsum board and the wall, the floor or the ceiling. This joint is filled by the sealing strips of the joint-sealing tape, so that the sealing strip seals the joint against sound and/or smoke and, depending on material of the sealing strip, also against fire if necessary. 
     As already described, the joint-sealing tape has an elongated carrier and at least two separate sealing strips of predetermined width, which have a round cross section and are disposed on one side of the carrier, spaced apart, side-by-side and running in the longitudinal direction of the carrier. 
     In general, the radius of the sealing strips will be chosen as a function of the profiles being used and of the material being used. The radius must be chosen such that the sealing strip fills the gap between the gypsum board and the ceiling and bears sealingly both on the ceiling and on the gypsum board. If a vertical movement of the gypsum boards is to be permitted, the sealing strip must follow the movement of the gypsum board, so that the contact with the gypsum board is not torn apart and no gaps are able to form between sealing strip and gypsum board. For this purpose, the sealing strip preferably consists of resilient and compressible material and is appropriately precompressed during mounting of the gypsum board, so that a downward movement of the gypsum board, whereby the gap between this and the ceiling becomes larger, can be followed. In this way, the preadjusted freedom of movement of the gypsum board determines the radius of the sealing strip. 
     As an example, the material of the sealing element may be chosen in such a way that its hardness or compressibility is adjusted such that the sealing strip is compressed to a well-defined height merely by the dead weight of the gypsum board in the floor region. In this way a correct spacing between floor and gypsum board can be adjusted without further measurement. This is necessary in particular whenever damage to the gypsum board by rising dampness must be prevented. 
     The region of the carrier disposed between the two sealing strips, or more accurately said between the two points of attachment of the carrier to the sealing strips, defines a support region, which consists only of the carrier. This support region is dimensioned such that it corresponds at least to the width of the web of the channel profile. Hereby the installation and especially the positioning of the joint-sealing tape on the web of the channel profile is facilitated. 
     A better hold of the sealing strips on the flanges of the channel profile, and better, especially tighter pressing of the sealing strips on the ceiling, is achieved by making the width of the support region larger than the width of the web of the channel profile. However, to ensure that the sealing strips, after installation of the joint-sealing tape, reliably seal the joint left during mounting of the gypsum boards and are able to even out any irregularities that may be present in the ceiling, the sealing strips must extend beyond the web of the channel profile on both sides after the joint-sealing tape has been disposed on the profile. 
     Now, during fastening of the channel profile to the ceiling, the projecting length presses firmly against it, whereby irregularities in the ceiling can be evened out. Furthermore, it is achieved by the projecting length that the sealing strips are pressed downward in the direction of the side cheeks of the profile during fastening of the profile, and are applied sealingly on it. On the one hand, therefore, neat centering of the joint-sealing tape on the profile is achieved, and additional fastening of the joint-sealing tape on the profile, especially on the side cheeks of the profile, in order to prevent the joint-sealing tape from detaching or pivoting upward during mounting of the gypsum boards, is unnecessary. 
     To create a sealing arrangement as described in detail hereinabove, the joint-sealing tape, before the second building part is attached to the first building part, is positioned on the face (F 2 ) of the second building part and together therewith is disposed on the first building part, especially abuttingly. 
     To seal a connecting joint in dry construction, the joint-sealing tape, prior to attachment of the profile to the connecting building parts, such as a ceiling, for example, is positioned on a channel profile and then fastened together therewith, for example on the ceiling. In a further operation, the gypsum boards, whether they have one or two layers, are pressed at the end face against the sealing element, and thereby sealing of the joint is achieved. 
     Without restricting the scope of protection of the invention, the invention will be described in more detail on the basis of a special embodiment of the joint-sealing tape. In this embodiment, the joint-sealing tape is applied to the connecting joints in drywalls. For simplicity, the application to the connecting joint between a ceiling profile, a gypsum board and a ceiling will be described. This ceiling profile is a standard channel profile with a web as well as two flanges. It is clear to the person skilled in the art that the sealing tape may also be applied to connecting joints of other types, regardless of the shape of the sealing strips, if they correspond in terms of their geometry to the connecting joint described here. 
    
    
     
       Further advantages and features will become obvious from the description hereinafter in conjunction with the attached drawings, wherein: 
         FIG. 1  shows a perspective view of a joint-sealing tape according to one embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2 a    shows a sketched front view and  FIG. 2 b    a sectional view through a joint-sealing tape according to one embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3  shows a detail of a sketched front view of the joint-sealing tape from  FIGS. 2 a    and  2   b;    
         FIGS. 4 a  and 4 b    show a sketched front view through a building element with a joint-sealing tape according to one embodiment of an inventive sealing arrangement ( FIG. 4 b   ) and of a comparison form ( FIG. 4 a   ); 
         FIG. 5  shows the stepwise procedure for establishing a sealing arrangement according to  FIG. 4 b   ; and 
         FIG. 6  shows a sketched front view through a finished building element with the embodiment of an inventive sealing arrangement shown in  FIG. 4   b.    
     
    
    
     One embodiment of an inventive joint-sealing tape  1  is shown in  FIGS. 1, 2   a  and  2   b . Joint-sealing tape  1  has two sealing strips  3 ,  3 ′, which are disposed on the outer rims of carrier  2 . Sealing strips  3 ,  3 ′ have a round cross section and are completely surrounded, i.e. over their entire circumference, by carrier  2  ( FIG. 2 b   ). As an example, sealing strips  3 ,  3 ′ consist of a compressible foam and carrier  2  of a plastic film. The distance b between the two sealing strips corresponds to the distance between the points of attachment A and B of carrier  2  to sealing strips  3 ,  3 ′. The region of carrier  2  defined by the region between points A and B corresponds to the support region with width b. This width b corresponds at least to the width of web  11  of channel profile  10  (see  FIGS. 4 a  and 4 b   ). 
       FIG. 3  shows a portion of joint-sealing tape  1  shown in  FIG. 2 a   , from which the data for calculation of the size of the projecting length h can be seen. In this figure, web  11  and flange  12  of channel profile  10  are indicated by broken lines. According to this, width b of the support region is chosen in such a way as for predetermined radius r of sealing strip  3  that projecting length h always assumes a positive value but corresponds at most to the width of web  11 . In order to facilitate the use of joint-sealing tape  1  and to achieve the best possible support on web  11 , width b of the support region is chosen to be larger than the web width. 
     As already stated, projecting length h can be calculated with predetermined radius r of sealing strip  3  and predetermined web width on the basis of the following formula: 
     
       
         
           
             
               Projecting 
                
               
                   
               
                
               length 
                
               
                   
               
                
               h 
             
             = 
             
               
                 r 
                 - 
                 
                   
                     
                       r 
                        
                       
                         ( 
                         
                           b 
                           - 
                           p 
                         
                         ) 
                       
                     
                     + 
                     
                       
                         ( 
                         
                           
                             b 
                             - 
                             p 
                           
                           2 
                         
                         ) 
                       
                       2 
                     
                   
                 
               
               = 
               
                 r 
                 - 
                 x 
               
             
           
         
       
     
     where x is the value of the perpendicular from the plane of web  11  to the center of sealing strip  3  (see  FIG. 3 ). No projecting length exists (h=0) if radius r of sealing strip  3  corresponds to the value of perpendicular x (r=x), as shown in  FIG. 2 a   . In this case the sealing strip is not pressed against the ceiling during mounting of channel profile  10 . Sealing is achieved only when the gypsum board is mounted and abuts on sealing strip  3  from underneath, thus compressing it. Projecting length h corresponds to radius r (h=r) when the support width corresponds to width b of web  11 , as shown in  FIG. 4   b.    
     When joint-sealing tape  1  with the support region is applied on the channel profile of a drywall studwork (not illustrated in the figure), for example, more accurately said when it is laid on web  11  of channel profile  10 , and width b of the support region is larger than the width of web  11  of channel profile  10 , points A and B slip downward along the edges of web  11 . As shown in  FIG. 4 a   , the support region has been chosen to be too wide, and so sealing strips  3 ,  3 ′ no longer exert pressure on ceiling  20  during mounting of channel profile  10  on ceiling  20 .  FIG. 4 b    shows the other extreme, in which the width of the support region corresponds to the width of web  11 . Consequently, the projecting length achieved is too large, which makes mounting of channel profile  10  on the ceiling difficult and may lead to tearing of carrier  2 , since the tension on this is very high. The optimum width b of the support region is therefore intermediate, since hereby a projecting length h is obtained that is not too large to hinder mounting of channel profile  10  on the ceiling or to cause excessive tension in carrier  2 , possibly sufficient to damage it, during mounting. 
     Projecting length h ensures that sealing strips  3 ,  3 ′ are pressed firmly on ceiling  10  and thus they are able to even out any irregularities that may be present in ceiling  20  and to seal the gap between channel profile  10  and ceiling  20  from the outside. In this way it is achieved that joint-sealing tape  1  is already applied sealingly on ceiling  20  and channel profile  10  during mounting of channel profile  10 . 
     The use of joint-sealing tape  1  for sealing the gap between a ceiling  20 , channel profile  10  of a drywall studwork and gypsum board  30  is sketched stepwise in  FIG. 5 . Firstly, in the first step I, joint-sealing tape  1  is laid on the web of channel profile  10  and, in the second step II, is fastened together therewith on ceiling  20  in standard manner, e.g. by screws or nails. Then, in a last step III, gypsum boards  30  are applied on the flange of channel profile  10  and pushed upward in the direction of ceiling  20 , whereupon a gap remains between the top edge of gypsum board  30  and ceiling  20 , which is filled with sealing strips  3 ,  3 ′ of joint-sealing tape  1 , in order to permit vertical movement, for example, of gypsum board  30 . Thereby sealing strips  3  are compressed and thus seal the gap between the ceiling and channel profile  10  and the gap between ceiling  20  and gypsum board  30 . The finished structure is shown in  FIG. 6 . 
     As is obvious from this, application is very mounting-friendly, since no additional fastening of the joint-sealing tape, for example to the profile or to the ceiling, is necessary. Accurately fitting application of the joint-sealing tape, for example against a profile, is also unnecessary, by virtue of the self-centering of the joint-sealing tape during mounting of the profile on a building part. Mounting is therefore conceivably easy, and the working effort for mounting the joint-sealing tape is greatly reduced. 
     Regardless of the pressure exerted by the gypsum board, well-defined pressing of the sealing strips against the underlying surface is achieved by the inventive configuration of the joint-sealing tape. Via the choice of the material from which the sealing strips are made, a well-defined spacing can be easily adjusted between a gypsum board and the underlying surface on which the profile is mounted. Furthermore, when used in an expansion joint, the sealing strips hinder movement much less than compared with the known sealing solutions, so that it is possible to work with only a relatively small joint width in order to achieve adequate absorption of movement. 
     The invention therefore achieves safe and reliable sealing of joints between two building parts, especially between a profile of a drywall studwork and a building part adjacent thereto, such as, for example, a ceiling, wall or floor. In this connection, two-sided sealing can be achieved in only one operation, by providing a prefabricated sealing element.