When you’re laying concrete, sealing concrete should be on your mind. However, did you know a majority of contractors out there don’t mention it? There’s different reasons why this is overlooked, mostly because it’s an individual projects choice. For example, if you’re redoing your concrete garage floor, you may not always need to seal it because concrete garage floors tend to last a long time. However, if you’re doing a driveway, that’s exposed to more, sealing it can be good.
If you want to seal a concrete surface, such as a garage, here’s some rough steps for doing the job yourself and doing it right:
Before you begin, you want to thoroughly was the concrete floor. The best way to do that is to power wash it whenever possible. This will remove the majority of grime stuck to it. Once it’s thoroughly cleaned, you can begin the sealing process. The next step will be to degrease the floor. You can use any degreaser so long as it utilizes TSP-PF in it.
Once degreased, you want to make sure you’re using the right type of concrete sealant for your project. You can choose topical or penetrating, and this will depend on the type of concrete you’re working with and the scope of the project. For indoor projects, topical can work well; for outdoor ones, you’ll want to often utilize a penetrating one.
Most concrete sealers can be applied by a roller or pump sprayer, which can be bought or rented at a home improvement store or hardware store. You’ll need to apply two coats, letting each dry between application. Once dry, you’ll want to pour some water in different areas to make sure that the coats are working.
Those are the basic steps to applying concrete sealant. When you purchase sealant take the time to read the instructions and make sure to follow them and any warnings, too.