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Garage Floor and Driveway Coatings

Sunday, January 4th, 2009 Subscribe To Our Feed

Black Mold, Fungus and Algae

Here in the tropics where I live, we have a problem with black mold, though I don’t think it’s a concern only in our area. Black mold is airborne and has a way of building up to a thick slippery blackish layer or coating when it drops onto porous concrete usually found in garages and drives. The color could turn to blackish-green because fungus and algae can be parasitic and grow in the fertile mold.

This is particularly bad if, like many houses in the tropics, you have carports or garages with no door. Left unchecked, the slippery coating can be tracked into the home and leave a stain.

One Way to Clean

The usual way to clean the floors in garages and driveway is pressure washing. It’s noisy but really does away with the problem. However, it’s time consuming and I suppose you can bear the noise of the pressure washer till the job is done. Pressure washing average two-car garages and short driveways can take an hour or more, depending on how thorough you want to be. But what do you do when you have a very long or wide driveway leading to multi-car garages, like so many of today’s home?

The black mold problem made me look into coatings for concrete garage floors and drives that might repel the mold and other messiness or, at least, make it easier to clean off.

Some Solutions

While we do not promote any particular company or product, this information is made available as a place for you to start checking for solutions to your own garage floor and driveway dilemmas.

Super Floor Coatings® has some very fine products for garages and drives that people here say outperform other products.

Mono-Coat Epoxy is a single component epoxy that requires only one coat.

Two-Part Hard Shell Urethane is available in clear or color. It has two components and is said to outperform epoxy, acrylic and polyurethane.

One-Part Epoxy Clear is also available in color. This is a single application mono=epoxy that is non-toxic with low odor, is extremely durable, and reasonable in cost.

Ever-Last Epoxy, also available in color, has two components as a polyamide epoxy. It’s used for heavy duty applications. This is the formula used by the military, so it must be durable.

Ever-Last EXP is a fast-drying and self-priming coat. It makes an acid etching bond to any surface. This eliminates the need for a primer and can be walked on after one hour.

While the above company’s products are the only ones included in this article, many good companies exist to suit any budget and products in quantities and measures for any sized garages and drives.

Simple Instructions

Before coating your concrete, etch and clean it. After that, seal the concrete in both the garage and on the driveway. Apply the epoxy. Then, to add years of wear to your coating, apply a clear topcoat. Many company’s products say this is not necessary. Remember to follow ALL the directions on the product you choose.

DO NOT apply any floor covering when temperatures of the air or floor are below 50°F (10°C).

Follow the directions on your product to test the concrete for dryness. This may vary from the garage floor and the drive way. If moisture is coming up through the concrete, no product in the world will stick to it and will soon bubble up from underneath. Then you have peeling.

When your concrete is ready, it is advisable to seal the concrete FIRST. This is to keep additional moisture out. When dry, apply your coating, after which you would add the sealer. Many sealers will leave a slightly glossy finish.

This article is meant as a place to begin to put an end to arduous garage floor and driveway cleaning. Whether you use a clear coating or a colored one, it will help your property have a finished look, showing “pride of ownership.”

Mary Deal, Pushcart Prize Nominee

See other articles, short stories and novels onher website:

http://www.writeanygenre.com

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