Remarkable advances in coatings can turn an ugly duckling into a swan.
Poured concrete in walkways, basement and garage floors, and pool and patio areas, is without a double the most durable, long-lasting flooring material around any home. But it’s dull, dull, dull. No color. No design. Not at all beautiful. Not the least bit interesting to look at. That is – until now!
Hidden away until a few years ago was a marvelous solution that can beautify any plain concrete floor. Long used for industrial applications like pipeline coatings, automotive fascia parts, and even pick-up truck liners, this coating material, called polyurea, now has many homeowners singing its praises.
Polyurea is an extremely strong, yet flexible coating that can be tinted to match any color. Usually applied in a single day, these coatings are dry enough to walk on in four to eight hours, depending on temperature and humidity, and properly coated concrete surfaces can return to full service within 24 hours. Those once dull-looking concrete surfaces can blossom into colorful or even patterned palettes that transform the entire appearance of a space, as well as protect against spills and stains.
Maintaining a polyurea-coated floor will be even easier than a raw concrete surface since the coating wipes clean, usually with just water. The material is particularly stain resistant and includes a UV-resistant feature that even years of strong sunlight doesn’t fade. Should you ever grow tired of the beautiful finish you’ve chosen, the surface can be sanded and recoated to another colorful and decorative finish.
A general caution, as with almost all paint and finishing products, is that concrete surfaces do need to be carefully prepared before applying the polyurea coating. But following the manufacturers requirements may enable an extended (maybe even lifetime) warranty.
People who seem to most appreciate this coating are homeowners who have previously used an off-the-shelf epoxy material and later found that the epoxy typically lasts only a year or two before it cracks and peels.
“The polyurea material is far more elastic,” explains one expert, “so it naturally expands or contracts without splitting or peeling. The lasting beauty of a polyurea finish is a tremendous value.”
Contact us today to discuss your concrete painting project