Sealing your concrete isn't really a labor-intensive, nor costly, job. By sealing your concrete every 2-5 years, as recommended by experts, you should keep your floor in good shape, preventing cracks, pitting, and additional damage.
Both polished and sealed concrete floors require some amount of maintenance, but it's significantly less with a sealed floor. All you need is a mop and some soapy water to clean your floors every week or two. On the other hand, polished concrete needs to be resealed every few years in order to maintain the shine.
Life cycle: when properly maintained and installed, a polished concrete floor will last well over 20 years. These floors are not vulnerable to common damages that would ruin other flooring systems.
An unsealed concrete floor is going to be more reactive and sensitive to changes in temperature. It will freeze in cold climates and expand in warm ones. This can cause crumbling, chipping, and cracking.
To prevent surface damage to your concrete flooring, we recommend you dust mop daily with a clean, microfiber cloth pad. The use of dirty pads, or rough surfaces can damage the polished concrete surface of the floor. You don't want anything that will scratch or etch the surface of your floor when you're dusting.
Generally speaking, the disadvantages of polished concrete floors are very few. They involve things like discoloration, stains that are deeply embedded in the concrete, or imprints made when the concrete slab was initially poured.
Concrete should be sealed to protect from mold and mildew.
When this moisture doesn't dry and the surface is left wet for an extended period of time, mildew begins to form and mold begins to grow. You'll know you have mold growing on your concrete by the greenish color that appears.
Experts who recommend having a concrete surface sealed are doing their customers a big favor. Without this extra layer of protection, concrete will absorb moisture and may begin to crack, spall, flake, and discolor, among other things.
If you're looking for sustainable materials to use in your home, polished concrete is a great option because: Recycled materials can be used to manufacture concrete. It has a long life – meaning you're less likely to need to replace your floor for many years.
Getting concrete floor coatings or a decorative concrete overlay is not a luxury – it's an investment that can pay off over time. Not only will the investment improve your enjoyment of the home and reduce your maintenance, but it will also improve the value of your home.
Value Adding
Not only is polished concrete durable and low maintenance, but it is also an aesthetically pleasing flooring solution that leaves a beautiful impression in the mind of prospective buyers.
If you are looking for a sealer for your polished concrete floors in a restaurant, you will need to choose a sealer that is resistant to water and slip. The best sealers for this type of environment are siliconate and polyurethane.
Keeping your floors dust-free is as simple as a nightly sweep with a microfibre mop. If you don't have one of these, a cotton or soft bristled broom will also do the job. Then, once a week, go over the area with a damp mop. This will remove any residual dust and really get your floors shining again.
Fortunately, by far the majority of slabs have moisture barriers installed under the slab making the amount of moisture migrating out of the slab not an issue for polished concrete. Are polished concrete floors prone to CRACKING? Yes, they are.
Epoxy-based concrete sealers tend to last much longer, usually between 5–10 years.
If you want to clean your concrete, there are a few things to keep in mind. You should use a pressure washer or other high-pressure water source to remove stains such as oil and grease. When using a pressure washer, be careful not to damage the sealer on your driveway by putting too much pressure on it.
Another major drawback of sealed concrete flooring is their propensity for showing scratches and wear in high foot traffic areas.
After discussing the factors you need to look for and the regional location of the project, in broad terms, Spring is in fact the best time of year to seal concrete. With its moderate temperatures and humidity levels, it tends to provide ideal conditions for the application and curing of sealers.
Sealer that is applied too heavily or too often will create an impermeable barrier and trap that water vapor beneath it. If enough pressure is created by trapped water vapor, the sealer can delaminate from the concrete surface, and might even take some of the concrete paste with it!
Sealers can be slippery. Sealing concrete can create a slippery surface, especially when wet.
Polished concrete floors are a popular option for commercial and industrial building. However, as a porous substance, it is vulnerable to excessive moisture which can cause difficulties during installation and distort the end result. Contractors should be conscious of the impact moisture has on cementitious floors.
Because material costs for polished concrete floors are six to eight times lower than that of high-quality hardwood floors, polished concrete is significantly less expensive than wood in new residential construction. In 2022, a typical white oak floor install can range from $12 to over $22 a square foot.
Polished concrete flooring is solid, and can stand up to heavy foot traffic or even heavy equipment in a warehouse. It's almost impossible to chip, scratch or otherwise damage polished concrete floors. Sealed polished concrete floors are also resistant to chemicals like alkalis and acids that could cause corrosion.