Concrete Garages: No More a Nightmare!

Concrete is used extensively wherever there is need for foundations, architectural framework, highways, dams or bridges. Just because you chose concrete garages over brick ones doesn’t mean you have to fret over cracks that have started to appear. Lots of factors can damage concrete including the reinforcement bars corroding, corrosion due to microorganisms, erosion, leaching or freezing of water that drips into cracks. Getting altogether new concrete buildings may turn out to be expensive. Try some other options before contemplating a new garage.

Fill Up Cracks

You might have noticed that the surface around the cracks stays moist. This is because concrete is a porous substance. In such cases, your best bet is poly urea fillers. Such fillers dry out beneath the surface and fill the cracks.

Coat the Floor

If you’re looking for short term or inexpensive treatment, you can go for UPR coatings. A hardening material is available separately which needs to be mixed with the UPR before application. Most coatings will only work if the floor was appropriately cured or epoxied. Be sure that you use good quality materials. There are many poly aspartic materials too that are specifically made to handle harsh wearing. Also, it will help if proper care was taken in the beginning of construction itself as in the case of precast concrete buildings.

Cover It Up

If you have a very ugly floor, and you just want to cover up the cracks, you can go for tile or mat coverings. Tiles can stick to the area around a crack. But if you have a constant moisture problem, the sticky substance will dissolve leading to the tiles coming off. A mat can be the best choice as it will cover the whole area. Garage mats can easily repel chemical damage too. Also, if the cracks are very serrated and they end up damaging the mat, you can buy a new one. This will cost you a nominal amount as compared to those high priced materials.

You can take a look at the Sutcliffes Pre-Cast Concrete Building Specialists website for more ideas on concrete buildings.