Concrete isn’t only for driveways and sidewalks anymore! More and more people are installing concrete floors in their homes or polishing existing concrete. Concrete is versatile and can be finished in a number of ways. With numerous color choices, stains, aggregates, and textures available the options are endless. Concrete floors can be customized you your design needs!
Businesses and industrial facilities have utilized concrete floors for ages, this is primarily due to the durability and low maintenance of concrete floors. There are so many ways to finish concrete nowadays that concrete floors have also become a popular option in residential areas. More and more homeowners are installing concrete floors into their new homes or are having their basement or garage floors finished.
Concrete floors can crack, the concrete is laid in slabs with joints to help prevent cracking. ...But then what? Do you just leave the joints open once the concrete is laid? Nope! You use a joint sealant! This not only protect the joints, but it also makes the floors more eye appealing. There are multiple options of joint fillers and sealants available.
When trying to decide what type of sealer you want to use you should ask yourself three things. First, what amount of maintenance do you expect? Are you willing to clean the floors occasionally and apply more coats as needed, or are you more of a “one and done†person when it comes to maintenance? Secondly, what are you expectations?
Though concrete hasn’t always been as strong and durable as it is nowadays, it has been around for a really long time. There’s actually even an account of concrete made by nature itself over twelve million years ago.
Self healing concrete, sounds impossible right? Well, guess what? …Self healing concrete actually exists. Concrete cracks, most will argue that it’s to be expected. No matter how much care is put into reinforcing or mixing concrete, it will eventually cracks. In some situations cracked concrete can lead to collapse. Professor and microbiologist, Henk Jonkers from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands has come up with a new innovative type of concrete that actually heals its own cracks.