Protecting Your Garage Floor
When enhancing the appearance of your garage, there are a variety of things you could do to dress up your drab concrete floor. However, there is a lot more to consider than just how the floor will look when you are done. When considering your options, make sure you evaluate which one will best protect the concrete as well as making sure the floor will WOW you and your guests.
The fact of the matter is that bare concrete is susceptible to all kinds of elements. This is especially true if you are in an area where winters are severe and salt or harmful chemicals are commonly used to de-ice the roads. These can and will take a toll on your garage floor over time. However, winter weather is definitely not the only enemy to your concrete. You need to beware of any automotive fluids that may spill or leak, harsh chemicals, extreme temperatures, moisture and hot tires.
Many garage flooring ideas will make your floor look great but do very little to combat the damage these elements can cause. For example, standard concrete paints and stains really offer little protection and are generally as susceptible as the concrete itself. Moreover, regular paint will show wear and possibly peel much sooner than other concrete floor treatments available. Another popular option is floor tiles. Plastic and vinyl tiles certainly put a layer between the damaging elements and your concrete floor but do not offer the maximum protection because fluids like motor oil and antifreeze can still seep through the seams.
The one thing many are turning to in order to enhance their concrete garage floor, give them maximum protection and ultimately improve their home’s value is epoxy garage floor coating. Epoxy flooring is more durable than the concrete it covers, can withstand some of the most extreme conditions, and give your concrete a beautiful, high-gloss finish that will last for many years without peeling or becoming dull.
One word of warning: before investing in an epoxy flooring kit, be sure it is a 100% solids epoxy coating, not water-based like you get at many large home improvement stores. Once you add water, you lose much of the thickness and durability that you would get from solids epoxy.
As you weigh your options for improving the appearance of your garage, be sure and think of the long term and get something that will protect your floor for years to come. The dividends will be well worth the extra investment, especially when the time comes to sell your home.
Cement Floor Seals Are Not All Equal
Many cement floor seals are saturates that soak into the pores of the floor. These saturant-type floor seals may work fine in some, but not all, situations. Looking through a microscope can reveal just how porous a cement floor can be. Saturant-type seals soak into the pores and then harden, bringing the pores level with the surrounding cement. This type of seal helps to reduce dusting and wear on the floor by providing more surface area for wheels and foot traffic to rest on. Problems, however, can arise later when the floor gets wet, causing the saturants to wash out of the cement and allowing liquids to penetrate and dissolve the cement.
In contrast to saturant-type seals, laminate floor seals create a barrier between the floor and the liquids, wheels, and foot traffic that impact it. The use of laminate floor seals is critical in environments where chemicals, diesel, or oils are likely to contact the floor. Laminates also create a wear-barrier that prevents friction being applied to the underlying cement. Epoxy or urethane laminates create a particularly durable, seamless membrane, or plate, which isolates the cement surface from contact with machinery and liquids. The coatings can be re-applied as needed, a process that is considerable less expensive than repairing a worn or damaged concrete floor.
Unlike saturant-type coatings, epoxy floor seals are moisture-resistant as well as compatible with damp humid areas and flooding. These qualities result from the catalysis that epoxy undergoes when applied, changing into a plastic that will not re-liquify if its carrying solvents are reintroduced. Floor saturating seals are carried in water or solvent bases that evaporate to leave the finish. If those carriers are reintroduced to the floor, the saturant seal can re-dissolve back into a liquid state and wash away. In contrast, water and most solvents have no effect on sealed epoxy surfaces. Epoxy flooring goes on at the job site and produces no seams. When there are no breaks in the surface coating, the result is a continuous membrane that seals what is above from what is below. These epoxy surfaces have been used in food processing plants for over 50 years now. Mold, mildew, and other contaminants cannot penetrate the epoxy membrane and are easily washed off.
Preparation is everything when applying finishes. A surface can be expected to stay in place only if its substrate is permanent. Naturally, if the substrate crumbles or moves, the surface will move with it. New floors are especially vulnerable and require extensive preparation. It is well known that new concrete is dusty for the first few years while the latents of concrete on the surface are kicked, rubbed, or driven off. Those latents must be removed before quality epoxy topcoats are applied or the topcoats will move with the latents as they break free from the substrate.
One should not rely on retail store clerks to help with a floor that will be used for 10 to 20 years. As a result of 40 years of application experience, flooring experts have developed application preparation procedures that help minimize the risk of substrates moving. Factory-direct kits of materials including step-by-step instructions and a 24/7 help line are now available online. With these resources, anyone can put a quality floor down in their garage that will last for decades. Like a car finish, you may get some scratches and marks, but also like a car finish, a little touching up can keep those finishes looking great for decades.
Durall Industrial Flooring offers no-cost, no-obligation quotes for its fully customized kits of materials, including all preparation materials and procedures, for installing industrial quality epoxy or urethane coatings at www.concrete-floor-coatings.com. These beautifully sealed and easy-to-maintain floors come in over 20 colors. The floor finish can be gloss, flat, or satin and may be easily accented with decorative chips. Additionally, the floors may be skid-resistant like emery paper, yet still easy to sweep or squeegee.
For photo examples and more detail, visit www.concrete-floor-coatings.com
For more information, contact Harvey Chichester at harvey@durallfmg.com
Phone: 800-466-8910 or 952-888-1488 (24/7)
Epoxy Floor Paint Projects: Tips and Tricks That Save Time and Money
Here are useful tips learned during more than 40 years of installing epoxy urethane floor seals and coatings on Fortune 500 company concrete floors, as well as in basements, garages, and decks. These tips can help you avoid mistakes that can limit the life of your floor.
There are three broad steps to doing your floor project: planning and preparation, repairing, and applying the coating. This article is the first in a three part series, and deals with planning and preparation.
General guidelines for applying an epoxy coating to your floor:
Do no harm.
Investing in prep produces the best value, (cost divided by years of service).
Let the chemicals and equipment do the work.
What can go wrong, will go wrong, unless you think ahead.
Technique is what separates mortals from Rembrandts.
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Now let’s get started with tips on how to plan your job and prepare your floor.
Plan the job.
Stick your coating to something that is not going to move
The better the tools, the less work you have to do.
Removing loose concrete is as important as removing dirt
Different types of dirt require different cleaners
“Shocking” the floor can help free dirt and contaminants.
Some things must be abraded off.
Don’t blow bubbles through your finish
There is only one way to remove gum
Asphalt bleeds
If you coat over things that move, your floor may move
Vacuum out those holes
Gravity is unforgiving
. Once you prep your floor, anything in the air will eventually end up as dirt on your floor. So don’t wait too long to do your coatings. Bugs, leaves, dust, and lint can eventually compromise the quality of the job you end up with.. Water settles in floor cracks and holes. If you vacuum them out or blot them with a rag, you will not have the problem of unexpected delays due to finding water still in your floor after the surface has dried.
. Adhesives are often a problem to remove on floors. But if you leave the adhesive, your coating is like an eggshell. A hard exterior with a soft interior will often let the shell crack and peal away.
. If you use a solvent-based floor coating and coat over any asphalt spots, the solvents will make the asphalt bleed into your finish spoiling the color. Use a scraper to remove any asphalt. Then follow with some degreaser or mineral spirits.
. Modern gum is actually synthetic rubber and is not affected by cleaners or most solvents. Scraping is the most common method of removing gum but a 190-degree hot water jet works fast if you have one.
. Gases often come up through your porous concrete floor. Methane and radon gas are very common under concrete slabs and move their way through the concrete causing some bubbles in the finish. But most often bubbles are caused by the chemical reaction still going on between your cleaners and the floor. One or two good scrub rinses are needed to help avoid generating gas bubbles in your floor.
Gum, adhesive, asphalt, some paints, concrete splatters, silicone sprays from Rain X, and Tire Shine are just some of the blemishes that you may need to scrape or grind off by hand when preparing a floor.
When you do your laundry you put your shirt in the wash and it is probably at a pH of 6.5 or 7. Then you add your detergent, which may bring the pH up to 8 or 8.5. That pH change is part of what make the dirt particles want to let go of the fabric. When we do floors, we shock the floor by bringing the pH up to 12 and then hitting it with the acidic cleaner dropping the pH to 5.5 or so. That really helps make concrete particles that are about to let to, let go.
. If one cleaner worked for everything there would only be one cleaner sold. But some dirt and contaminants, like fats and oils, respond to alkaline-type cleaners and some dirt and contaminants, like minerals, rust and concrete respond, to acidic-type cleaners. If alkaline and acidic are mixed they cancel each other out to neutral, so two separate cleanings are needed for your concrete floor, one alkaline cleaning and one acidic, followed by a good scrub rinse to stop the chemical action.
. If you walk over concrete with your socks on, you will usually see that they get all dusty. That’s because the concrete is constantly deteriorating and breaking away. Your preparation should leave only concrete that is well attached, so aggressive scrubbing is a must.
Renting power scrubbers, walk-behind vacuums, double-bladed squeegees, and long-handled scrapers are all multipliers that reduce your work and increase your performance. You can try to do without lots of fancy tools, but you might have to ask yourself, will you stop your work earlier than you should because it’s just too much work.
. Remember that a floor that has 3000 lb. or more going over it every day needs much better adhesion than a wall that may get brushed by an elbow occasionally. Stick your coating to something that is not going to move.
Save trips to the store and costly delays by getting everything you need ready before the job starts. One quick step would be to go to a website like www.concrete-floor-coatings.com for a free cost analysis which will list everything you need to do your job, including step by step instructions.
Remember, “Life imitates Star Trek.” You may begin to notice in the future that virtually every floor in the galaxy seems to have a flow-coated, two-part coating on it. I am seeing fewer and fewer new wood floors, linoleum, or oriental rugs. How about you?
Follow the rules and your job will turn out with the great look you want.
For more information, contact Harvey Chichester at harvey@concrete-floor-coatings.com or phone 1-800-466-8910 or 952-888-1488 (24/7).
Pool Cleaning Tips
Do you know that a swimming pool is not as simple as having one? Or do you know that having a swimming pool built is as easy as having a bathtub? Here are some pool cleaning tips I may want to share with you before you move on having one. This is because most people having the thought of getting a pool built in their area have the perception that pool maintenance can be that easy. See if you think you can handle it. But I tell you, these are very easy. If you want your pool to look great and be sparkling clean, I suggest you continue reading.
Some of the tips I want to share with you is making it a place for refreshment and fun. How? Make it clean. First and foremost, clean the water and remove debris floating around and even those which have sunk to your swimming pool tile floor. That debris can also be removed by the use of a pool skimmer. Aside from the skimmer, you can make a net with a long handle which you can manually use to remove leaves and any floating objects, making sure they haven’t settled to your tile floor yet.
Also, getting a vacuum can be very helpful. This is one among many pool cleaning tips that you dare not miss. Vacuum can easily attract unwanted objects floating around your pool. But not just that, it also absorbs those which have already settled on your tile floor. Both your skimmer and your vacuum have filters and baskets which usually get covered by debris when not cleaned. Thus, in addition to this pool cleaning tips is to clean your filters or strainers as well as the basket of your skimmer.
You will also have to decide how long you should replace the water. Once you decide to, an addition to those pool cleaning tips mentioned above is to have all the walls and floor tiles brushed. This way, your pool will be as clean as it can be before you fresh water back to it. Brushing the floor and walls also helps the water to have a long term clean lifespan.
Also, one factor that helps your swimming pool water have a crystal clear water is for you to monitor its alkalinity level. If you think the level has gone down, you can use baking soda by pouring it into your pool. On the other hand, a dry acid can help you pull the level down if in case it has gone up.
No one can beat a swimming pool cleaned and maintained daily. As you know that pool can be a lot of fun, then so you are called to invest for this fun. I would also think that it isn’t that hard to clean the pool if you do clean it regularly. So if I would summarize this by sharing you my pool cleaning tips, I would say that cleaning your pool daily would mean a little to less effort than cleaning it on a weekly or a monthly basis.
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Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Daniel_Lanback
The Ins and Outs of Home Lighting
Quality home lighting is vital not just for carrying out everyday tasks; it also influences the feel and style of the rooms and the outdoor spaces of your home. Your choice of light fixtures, lamps and shades determines the quality of your home lighting and the functionality and style of your home both inside and out.
So how do you get your home lighting right? First you have to consider the size and decor of your rooms and the activities you plan to carry out in them. Then you can choose your illumination which can be fitted or freestanding. First let’s look at fitted lights.
For a start, you need to install ceiling lights to provide direct ambient light, the overall illumination for a room. Ceiling lights come in many types. Recessed lights are very stylish but require a space in the ceiling to install. You can also get sleek flush and semi-flush lights. If you have a high ceiling, you might want to opt for pendant lights which hang down, the chandelier being one example.
You can also get indirect ambient light from wall lights by shining their beams up to the ceiling where they’re reflected down to produce a soft, warm glow.
Once you have the basic ambient lighting in place, you’ll want to consider accent lighting. This draws attention to special items and areas in your home such as paintings or wall hangings. These types of illumination are usually produced by spot or track lights fitted on the ceiling, or by wall lights.
Finally, there’s task lighting which allows us to easily read and carry out other tasks which require good illumination. This type of lighting usually comes from spot lights or wall lights along with table and floor lamps.
Other than fitted lights, other main sources of home illumination comprise freestanding items such as floor and table lamps. These come in a rich array of sizes, colours and styles. These are highly flexible. You can move them around as you wish to provide ambient, accent and task lighting as needed. Another factor in their flexibility is the ability to change the shades whenever you want to alter the mood.
One type of light that’s never out of style are tiffany lamps. Though the real things are now valuable collector’s items, shades inspired by Tiffany – properly known as Tiffany style lamps – have a timeless sense of style which can imbue your home with a rare cachet.
You can get Tiffany style lighting in the form of ceiling, floor, table and wall lights. The vibrant colours of the stained glass give off a rich, warm glow which can complement any room or setting. Tiffany lamps come in many styles, the most common today being Mission and Victorian. Mission are more angular in style and feature rectangles and squares, while Victoria feature sinuous curves and embellishments.
When it comes to illuminating your home, don’t neglect the exterior of your property. You can get special outdoor lighting in a variety of styles including lanterns, posts and pedestals. Quality outdoor lighting makes your home more attractive, safe and secure and allows you to spend more time in the open air.
Security Wall Lights can be easily installed to make your home more secure by deterring burglars and other intruders. To save on electricity you could use timer or sensor switches. Solar powered outdoor lights are a great way to conserve energy. They absorb the sun’s energy during the day to provide you with illumination at night.
To make your home safe for family and guests you need to make sure that areas such as porches, entrances, and steps are well lit up. This is especially true for visitors. Remember your guests don’t know your home as well as you do.
One great thing about outdoor illumination is that you can spend more time on your patio or in your garden. You could fit recessed lights in the eaves to light up your deck or patio to enjoy barbecues, for example. Or fit low-voltage mini-lights under the steps, railing, or benches on your patio.
Savvy illumination makes your home unique. For the best deals on lights and lamps, visit the web sites of online vendors and browse their illustrated catalogues. You’re sure to get some great ideas on lighting your home. Just place your order online for prompt delivery.
High quality flooring ensured with floor sanding
Delivering an exclusive look to your house will be one of the few things in your life that you give top priority to. Designing a house is never easy and there are so many home décor options available nowadays that could be utilized to get a fabulous looking home. A key area that if designed well will definitely make your home looking really good is the flooring that is chosen. Wooden or timber flooring have a unique appeal like no other and can make a wonderful looking house. To keep the wood looking fine and intact beneath your feet, you will have to look at floor sanding options around you.
Creating a beautiful house is most certainly not an easy job; but an easy method in which you can instantly make your house look good is with wooden flooring. The natural and the earthy look that these floors have to offer are really interesting and they look amazing all the time. Maintenance will definitely form an important part of keeping your wooden floors looking good always and a good floor sander option will get the job done. Wooden floors can make your floors look attractive and really classy but to keep this look alive through a long time, a floor sander in Sydney will be needed.
The shine is one of the most amazing things about these wooden floors and that gives it the fantastic look. In order to maintain that shine, you will need to get a floor sanding and polishing done that will keep it looking great for a long time ahead. A lot of dust was involved earlier in the process of floor sanding in Sydney but that is a thing of the past with the latest advancements in sanding that have come about. With these innovative sanding options, you won’t have to worry about dust forming in your house and you will get an amazing looking flooring too.
One of the prime concerns that were present among people while going for timber floor sanding was that there was a lot of dust that was generated in the house. This dust not only spoiled the house with its presence but it also posed several health complications. With the help of the latest options available like floor polishing, you will be able to maintain your flooring without adding dust to all possible neighboring areas. Your wooden flooring will benefit tremendously with sanding as it will be able to offer an unparalleled polished look to your floors.
The wonderful solutions that are available with floor sanding will certainly be yours for the taking once you go for such a service. These sanding options will provide your place with a fantastic looking flooring that will not only be original and attractive but will also offer a quality look to your entire home decors too. Once you are done with the sanding work for your home all you have to do is sit back and relax. As your house warming party guests walk in, showers of compliments on your home floors will await you.
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