When it comes to taking care of stamped concrete, summer is the best season to do so.
With temperatures rising in Louisiana, now is the time to start preparing your concrete for the warmer weather to come.
To increase the longevity of your decorative concrete, you must follow the following 4 steps when preparing your slab for summer.
1. Make sure you don’t need to strip your concrete
After a particularly harsh winter (like the record-breaking freeze of 2020), you may want to consider resealing your concrete.
Before you do so, however, you may wonder whether or not it’s necessary to strip off the old sealer first.
Fortunately, as long as your slab has been around longer than the early 2000s and has been stripped once before, it will not need stripping prior to resealing.
2. Power wash your slab
Once you’ve concluded whether or not you need to strip your stamped concrete, you’ll want to power wash it before you proceed with anything else.
Pollen, leaf, and tire stains can create such an eyesore. Power washing your slab is ideal for clearing away all the dirt, grime, and stains that have built up over the past year.
If you’ve got tough stains from oil and tar, you should use neutral soap, a solvent cleaner, or a degreaser first. This will loosen the stain which can then be sprayed off with the power washer.
3. Check for cracks
After your stamped concrete has been fully cleaned, scan it with your eyes for cracks. Most hairline fractures can be fixed on your own, but long and deep cracks may require you to replace the slab altogether.
4. Seal your concrete
If you haven’t resealed your concrete in the past three years, now is the best time to do so. Sealer is most effectively applied during warm weather on dry concrete. If you’re planning on sealing your concrete this spring, be sure to check the weather ahead of time, as the sealer will need a couple of days with no rain in order to dry properly.
Looking for more concrete tips and tricks? Check out the Port Aggregates blog
The post 4 Steps to Prepare Your Stamped Concrete for Summer appeared first on Port Aggregates.
