Are you one of the homeowners who actually use their garage to keep their vehicles and not piles of bins and boxes? If so, you’ve probably noticed that in winter your concrete garage flooring tends to become dingy-looking and may even develop stains and pits. With the coldest and snowiest month in the mid-Atlantic region approaching, it’s time to think how you could protect your garage flooring. Let our Maryland concrete flooring experts show you a few options. But first, let’s review why winter can be tough on concrete.
Causes of Garage Floor Damage in Winter
Winter is harsh on many outdoor surfaces, including your concrete garage flooring. Although concrete is a tough material, it too has its weaknesses. As your car enters the garage in winter, it often brings in mud, slush and de-icers the tires pick up on the streets. Rock salt, as it melts with the snow that falls off your tires, can seep into the porous concrete and cause deterioration and, eventually, cracks.
Drastic temperature changes we often experience in winter also don’t help. They cause the snow and salts to melt and then freeze inside the concrete. And as you know, liquids expand when they freeze, which damages concrete from the inside out.
How to Protect Your Garage Flooring in Winter
There are many different products out there that offer to protect your garage flooring. Some of these solutions are temporary, such as garage floor containment mats that can be rolled out and removed as needed. However, at Dragon Scale Flooring, we recommend considering more or less permanent solutions, such as garage floor coatings. We think this is a more cost-effective long-term option that will protect your garage flooring year round.
Epoxy Garage Coatings
Epoxy can act as a sealer to create a protective layer on top of your garage floor. But it can be much more than a clear coat. Epoxy can be mixed with a variety of color chips and pigments to create flooring that is not only durable, but also attractive. Probably one of the biggest benefits of epoxy is the ease of maintenance. The smooth, level surface created by pouring and spreading epoxy is a breeze to wipe clean with a mop.
However, if you want to get an epoxy coating in your garage right now, you may have to wait until the cold spell ends. Epoxy needs a certain temperature (typically above 50F) to properly cure, and can’t be installed in temperatures below freezing.
Urethane Garage Coatings
Polyurea or polyaspartic coatings are derivatives of polyurethane, but they possess special characteristics that make them perfect for such a job as protecting your garage flooring in winter. Polyaspartic coatings are similar to epoxy in appearence, but have differences in the application process and different concrete preparation requirements. One of the huge benefits of polysaspartics is the fact that they can be applied virtually at any temperature and they cure very fast. So if you need to take measures to protect your garage flooring right now, polyaspartic coating may be the way to go.
Before You Do Anything
Before you settle on a solution, talk to an expert. Depending on the current condition of your garage flooring, there may be certain coatings you should or shouldn’t use. Our specialists in concrete coatings can help you understand what’s involved in selecting the right product and what to expect when it’s time for the installation. And, of course, we can professionally install epoxy, polyurea and other garage floor coatings. Our team takes the time to do a thorough concrete prep to ensure that the coating adheres well and lasts you a long time.
Give us a call or contact us online with any questions!