Why Does Your Garage Floor Crack During The Cold Season?
It’s winter time again. There’s snow all over the place, icicles in the trees, and the garage floor is beginning to crack. It’s not just your garage, either; concrete of all types begin to show lines and crack when the freezing temperatures hit.
Your Concrete Garage Floor Will Happily Absorb Any Liquid
Your concrete garage floor, like anything else made of concrete, is porous. This means that all manner of liquids can just soak right in. If you’ve changed oil without any type of garage floor covering, I’m sure you’ve noticed that any oil that hits your concrete will immediately turn in to a brown or black stain. This isn’t just your bad luck; all concrete garage floors do this. Uncovered garage flooring absorbs water, too. Normally this wouldn’t be a bad thing since water obviously does not stain. However, water does something a bit different in the winter…
Water Is A Frigid Concrete Assassin
In most parts of the world, it will get cold enough for water to freeze at some point in the year. Materials contract when they get cold, but water becomes solid. Although ice is no match for concrete when it comes to durability, tiny bits of solidified water added to your concrete will definitely create an unwanted solidity. As the concrete begins to contract, this solidity can become quite destructive.
Moisture Is Always Incredibly Tenacious
Your first thought will be to always make sure the garage door is closed. That won’t always help, though. Humidity is also in the air, and will find ways to seep in to the garage floor, no matter how well sealed it is. There is no such things as a waterproof garage (is there?), so every garage floor can be compromised by moisture, no matter how protected they seem. Moisture will also get to the concrete from the ground, on the underneath and the sides, but that largely depends on the area you are in, how often it rains, and if water tends to stand against the garage, as well as the height of your area’s water table.
A Garage Floor Covering Can Prevent This Problem!
Garage floor coverings, such as tiles, mats, and the like, definitely help protect your concrete, and can play a large part in the fight against cracks and lines. You can’t do much about any of the moisture that comes from the earth itself but, honestly, that’s normally a very small part of the equation. The majority of the moisture will be from the air itself. The only time ground moisture really comes into effect is when you’re considering an epoxy garage floor coating as they can easily be damaged by pretty much any moisture coming from underneath, even though it is the best solution against water from above. Using a garage floor covering instead can be helpful since they will be there to absorb any moisture that they don’t deflect.
Will A Garage Floor Covering Help If I Know Moisture Wasn’t To Blame?
You will still see benefits, yes. With the exception of the big fireball in the sky, which has little effect on a covered garage, the majority of your garage floor’s warmth is going to come from the ground. Using a covering or coating can help contain this warmth, which will make the garage floor stay warmer, and hopefully not crack.
Need more information before you choose your garage floor? Check out Sweet Garage Floor.
categories: garage flooring,flooring,home improvement,do it yourself,home and family,home repair,home,automotive,repair,shopping,how to,cars,outdoors,guide
