A concrete patio is durable, beautiful, and long-lasting. As long as you keep yours well-maintained, it can last a lifetime!
However, the type of coating that you use can make a difference. If your patio has started to show signs of wear and tear, it might be time to upgrade your concrete floor coating to a premium product that’s designed to last longer and hold up against all kinds of conditions.
Today, we’re sharing a few telltale signs that your patio needs a new coating. We’ll also take a look at why our innovative polyurea floor coating is the ideal way to protect your patio floors today, tomorrow, and for years to come.
Why Do You Need Concrete Floor Coating?
Concrete is an extremely rugged material. However, it can be vulnerable to the effects of weather and time.
As concrete expands and contracts, cracks can form on its surface. Water damage from rain, sleet, or hail can also damage its structure and appearance, along with UV rays from the sun.
In addition, you could scratch, scrape, or stain your concrete if it isn’t properly sealed. Everything from heavy foot traffic to chemical corrosion can damage the surface of your concrete. Over time, you may also notice crazing cracks, which form when fine particles penetrate your concrete and allow water or chemicals to enter the floor.
These problems can undermine the integrity of your patio floor, as well as affect its appearance. They’re challenging to deal with, but not impossible to prevent or repair.
This is where a high-quality concrete coating comes in.
While many homeowners turn to a traditional epoxy when it’s time to coat their concrete patio floors, our polyurea floor coating is up to 20 times stronger. It also boasts many other benefits that set it apart from standard coatings, including:
- Resistant to UV light damage
- Resistant to moisture damage
- Resistant to scrapes
- Resistant to extreme temperatures
- Resistant to many forms of chemical corrosion
- An extremely fast cure rate
- Beautiful, stain-resistant finish
- Quick installation time
If it’s time to re-coat your concrete floors, it makes sense to choose a solution that will stand the test of time. While an epoxy floor coating can turn yellow or fade after exposure to sunlight, our polyurea coating will maintain its appearance for years. Plus, its ultra-quick cure rate leaves no time for bubbles to form as the material hardens, ensuring a smooth and sleek finish every time.
Do You Need Concrete Floor Resurfacing?
When your concrete floors are ready to be resurfaced, you’ll start to see warning signs. Let’s take a look at some of the most common issues to look out for, and how to know it’s time for concrete floor resurfacing.
It’s Chipped, Cracked, or Peeling
Under normal conditions, your concrete patio floor shouldn’t look like it’s starting to wear down. If you’re seeing areas where the surface is starting to chip, crack, or peel, then it’s time to think about investing in a new patio floor coating.
While this issue can be unsightly, it isn’t uncommon. Epoxy coatings aren’t designed to hold up against ongoing impact, and they can wear down in time. Extreme temperatures can delaminate them in patches, as can underlying moisture.
Your coating might also be weakened if your installation team didn’t apply it correctly. Timing is everything with epoxy, and if it was too hot or cold outside, it might not have adhered correctly. The same applies to coatings installed on very humid days.
With a polyurea coating, you can rest assured that your patio floor will be beautifully resistant to any type of damage, including chipping, cracking, and peeling. One of the best parts is that you can install it at any time of the year! As long as the temperature is between -30 degrees and 140 degrees Fahrenheit, you can be confident that your coating will install successfully.
Stains Are Stubborn
You spilled a glass of red wine on your patio floor and went to rinse it off immediately. However, despite your best scrubbing, you can still see a mark where the incident occurred. Does this sound familiar?
If stains are sticking around in your concrete floor, your coating isn’t doing its job. Instead of exerting even more elbow grease, upgrade to a polyurea coating instead. That way, you won’t have to worry nearly as much about stains ruining the appearance of your patio.
You Notice Corrosion
Part of responsible floor coating maintenance is ensuring that corrosive materials and chemicals don’t stay on your patio floor for too long. If you have an epoxy coating, you might have noticed spots of corrosion in certain places. While corrosion isn’t very common with coated concrete, it can happen.
Usually, it occurs in garages, where there’s a combination of moisture, heat, and impact from cars driving over the surface of the floor. If oil or other chemicals spill out, they could also harm and corrode the concrete.
On your patio, you might notice corrosion if salt water comes into contact with your floor. Or, you could spill corrosive chemicals such as lighter fluid on the surface. If this happens, it can eat away at the epoxy coating.
Our polyurea coating is designed to resist most forms of chemical corrosion. While it’s still important to remove spills as soon as they occur, you don’t have to worry as much about the damage they could cause.
The Concrete Is Cracking
If your concrete has started to crack, you might not have noticed it yet. The epoxy coating can conceal minor cracks, at least at first. However, it doesn’t take long for them to grow and develop.
Before long, the coating itself can also start to deteriorate. If this happens, it can allow dirt, debris, and moisture to enter the flooring system. This can lead to further damage, so it’s important to address even minor cracks as soon as they appear.
The Coating Is Bubbling
There are two main reasons why your concrete floor coating could start to crack. First, it might have been applied incorrectly. Unless it’s professionally installed, there’s a chance that it never adhered properly to the floor in the first place.
The second reason is moisture.
If your coating didn’t seal correctly, moisture could have crept under it, building up under the surface. This can cause bubbles to form in the coating, and can also lead to peeling and cracking. Left untreated, the damp environment can even lead to mold growth, which you will need to clean and remove quickly to prevent further damage.
There Are Bare Spots
Your once-shiny concrete flooring now looks duller than usual. In some places, you can even see large patches of bare concrete with no protective covering at all. What’s going on?
This could be a sign that your flooring system isn’t working as it should. When there are bare patches, it signifies that water has been pooling on the surface of your concrete patio floor. This can cause it to rot from the bottom up, so call for a replacement as soon as you can.
The Surface Is Uneven
Over time, any flooring system can shift a little. This is because the Earth naturally moves! It’s natural to feel small dips and slight inclines in your patio floor.
Yet, that doesn’t mean you have to settle for a floor that’s noticeably uneven. If your floor looks or feels disproportionate, it’s definitely time to hire a professional to repair and re-coat it.
It Looks Discolored
There are two main factors that can discolor your concrete patio floor: stains and sunlight. A well-coated floor will repel stains and clean up beautifully; however, if the coating is compromised, those stains will stick around, especially if they’re dark or contain corrosive chemicals.
Constant exposure to harsh UV sunlight can also discolor your floors. If you’re going to take the time to choose custom colors to complement your home’s exterior, you want to make sure they’ll retain their appearance for years. With a polyurea coating, you can choose from many different types of coating systems, and customize the final look of your project to meet your taste.
Professional Concrete Floor Coating
Do any of these warning signs ring a bell? If you’ve noticed that your concrete floor coating doesn’t look as shiny and new as it once did, it might be time to consider an upgrade.
Instead of re-applying an epoxy coating and dealing with these same issues again, check out our unique polyurea coating! Stronger, longer-lasting, and more durable than epoxy, it’s the ideal way to protect and preserve your patio floors.To learn more about our process and the different options we can provide, book an appointment today! Go here to find the Garage Force location nearest you.