Concrete Maintenance

7 Necessities for Maximizing Concrete Lifespan

Concrete surfaces are integral parts of many commercial and residential structures. These surfaces need proper care to maximize their lifespan. Extending concrete lifespan postpones downtime for repair and replacement work while also saving you money.

The following are seven necessities for maximizing concrete lifespan. Keep these in mind when using and maintaining your concrete surfaces.

1. Clean the Surface

You both improve the appearance and extend the lifespan of your concrete when you take the time to periodically clean it.

You can clean concrete surfaces in several ways. Perhaps the most effective ways to clean them are to use either a pressure washer or a concrete floor scrubber to remove residue after sweeping the concrete clear of larger debris.

2. Minimize Water Exposure

Water is damaging to concrete surfaces. Water causes stains or cracks from freeze thaw damage over time when concrete surfaces do not have adequate protection from moisture exposure.

While some exposure to water is inevitable, your concrete surface should be in a place to dry relatively quickly after water exposure.

Design and build concrete surfaces to water naturally flow off of them. Drainage features in concrete surfaces are essential. If pooling water develops, add drainage features to a concrete surface to fix the problem.

3. Seal the Surface Periodically

Sealing concrete surfaces is an important maintenance task. While sealing a concrete surface protects against problems like warping and cracking, sealing too often can be just as damaging as not sealing concrete at all.

Generally, concrete does best when sealed around once every year. However, the recommended time between seal applications varies depending on how a particular concrete surface is formulated and used.

You should consult your concrete manufacturer for the final word on how often to seal your particular concrete surface.

4. Avoid Overuse of Deicers 

One substance that is particularly damaging to concrete is deicing chemicals. Deicers cause damage like spalling and scaling on concrete.

If you must use a chemical deicing substance on your concrete, use rock salt or calcium chloride rather than ammonium sulphates or nitrates. That being said, you should only use any type of deicer if absolutely necessary because even rock salt prematurely ages concrete.

5. Repair Cracks

Regardless of how gentle you are on your concrete surface, cracks develop in concrete over time. Neglecting to repair cracks further damages concrete.

Water gets down into these cracks and causes freeze thaw damage when the temperature gets low. This expands cracks over time.

You can repair cracks with concrete patching compound. The sooner you repair concrete cracks, the less severe the resulting damage is and the longer the concrete surface lasts.

6. Limit Weight of Loads

Though a strong material, concrete has some limits regarding how much weight it supports without damage. Limit the weight of loads you allow on your concrete to prevent damage.

Concrete ages more quickly if oversized vehicles or heavy machinery constantly drive over it and are stored on top of it. Plan your workflow to place these extremely heavy loads elsewhere.

7. Clean Spills

Spills from substances like oil, paint, gas, or grease easily stain concrete even if the concrete has recently been coated with a seal. Quickly clean spills of such substances off of your concrete to minimize the resulting damage.

Ideally, you should pressure wash concrete after a bad spill to minimize any discoloration.

If you need concrete services such as driveway resealed , tear out and replace, free estimate, or new concrete placement, contact us at Crete Dawg Concrete by Design to learn more. We look forward to speaking with you and answering all of your concrete-related questions and concerns.