You see concrete flooring everywhere you go. Most of the outdoor spaces will have concrete as your sturdy steps. And while it is suitable for any type of climate, excessive water exposure may have concrete meet its peril.
Rainwater is concrete material’s number one nemesis. With this, waterproofing is necessary. Keep that in mind. But there are more reasons why you need to protect the concrete surface.
Here is a list of reasons why to waterproof concrete surfaces.
Reasons to Protect Concrete Surfaces
- Waterproofing helps prolong the life of the concrete flooring.
- Waterproof floor coatings maintain a slip-resistant surface.
- Slip-resistance means fewer accidents.
- Waterproofing helps retain the vibrant colors of the concrete coloring.
- The flooring surface will remain dry and safe to walk on most of the time.
- There are areas at home that need extreme protection, like rooms with no natural air circulation. Damp spaces need waterproofing on their surfaces so they will not wear down in a short time.
What to Use for Water-resistant Floors
The above list gives you scenarios that show the advantages of applying water-resistant coating on concrete floors.
Anti-moisture floor coatings are necessary among pool decks, patio floors, concrete driveways where exposure to rain and water occurs more often. Among the outdoors, concrete stamping always wins as the top choice for the owners. Even the cost of stamped concrete overlay becomes the main factor due to its cost efficiency.
It is also necessary to have your interiors covered with waterproofed flooring materials. The kitchen and bathroom steps must have good skid resistance. This way, your loved ones especially the adult family members will be kept safe, avoiding slipping and falling around these areas.
After knowing these important reasons to have water-repelling flooring surfaces, next is to know the materials with excellent water-resistant.
Here are some of them:
- Concrete coating
- Vinyl tile floors
- Laminate floors
- Composite wood floors
- Wooden flooring
- Stamped overlays
- Polyurea floorings
What areas need water-proofed floorings?
Check around your properties and you will see spaces that are too damp like the basement or the kitchens. The following are floors that need a protective coating, see if you got one:
- Kitchen floors
- Concrete bathroom floors
- Pool decks
- Garage flooring
- Basement floors
- Commercial floors
If you will take a closer look at these flooring surfaces they get a damp mess, sticky grease, and oily stains that frequent the steps. Not only that you are faced with hard-to-remove satins, but these also make the flooring often get slippery.
For the basement, you will need to work with local flooring contractors as Seattle basement waterproofing. You need such a team to help sort the areas where water often destroys the surface.
Another is pool decks and the patio floors. For outdoor steps like these, a traditional “kool” decking that enhances the cooling effect with a water-repelling feature uses iron oxide coating. However, a much sturdy and effective water and slip repelling cool deck is the best option nowadays.
Essential Steps for Waterproofing
Wherever you need to apply waterproofed floor coating, the installer must follow these key steps:
1- Weather check and Surface Prep
Perform the resurfacing on a day where there is enough sun. It is important that when you apply the water-resistant application no drop of water or moisture will be present. If so, then it will only defeat the purpose of sealing the floor surfaces.
2- Application
In this step, it is important that you apply the sealer evenly. So, make sure that you or the installer will not leave a spot without the coating.
3- Time to Cure
What happens if there’s no waterproofing?
So, here is now an important question to ask. What happens if there is no waterproofing applied to the floors? Good question, right?
A while ago you read about what causes the major peril for concrete floors. That’s right, it’s water! (Good job for remembering!)
So when the concrete floor gets exposed to too much moisture and constant water splashes the material softens and weakens. It easily responds to impact thus acquire dents, cracks and becomes uneven due to weathering.
Here is a more detailed inventory of possible scenarios without the protective concrete coating.
- Water will reduce the surface coating and makes it exposed to various damaging factors.
- The concrete material or surface loses its pure compound and will build up residues like salt or other solid deposits when it is often exposed to the water.
- Concrete is a porous material. This means that it got tiny hole sand gaps where super mall and invisible matter can get into the material and weakens it causing cracks and crumbling surface.
- Without waterproofing, the surface will allow excess water to leak inside the concrete and soon will cause ground erosion.
- Water getting into the pores of the concrete slabs means danger to one’s health due to compounds that concrete fumes out when wet.
- Water splashes and constant drops of water quickly rinse off the coloring or pigments that decors the floor. Ugly steps are a major eyesore so you will want to seal and coat the floors.
- Without waterproofed floor coatings, molds will grow on the surface.
Final Notes
Aren’t you now convinced to resurface your floors after reading about the banes without waterproofing? Think of safety first and you will NEVER get wrong.
All things considered, the most necessary part of sealing the concrete steps in your properties is a seamless finish. You can achieve this if you work with professional concrete contractors. They will make sure to follow the proper steps for a polished seamless waterproofed floor.
