Concrete Cleaning & Sealing
Protect The Life of Your Concrete
If you are looking to refresh your existing concrete and protect it from future damage our clean & seal is what you need. Our commercial grade penetrating sealer will greatly extend the life by protecting it from its greatest enemies: water, chemicals and seasonal changes.
Why concrete needs to be sealed
The strength and durability of concrete is what makes it such a widely used building material. However, concrete’s porous nature allows it to absorb water and soluble salts, which can be destructive. Further more, concrete in the northern region of the country is exposed to extreme weather conditions, salt usage and many freeze-thaw cycles that all have damaging effects on concrete. Concrete driveways, patios and walkways that are not sealed correctly are at risk of:
- Excessive pitting & pop-outs
- Flaking & Spalling
- Life of concrete greatly reduced
How to Seal Concrete Correctly
There is not much you can do to reverse the damaging effects of water, chemicals and seasonal changes on your concrete other than doing a costly replacement. We at Concrete Hero are here to help you avoid this all together by offering our superior concrete clean and seal service. We start by removing the grim and dirt that has accumulated over the years on your concrete using our specialized orbiting pressure washer. After the concrete has dried for 24 hours, we return to apply our commercial grade penetrating sealer.
Beware Not All Sealers Are Made Equal
Many of the sealers sold in home improvement stores are acrylic sealers that only form a film on the surface that wears off after a year or two. These sealers cost less but are not as effective as penetrating sealers. Many times these sealers do nothing to protect your concrete from salt and other chemicals. Our professional-grade sealer penetrates deep into the pores of fresh concrete, which will provide maximum long-term protection.
We can make your concrete look good again and keep it looking good.
Our Clean & Seal Advantages
Water & Chemical Protection
Provides superior protection from water, chemicals and freeze-thaw cycles
Long-Lasting
Chemically reacts with concrete for long lasting protection (5-10 years)
Protects Investment
Extends the life of your concrete and avoids costly replacement in the future
Total Protection
Help prevent warm weather issues such mold, mildew and algae from forming
Clean Results
Will not alter the appearance or texture of surface
Refreshes Concrete
Cleans and restores the look of your concrete giving you a fresh look
How We Professionally Seal Concrete
1. Power Wash
A deep pressure washing is preformed to remove dirt and grim and to open up the pores of the concrete which will allow the sealer penetrate deep into the slab.
2: Apply Sealer
After 24 hours of drying we return and spray on the penetrating sealer flooding the surface to ensure full and deep coverage.
3. Enjoy!
After 6 hours of drying you can go back to using your newly cleaned and protected concrete.
How Does Freeze-Thaw Cycles Damage Concrete? The Long Explanation
One of the most common causes of distress to concrete is freeze-thaw damage. We’ve all seen slabs where the surface has scaled off or where the stones have popped out of the surface. Here is an explanation of what causes that sort of damage.
Contrary to popular belief, concrete is not waterproof (unless it’s sealed). Running throughout the paste portion of the concrete matrix is a network of pores and capillaries created as the concrete is setting by the migration of bleed water out of the concrete. Once the concrete is hardened, water can flow into the capillaries and pores.
When water freezes it expands 9% in volume. If the water is free to expand, then no problem, but if it is contained and not allowed to be free, it exerts incredible force. We’ve all seen how frozen water can split a pipe or break a bottle. Concrete, with its low tensile strength, is no match for freezing water from within.
Most exterior concrete will become saturated to some depth whenever there is rain or melting snow. The more porous the concrete, the faster and deeper the water can penetrate into the capillaries and pores. During warm weather, that water creates no problems and even allows the cement to continue to hydrate. But in freezing conditions if the water fills the pores and capillaries (or soaks into porous aggregate) at whats called critical saturation, then freezing can lead to damage.
Remember that concrete has low tensile strength and freezing water pushing in all directions creates a lot of tensile force. Under these conditions, the water in the pores freezes and expands, creating tiny cracks that will then fill with water themselves and freeze, leading to more cracks – eventually we get concrete damage and surface spalling. To solve this problem, concrete poured in cold climates uses entrained air in the mix. Entrained air is created in fresh concrete during mixing by adding a surfactant (basically soap) that foams up and creates millions of tiny bubbles.
This allows freezing water to migrate into the air bubbles instead of damaging the concrete.While using air entrainment greatly reduces the damaging effect of freezing water, it doesn’t completely eliminate the problem. The only way to provide 100 percent protection is to seal the concrete with a high quality penetrating sealer.
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