When it is time to give your garage a facelift with a fresh and durable floor coating, the key to success starts with the surface of your floors. While many may overlook this step, surface preparation plays a crucial role in a long-lasting and flawless garage floor coating.
While some may overlook this step, Surface Bella Garage Floors understands just how important this is for ensuring you have the most beautiful floors possible. If you are considering getting a floor coating in your home and you want to learn about how important surface preparation is, keep reading to see how it can help boost your investment.
The Risk of Poor Surface Preparation
Concrete surface preparation is the most important step in installing any flooring. If you skip this step, you risk developing many problems down the road. These major problems include:
- Peeling: Inadequate surface preparation, improper application, or contaminants on the surface of your concrete can lead to poor adhesion, which can result in the coating peeling off of the floor.
- Bubbling: Entrapped air and moisture beneath the coating can result in bubbles. This can occur during the application or due to the moisture coming from the concrete surface.
- Cracking: Cracks in your concrete, expansion and contraction due to temperature fluctuations, or insufficient flexibility in the coating may lead to cracks across the surface.
- Unevenness: Without grinding the surface of your floors, physical contaminants may become trapped under your coating, leading to uneven floors.
Smooth Out Surface Irregularities
It isn’t uncommon for older concrete surfaces to have imperfections, such as cracks, pits, and uneven areas. Surface preparation is absolutely essential for addressing these irregularities before your garage floor coating is installed.
This preparation includes methods such as grinding, patching, or filling any imperfections on the surface of your concrete. By smoothing out these irregularities, you can improve the aesthetics of your finished floor coating and prevent these imperfections from harming the coating’s performance over time.
Eliminate Contaminants
If you use your garage as a parking spot for your car or a workshop for weekend hobbies, the surface may accumulate a variety of contaminants over time. These contaminants, such as grease, oil, dirt, and moisture, can have a significant impact on your floor coating. They can not only compromise the adhesion but can also create minute imperfections in the coating’s finish.
While these might not bother you at first, over time, this can lead to problems with the coating. Surface preparation involves thorough cleaning and the removal of these contaminants, providing a clean canvas for the coating application and a smoother, more beautiful final product.
Prevent Moisture Problems
Untreated concrete is susceptible to a variety of moisture problems, including efflorescence. This problem can persist if you don’t ensure proper surface preparation, as moisture arises from the concrete. This moisture can lead to blistering of the coating, which significantly damages its durability.
Proper preparation includes measures to address the moisture, including moisture testing and the application of moisture barriers. By preventing moisture-related problems, you safeguard your garage floor coating against potential failures.
Ensure the Longevity of the Coating
One of the most important parts of surface preparation is the ability to increase the adhesion of the coating to the concrete. Without proper preparation, there may be contaminants that make it difficult or impossible to bond effectively, leading to peeling or cracking over time.
With a well-prepared surface, you can trust that a strong bond is made between the floor coating and your concrete floors. This preparation should help you maintain a beautiful garage floor coating for up to 20 years.
Save Money
When you’re ready to install a garage floor coating in your home, we understand that you might be tempted to skip the surface preparation phase and head straight into installation. However, doing so may end up costing you far more time and money than if you had taken the time to invest in proper surface preparation.
Every minute of your surface preparation is essential to ensuring the success of your garage floor coating. If you skip this preparation, you may notice signs of damage far earlier than is acceptable. You may even find yourself paying for the removal and installation of a new coating.
The Best Surface Preparation from Surface Bella Garage Floors
Working with a company that understands the importance of surface preparation is essential for ensuring you get the most out of your investment. At Surface Bella Garage Floors, our team has years of experience and extensive training to ensure they perform the best preparation possible for your floors.
From our Polyaspartic floor coatings to chip and flake, we have the best floor coatings for your garage, basement, porch, patio, and so much more. If you are ready to install a garage floor coating in your home, don’t hesitate to contact our team today.