Protect your concrete

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Concrete is subject to damage by moisture. This is simply a fact. Ever notice the cracks in the sidewalk? They don’t get smaller every year. Water freezing and melting during the winter is about the worst thing for concrete save handy work with a jackhammer. When water freezes, it expands. If it gets into the cracks too small to see and freezes, it begins to push them apart. The wider and deeper the fissure gets, the more water it can hold, and the farther apart it is pushed. Even though they may start on the microscopic level, you soon have cracks running deep through your pavement. Even if the water doesn’t freeze, it can weaken your concrete substantially. Water resting against or running over concrete starts to break down the bonds holding the cement together and so it will eventually disintegrate. Concrete sealers can help prevent this.

Now on the sidewalks this is one thing, but imagine this is the wall of a building you own. Over time, this can destroy the structural integrity of the building and this is no laughing matter.

Have you ever thought of what it must be like to be a concrete slab? Probably not, but think about it for a minute. Thousands of people walking on you every year, sitting out in the hot sun, and beneath freezing snow, people pulling heavy objects over you, it’s really quite a task to hold that much weight all the time. With this type of punishment being dealt out so often, it’s not surprising that damage will run deep and serious with a little age. Very often, you’ll see pits and fissures form, not only on the surface, but on the underside as well.

There are a few options for this. You can tear out the concrete and replace it all, hope that its not too serious and just do surface work, or under-seal it. Under-sealing it will be less costly, and less time consuming, and once the process is finished, you can do any surface work you wish, usually conveniently by the same people. It won’t interrupt the area for a couple weeks as replacing the slab might. Also, if serious surface work is also needed, then you won’t have to worry about adding lots of new weight and sinking the slab further, as you’ve already reliably lifted it.

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