Concrete sealers are beneficial to your wallet considering the amount of time and money it can cost you to have your concrete relayed or repaired. Concrete sealers substanstially increase safety as well as increase the appeal of your concrete. They prevent contamination, abrasion, cracking, efflorescence leaching and much more.
Concrete is a porous material and you can either use a penetrating sealer which ‘fills’ all the holes leaving a ‘matte finish’ (so it looks the same as any concrete slab, but enhances the cracks and characteristics of the concrete which is now popular in the modern look). Or you can apply an acrylic top coat sealer which sits on top of the concrete and gives a ‘gloss finish’.
A penetrating sealer is more beneficial for the concrete and is easier for long term maintenance, however it has a ‘rough’ texture and is difficult for mopping. The acrylic top coat is easy to clean as it is smooth like tiles, easy to mop and keep clean but more difficult for long term maintenance as the top coat sealer can wear down and may require top ups or stripping back and a new coat being put down over the top.
We have recently been contacted by one our large building insurance clients to complete a concrete sealing job. The insured’s home has had some severe water damage throughout which has required some extensive building works to take place.
When the water has gone over the polished concrete floor it has damaged and broken down sections of the sealer which does not give off an attractive appearance.
Our technician attended the site to test some areas with stripper to ensure the pre-existing sealer would be easily removed and also tested a small area to determine the correct sealer to use for the job.