One myth about the word Duct Tape comes from World War II, when a tape was manufactured for the US Military to prevent water from getting into ammunition boxes.  As the water rolled of the boxes the word was born ‘Duct’ Tape, as it was a comparison to being like a duck on the water – the water rolls off looking like the feathers are dry.  The tape was also widely used to repair army tents as a quick and easy repair for the troops on the move; it was also light and easy to carry.

Since these early years the tape has been used in the building and construction industry for repairing and sealing air and heating ducts.  One of the main advantages of using Duct Tape is the tape is made of cloth so it can be torn easily by hand plus it has a 75mm core which allows your hand to fit inside which helps to wrap tape around pipes.  The tape is pressure sensitive and needs pushing down to create a tight seal.  Duct Tape can also be made PVC based but it has to be cut with a knife rather than just by hand, to give a clean edge.

Here’s a breakdown of the range of Duct, Gaffer and Cloth Tape that Directa supply:

This tape is manufactured using a cloth material, coated on one side with polythene, and on the other side with a pressure-sensitive adhesive. The latter consists mainly of resins and rubber like material.

Mid Range Performance Brand Gaffer Tape. Laminated polyethylene cloth tape with a pressure sensitive rubber adhesive. It displays good conformability to irregular surfaces, has good adhesion and is easy to tear by hand. The tapes good adhesion level to steel makes it particularly suitable for ventilation and warm air duct sealing applications in the HVAC industry, as well as general purpose applications including waterproof and security sealing, binding, reinforcing, securing, packing and identification in industry and the home.

Heavy duty performance Gaffer Tape is used for sealing concrete shuttering, export packaging, carpet joining, fastening cables and canvas repair. This tape is also widely used in theatres, photography, film and tv production and for industrial staging work. Displays good conformability to irregular surfaces, has good adhesion and is easy to tear by hand.

This Duct Tape is made of heavy duty PVC and  is used for ducts and air conditioning pipes.

Available in widths from 25mm to 100mm on a 33M length roll.

• The Duct tape can be cut to any width
• Silver in colour to blend in with ducts
• 75mm core so fitters can get their hands inside
• An economical way of wrapping pipes