Although hard, concrete is in fact porous. Water can be wicked up by concrete and move through it. Along the way, the water picks up salts in the concrete and moves them to the surface. When the water reaches the surface and evaporates, the salts are left behind. This creates the unseemly white stuff that often forms on concrete called efflorescence. To stop efflorescence, you need concrete moisture remediation.
If you see joints or cracks in your floor that don’t dry completely, this points to a significant cache of moisture beneath your concrete. Some people try to hide the issue with tiles or cheap epoxy. Without a quality sealant, however, the water finds its way through, resulting in loose tiles or coatings that bubble and peel away. Then the problem is worse and more costly to fix.
What to Do About Groundwater
Depending on severity, you might need to repair the water issue ahead of proceeding (sealing the floor may not prevent problems in the walls or other spaces). If the situation is localized to the concrete, a cleanup and epoxy sealing should prevent moisture from accumulating. West Coast Epoxy adds a moisture barrier to our epoxy sealer that prevents bubbling from water vapor. After this procedure is complete, the concrete foundation is indeed waterproof on top. Therefore, you can safely overlay it with tiles, wood, carpet, or laminates. The epoxy sealant makes certain your floor surface will not be vulnerable to moisture again.
With epoxy sealers, the age of the concrete usually does not matter. Epoxy coatings dry rapidly thus reducing delays, but it cannot be applied to green concrete until the material is fully set. To find out more about water remediation for concrete floors, contact West Coast Epoxy for assistance in Concord.
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