There are several important steps that will be carried out during concrete repair, and one of these is the sealing process. Generally applied after major repairs have already taken place, sealing protects your slab from several risks, including moisture infiltration and others, as you move forward with a pristine concrete surface.
At Lift-Up Concrete, sealing is just one part of our comprehensive residential and commercial concrete lifting and leveling services in Ogden and other parts of Utah. We apply both gap sealants and final sealants to our concrete repair jobs, protecting the entire slab from erosion, water infiltration and more. What are the damage risks that come with unsealed concrete slabs, and what benefits does sealing offer to any slab on your property? This two-part blog series will go over everything you should know in this area.
Risks of Unsealed Concrete
If any of your concrete slabs are not properly sealed, you’re exposing them to significant risk. Here are several possible issues that may arise:
- Weather disintegration: Exposure to rain, snow and other weather factors means that your unsealed concrete slabs are likely to gradually degrade over time. If you keep those same concrete slabs sealed, however, those elements will have a harder time hitting the surface of the slab and taking their toll.
- Water intrusion: Unsealed concrete also increases the risk of water infiltration on your property. This is a particular concern during the late fall and early spring, when snowmelt or heavy rains can spell disaster for any unsealed concrete on your properties.
- Aggregate expansion: Aggregates in your concrete – such as gravel or sand – are likely to expand with the moisture that gets into an unsealed slab. If left alone, this can damage the surface of your entire slab. Sealing is the only sure-fire way to protect against this risk.
- Delamination: Delamination occurs when the top layer of concrete that has been sealed begins to come loose due to exposure. This is because sealing that surface serves as a protective barrier, one that prevents any significant movement between layers.
Our next several sections, however, will go over how concrete sealing helps prevent these and all related concerns.
Moisture Repellant
Perhaps the most important feature of concrete sealant is its ability to act as a moisture repellant. That’s because unsealed concrete is highly permeable, meaning that any rain or snow that falls on it will start to seep into the slab.
If your slab still has any cracks or fissures in it, then the water will continue to seep in. During the cold Utah winter, water that has seeped into a concrete slab can cause expansion and contraction, which will often crack and otherwise damage the slab.
In part two, we’ll go over some further benefits of proper concrete sealing. For more on this or any of our concrete repair services in Ogden or other parts of Utah, speak to the staff at Lift-Up Concrete today.
