Giving You a “Wet Look”
There are many types of concrete sealers on the market. Concrete sealers that dry clear, are called penetrates. Concrete sealers that give you the “wet look”, when dry, are called film-formers. The film formers protect concrete surfaces by creating a barrier on the concrete surface. The penetrating concrete sealer actually penetrates the surface of the concrete, up to 1/8 of an inch. These sealers create a barrier that allows the concrete to breathe but does not allow water or other liquids to become absorbed, making the concrete more stain resistant.
Protecting Your Driveway From Harmful Chemicals
There are concrete driveway sealers that should be applied hours after the concrete has been finished and sealers that cannot be applied until after 28 days. Sealers that are placed hours after the concrete is finished have 2 purposes; first they act as a curing agent keeping moisture in. This allows the concrete to cure more slowly, and to gain more strength over time. Secondly it helps protect the concrete from deicers. These products will last 1-2 years, and then your concrete should be resealed. The other concrete driveway sealer can be applied to any concrete over 28 days, the time it takes concrete to reach 98% of its strength. The application of this penetrating concrete sealer requires the concrete to be pressure washed and then sealed. The concrete sealer that we offer is called FX-424 and is manufactured in Baltimore by Fox Industries. It is a commercial grade concrete sealer used to prevent the premature deterioration of concrete bridge decks in Maryland. FX-424 dries clear and does not change the physical characteristics of the concrete. It protects your concrete driveway from freeze thaw cycles and chemical damage from deicers. It should be applied every 7-10 years to residential driveways. This is part of our concrete maintenance package to help you preserve your existing concrete driveway. We offer the sealing and pressure washing of all concrete services and then additional services are concrete saw cutting of existing tooled joints and caulking of existing expansion joints.
Saw Cutting to Control Cracks
The saw cutting of existing tooled joints to their proper depth insures functionality. The proper depth for tool joints to be effective is 25% of the total depth of the slab. We drill a small hole in the slab in measure its depth. The tooled joint is like a stress relief valve for concrete. It allows the concrete to break in a controlled area keeping the surface crack free. Saw cutting tooled joints is part of our service when installing a brand new F&M driveway. We will be happy to saw cut your driveway as part of our concrete driveway maintenance package, even if it was install by another contractor.
