Home Improvement DIY

If you have just had concrete flooring laid in your home or garage you will need to seal it in order to protect it and keeping it looking good. If you allow it to become exposed, traffic and other abuse will risk you having your concrete floors ruined. This is especially important if your concrete floors are decorative and so you paid a lot more to have this done.

Concrete floor sealer will ensure that water, chemicals and other damaging substances don’t get absorbed into the concrete. Whatever flooring type you have installed in your home, it needs to withstand considerable usage; people walking about, furniture being moved, animals running about, wet and muddy boots. You know the sort of things I mean. All this abuse can easily cause your concrete floors to crack and chip. Luckily you can prevent this from happening by following this advice.

First of all, it’s always wise to seal your concrete floors whilst they are new. If they are not new and you spill chemicals, red wine etc on them, you will ruin them and sealing isn’t going to make your floors magically come back to life. The concrete should also be level and any cracks, chips or hollows should be filled in with a repair compound. By repairing cracks, not only will your give your concrete floors a much better appearance, you will also prevent damp which is a particular problem in basements. Once you have made any necessary repairs to your concrete floor, you should allow the repair compound to dry before doing anything else.

When is comes to choosing a concrete sealer you need to be aware that there are different types. The two main ones are penetrants and film formers. The penetrating types (eg silicates, silanes and siloxanes) are generally used for exterior concrete which can suffer from frost and corrosion. Therefore you wouldn’t use them on the concrete flooring in your home. Instead you should buy film-forming sealers which are the most common type from decorative concrete. As you may have guessed, film-form sealers create a film on the concrete’s surface and give off a sheen. When looking for film-form sealers you will find these three types:-

Acrylic sealers can come in both water and solvent based formulations and they are the cheapest and easiest to use. These are normally used for outdoor use because of their resilience to UV light and water. The main downside is that the are not as hard wearing as polyurethanes and epoxies because they are thinner and so need to re-applied more often.

Epoxy sealers are ideal for internal use and they aren’t so good outside due to the fact that they turn yellow in daylight. However they are durable and long-lasting and adhere well to concrete. You can also choose between a clear and colored finish depending on what look you are after.

Polyurethane sealers can be either water or solvent based but are much thicker than acrylic versions. This makes them very reliant to chemicals and abrasion. The major downside is that when polyurethane sealers come into contact with water it causes a chemical reaction which leaves you with a foaming and bubbling result. The only way round this is to “cure” the polyurethane.

Once you have carried out any repairs on your concrete floor and bought your concrete floor sealer, it’s now time to start sealing.

First of all you need to make sure you buy enough sealer by measuring the room. Do another check over you floor to make sure it’s perfectly clean. Wet the surface of the concrete and then apply a cleaning solution. Once this is done you should dry your floor thoroughly then stir the sealer to ensure it’s nicely mixed up. Do not feel tempted to shake the tin as this can cause air bubbles which will show up on you concrete floor. Apply the sealer in a thin layer and allow to dry. Once it’s dry you can apply a second coat and allow that to dry.

Normally this is all that’s required but make sure you read the instruction carefully to make sure you don’t make any mistakes. This way you’ll get the results you’re looking for and will be able to keep your concrete floors looking great for years to come.

Remember, if a job’s worth doing, it’s worth doing it properly. If you do a botched job and don’t follow all the advice above, you will only be disappointed with the results. If you notice mistakes and want to re-do it, the amount of effort in removing the sealer will probably not make it worth your while