While concrete is durable and can last for decades, it may soon begin to look pretty shabby. There are a number of factors that can quickly make your concrete look centuries old. Salt and melting chemicals, oil spills, fertilizer, and weather can cause crumbling, discoloration or cracks. Furthermore, concrete tends to develop hair-line cracks and a new sealant will keep water from getting into these cracks, freezing, and causing expansion.
Regular sealing protects your concrete investment from these threats and keeps it looking great for decades.
That’s of course the customer’s decision. It’s important to know that it needs to be properly prepared before it is applied, because if something is sealed to it, it will be there for a very long time. It’s also important that the sealer doesn’t puddle or get wet. Everyone will quickly notice a bad sealing job. Removing a bad seal is a lot of hard work.
Even several sealings is less expensive and less trouble than breaking up your ruined driveway with a jackhammer, renting a container to have the chunks removed from your property and then having a new driveway poured.
Usually, the best time to seal new concrete is when the concrete has cured. While the type of sealer used are factors in determining when to apply the sealer, 28 days is generally considered a good time to do the job. Some sealers, though, need to be applied as soon as the concrete can bear the weight of the person applying the sealer.
After that, how often you will need to reseal depends on the kind of sealer used and the kind of wear and tear you concrete gets. Understand that Colorado’s hot sun, cold winters and rapidly changing temperatures can cause more rapid wear. This is why we recommend regular sealing.
There are different sealers to choose from and they have different outcomes. Some sealers are practically invisible, some add color, some are glossy, others are flat, some protect from weather extremes and mold, some are good for trafficked areas, some for places where chemicals are used, some are good for watery areas, some sealers are environmentally friendly, some last 1 to 3 years and others last for 10 or more years, some make your concrete slippery and need additives to prevent that, some repel water and salts, others repel oil. Your concrete professional will advise you as to which sealer will meet your needs and wants.
If you are unsure about what type of sealer was previously used, we recommend removing the old sealer before putting on the new. We use a biodegradable, non toxic, soy based solution to remove it. Because you can only remove a very small area at a time, this process takes time. We also want to be sure not to miss any spots or it won’t look very nice. After removing the old sealer, we use a power washer that is at least 4,000 psi on your concrete.
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