Repairing Garage Floors

Perhaps one of the most unattended parts of a modern house is the garage. More specifically, the garage floor is one of the most neglected parts of the garage. Your garage can store the family automobile or serves as a work space for dad’s little mad scientist experiments. The garage floor experiences the worst kind of abuse that anyone can inflict upon a floor.

The garage floor is a victim of the harshest substances such as acids, oils and paint. Usually the floor is made of concrete, and concrete is a semi-porous material. A semi-porous material acts like a sponge which absorbs small amounts of liquid materials. The liquids permeate the surface of the concrete and stay on the layer just below the surface.

This explains why you see many spots in concrete floors which never seem to disappear. The stains in concrete floors, especially those in your garage are very hard to clean, making the restoration of the concrete floors more difficult.

General repairing of garage floors

One of the most common repair problems with concrete garage floors is that you are likely to encounter is cracks. Garage floors take a lot of abuse in terms of the weight of the things stored there. There might be tools and materials that accidentally fall causing chips and or gouges of material to be removed. Earthquakes and extreme temperature changes can make substantial cracks in the garage flooring as well. If the problem is not really that bad (small cracks and chips) you can repair it yourself with some common home mixed concrete and apply the stuff to the cracks.

Be sure to consult the local do-it-yourself shop for advise on proper technique appropriate for your region of the country, the time of year, and expected weather conditions - and to decide on the correct mix of concrete or other patching material you decide to use.

In dealing with stains, you actually have a couple of options for cleaning then off. Industrial cleaners which can be bought in hardware stores is one good repair option. If you are unable to find specialty concrete stain cleaners, you can use a mixture of water and muriatic acid, but this is a last resort, and this material needs to be handled with care. Be sure to heed all package warnings.

Everstone

One of the most recommended materials to use in the repair and restoration of concrete floors is everstone. What is everstone? Everstone is actually a mixture of an epoxy resin coupled with beautiful decorative small stones. The small stone decoration of the everstone makes the coating very attractive and appealing. Small stones are comfortable for walking and for doing ground work.  The material can be applied to different kinds of surfaces including cement, concrete, wood and brick.

Preservation

Prevention is the best method of preserving your garage floor. Always make sure that you protect your garage floor whenever you are busy painting something or similar activities. Get some newspapers and place them up under the active area. Always make sure that you clean any stains and droppings as soon as you can. Never let substances seep deep into the flooring.

A good sealant will also do a very good job of preserving the garage floor, and saves you the hassle of scrubbing the dirt out when when some does collect. Consider also using an protective coating system to protect your garage floor too.