Concrete garage floors: what to do with cracks?
When you have a floor of concrete in your garage there are two things that you know for certain. One: your garage floor is going to harden. And two: it will crack. A concrete garage floor may seem very simple to maintain, but it may turn out to be a bit more complicated than initially thought of. In this article we will walk you through the dangers of cracks in concrete garage floors and what can be done to prevent this.
Cracks in a garage floor: It is not your fault
Most people convince themselves that they have made some sort of mistake causing damage to their garage floor. But let us be honest here, concrete garage floors without any cracks is a high rarity. It is probably by none of your own doing that causes damage to your concrete. You can almost take it for certain that cracks to your floor coating will occur after a certain period of time. Just think about all your concrete floor has to endure. It not only has to hold the weight of the vehicle parked on it, it also must endure foot traffic. How often do you use the garage door to enter your home? Furthermore, your garage floor also is exposed to materials that contribute to the deterioration of the concrete. And we haven’t even mentioned the temperature fluctuations in Calgary that also put stress on the floor.
How come concrete cracks?
There are a variety of circumstances in which concrete will eventually crack. The main reasons are:
- placing the concrete at a too high slump
- use of excessive amounts of water in the concrete mix
- no contraction joints
Sometimes it is the case that cracks occur before hardening, which is mainly caused by settlement within the concrete mass or the result of shrinkage of the surface. Cracks in your garage floor of concrete mostly occur after hardening after a certain period. This is mainly due to drying or shrinkage, subgrade settlement or thermal contraction.
Sunken slabs in the garage floor
When speaking about a garage floor made out of concrete, it is also important to mention sunken slabs. This is something you can also experience over time. There are several reasons a slab can sink, like settling of the soil underneath. Fixing sunken slabs as soon as possible is important so the concrete does not continue to sink or crack even further. We always advise you to contact an expert for concrete lifting to fix your garage floor and the sunken slabs. And not try to fix it by yourself.
In what way can cracks to the garage floor be prevented?
Of course there are things that you can do with your floor that will help you prevent cracks in the concrete floor in the best way possible. In this paragraph we will walk you through them.
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Epoxy floor
One way of preventing extra cracks to your concrete garage floor is an epoxy floor. This can simply be described as some sort of extra layer over your concrete floor which protects the main floor. And in doing so the chance of cracks occurring can be massively reduced.
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Create control joints
Even if you slowly cure your concrete, a large slab may still crack eventually caused by surface shrinkage or a change in temperature. The heavy weather changes that can occur in Calgary can be a cause of that. Therefore it is important to create control joints to prevent the concrete from any future possible cracks.
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Concrete sealing
Another way to extend the life of your garage floor and improve its durability is concrete sealing. Not only will it help keep your floor in the right condition, it also gives it a beautiful finish.
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Concrete mix for the concrete garage floor
One more thing that can also be done to prevent concrete from cracking is modifying the concrete mix. This can be done through usage of low water-to-cement ratio.
What if your concrete floor in Calgary needs repairing?
Of course, once you notice cracks in your garage floor, it is important to get these fixed. So, what if your garage floor needs repairing? Concrete experts is there for you. We are experts in the area of concrete floors in Calgary. When your garage floor of concrete shows cracks and you do not trust it entirely, you can simply reach out to us. And we can take care of your concrete garage floor. We have the highest level of expertise when it comes to concrete flooring and we will make sure that your floor returns to its optimum condition. Replacing comes at a high cost, but why bother replacing if you can take advantage of our expertise?