Your flooring is a fundamental aspect of your home or business space, and it's essential that it remains in excellent condition to ensure safety and aesthetics. However, various challenges can plague your floors, especially when dealing with concrete surfaces.
At Floor Shield, some common questions we get are “What is efflorescence and spalling?” and “Does efflorescence and spalling lead to cracking and coating failure?”
We’ll additionally be tackling the slipperiness of sealed and polished concrete surfaces that can pose safety hazards. Plus, how good preparation work goes a long way in ensuring a stable and long-lasting concrete coating.
Efflorescence is a pesky problem that can mar the appearance of your concrete floors. It occurs when moisture seeps through the concrete, depositing salts and minerals on the surface. A certain amount of efflorescence is typical for uncoated concrete, but when it becomes severe, it signals excessive moisture within the concrete.
Excess moisture can lead to significant issues, including coating delamination. Floor Shield tackles high-moisture concrete by following a meticulous process:
Floor Shield always utilizes a moisture meter to assess the amount of water present in the concrete. If the moisture level exceeds 6%, a moisture vapor barrier is added to mitigate potential problems.
Another reason for coating failure is inadequate preparation. Acid etching, a common but less precise method of surface preparation, can result in an uneven surface that hinders proper coating adhesion.
In contrast, Floor Shield opts for grinding the concrete, effectively removing dirt and dust particles, and creating an ideal surface for the coating to adhere to. This also removes the top layer of concrete that may contain contaminants, which we’ll delve into more below.
Spalling is another issue that often plagues concrete floors. It refers to the deterioration of the top layer of concrete, which creates an uneven and difficult surface profile for coatings to adhere to. This not only compromises the aesthetic appeal but also affects the longevity of your flooring solution.
To resolve spalling problems, Floor Shield takes a comprehensive approach:
This thorough process ensures that your concrete floor is not only visually appealing but will also stand the test of time.
Concrete cracking is a common issue, often resulting from natural movements of the earth. There are four main types of cracks in concrete:
Exposed rebar is a significant concern as it’s a sign of concrete breakdown and failure. Rebar, the metal poles within the concrete, are the concrete’s support and provide additional flexibility.
When rebar is exposed to moisture and air and begins to rust, it can lead to severe concrete damage that oftentimes escalates into entire sections of concrete breaking off from the floor’s surface.
Floor Shield will patch any crack bigger than a hairline before applying our product. Our polyaspartic coating is flexible and moves with the shifting substrate, preventing new cracks from showing up on the surface of your floor.
Sealed and polished concrete can be incredibly slick when wet. This is especially problematic for outdoor areas like back patios and driveways, where safety is a priority. To address this concern, many outdoor surfaces are "broom-finished," which adds significant texture to prevent slips. However, this kind of texturing isn’t very suitable for garage floors, where aesthetics are more important.
Floor Shield has a best-of-both-worlds solution by designing our product with coated concrete surfaces in mind. Our coatings include silica, a robust aggregate that adds texture to a flat surface.
We provide the necessary friction to meet OSHA requirements for public areas. In fact, our product exceeds industry standards, with a coefficient of friction testing at 151% of the dry requirement and 207% of the wet requirement. This added slip resistance ensures the safety of those walking on the coated surface.
In extreme cases, this process can cause concrete to break apart, exposing the rebar and potentially leading to structural failure. To mitigate this issue, northern regions often use harder concrete, which has smaller pore sizes and is less susceptible to water infiltration. This doesn’t prevent water from still seeping in and causing damage, though.
Floor Shield Coatings provide an effective solution to this problem. When applied to a concrete surface, Floor Shield bonds with the concrete, creating a waterproof barrier that fills up the concrete’s pores, inhibiting the absorption of moisture.
Bare, porous concrete is more susceptible to moisture-prone bio-growth, such as:
This will pollute your floor’s aesthetic appeal and make it very unsanitary. A coated floor acts as a barrier against moisture and provides a smooth surface for easy clean-up.
Another negative of bare concrete’s porous nature is its propensity to stain. Floor Shield seals and blocks these pores with the added benefit of being a stain-resistant product.
Concrete floors are prone to various issues, from moisture-related problems like efflorescence to structural concerns such as:
Floor Shield Coatings offer a comprehensive solution to these problems by providing effective:
If you’re interested in addressing these common floor issues with a concrete coating, you can scroll down to get a free, no-obligation quote.