Moisture Remediation

Concrete is solid and durable, making it a beautiful floor material for most types of installations. Given its reputation, it can shock you to know that concrete is in truth porous. Given sufficient time, water from underneath walkways or slabs makes its way through the concrete to its surface, where the water then evaporates. During its travel, the water picks up salts dissolved from the concrete. These salts become a white powder when the water dries on the surface of the concrete. This unseemly substance is called efflorescence.

If you see cracks or joints in your floor that never completely dry, this indicates a significant cache of moisture beneath your concrete. Many people try to cover the problem with tiles or do-it-yourself epoxy. Without a high-quality sealant, however, the water finds its way through, resulting in loose tiles or coatings that bubble and peel away. Then the problem becomes worse and more costly to fix.

What To Do About Efflorescence

Depending on severity, you might need to fix the water problem before proceeding (sealing the concrete may not prevent problems in the walls or other locations). If the situation is localized to the concrete, some cleanup and epoxy sealing should halt water from accumulating. California Custom Coatings adds a moisture barrier to our epoxy sealer that stops bubbling from water vapor. After the procedure is complete, the concrete floor is indeed waterproof on top. Therefore, you can safely overlay it with tiles, wood, carpet, or laminates. The epoxy sealant ensures your floor surface will not be vulnerable to moisture again.

For epoxy sealants, the age of the concrete typically does not matter, if it is stable. Epoxy coatings dry quickly, reducing delays, but it cannot be applied to new concrete until the material is fully set. To discover more about water remediation for concrete foundations, talk to California Custom Coatings for help in Granite Bay.
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