While garage floors do not need to be sealed, doing so tends to be beneficial. Since garage floors are usually made out of concrete, they may be susceptible to cracks from moisture. Sealing your garage floor will protect it from damages.
You probably already seal your driveway relatively often, as driveways are constantly being subjected to the elements.
While your garage floor is more protected from these elements and does not require sealing, many experts recommend it. So here I tried to cover all the pros and Cons of sealing garage floor.
Your garage floor does not need to be sealed as often as your driveway, and filling the garage floor has many benefits. Keep reading to discover the advantages of sealing a garage floor, as well as how to do so.
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Pros of Sealing Your Garage Floor
Sealing your garage floor allows the concrete flooring to last much longer in a few ways, which is cheaper and more convenient than having to re-do the entire thing.
Here are the benefits of sealing your garage floor.
Prevent Cracks
Sealing a garage floor prevents moisture from getting into the pores of the concrete and causing cracks.
This protective layer keeps stray liquid from degrading the garage floor, including rain or snow that may seep in during colder weather.
Prevent Stains
In a similar vein, sealants do not allow any liquid to stain your garage floor.
The liquid cannot seep into the concrete.
Due to this prevention, not only will the floor not crack, liquids like oil or grease are forced to sit on top of the concrete, which makes them easy to wipe away without worrying about permanent residue.
Enhance Appearance
As a bonus, sealing your garage floor will improve the way it looks.
Many sealants give concrete flooring a lot of gloss, which makes the garage floor look very polished.
If your garage floor is painted, the sealer will prevent that paint from peeling, flaking, or even fading.
How to Seal Your Garage Floor?
While sealing a garage floor is not especially difficult, it is important to properly seal your garage floor.
These are the things to keep in mind if you want to know how to seal a garage floor correctly.
Choosing a Sealant
There are two major types of sealants for concrete flooring: topical coats and penetrative adhesives.
Topical coats provide the enhanced appearance, protect the floor’s surface, and preserve floor paint, whereas penetrative sealants fill in the pores beneath the surface of your garage floor.
A combination of both types is generally recommended to maximize the protection of your garage floor.
However, since sealing the garage floor is not required, and you may not feel like doing even more extra work, you may choose to use one kind or the other.
Please note that a penetrative sealant should be applied before a topical coat, as the topical coat will prevent the penetrative sealant from getting below the surface of your concrete floor.
Applying Sealant Properly
Always thoroughly read the label on sealants before applying them to your garage floor.
Also, as with paint, test a small patch of the floor before applying the sealant to the entire floor.
Be sure to clean your garage floor before you start applying sealant as well, as any debris can prevent the sealant from settling properly, and you may accidentally seal stains into the floor, which makes them incredibly difficult to get out.
Once you have done all of these things, you should apply the sealant to your concrete floor.
Cleaning the Finished Product
You can clean a sealed garage floor with water and cleaners.
It is safe to use a hose or mop on a sealed floor so long as you have given the sealant the proper amount of time to set, which should be specified on the label.
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Cons of Sealing Your Garage Floor
- Sealer purpose is an additional cost for the homeowner. The more spacious the floor area, the more sealer is required, the more costly it will be.
- Some concrete sealers dry glossy, making the surface less slip-resistant. However, the fine aggregate can be combined to add some non-skid texture when it dries.
- Sealers will dull and evaporate next few years. Faster if the garage floor experiences massive vehicle and foot traffic. It would need to be reapplied every couple of years or so.
- Sealing products can not be used on recently poured concrete. Homeowners would have to wait 25 to 30 days when the concrete has fully healed. Implementing the sealer too quickly will be harmful to the endurance of the new concrete slab.
Final Verdict
Although garage floors, unlike driveways, do not need to be sealed, sealing your garage floor will prevent the concrete from cracking or staining and preserve the floor paint.
Garage floors are still vulnerable to certain elements like moisture, so sealing them will allow these floors to last longer.
Sealants also tend to enhance the appearance of your garage floor.
Keep in mind that different kinds of sealant and penetrative ones should be applied before topical variants.
Before sealing your garage floor, thoroughly read all labels, clean the floor, and test a small area. While the floor will need to be resealed eventually, this resealing is less frequent than your driveway.
Hey, it’s Brayan. I’m an enthusiastic guy in a different arena. Since my boyhood, I love to research all the stuff in my surround. Here I seek to share my experience with all the things that will benefit you and me. Feel free to know your opinion about my outlines.