Why don't we Cure and Seal Concrete in the South?

Whats your experience with Curing and Sealing Concrete?

  • Total voters
    28
A

Al Patterson

Member
Why don't we Cure and Seal Concrete in the South?
Working in Ga. as most of you know we have to deal with a red clay
problem when it comes to removing red clay and other stains from
driveways, curbs ect..
If I had to guess I would say 95% of builders in the Atlanta area
DON'T every consider curing/sealing new concrete.
I understand that in colder climates it is essential because of the
freezing and thawing cycles but Why don't we do it here in the south?
I have asked Builders many times Why? Most of the time they say it
is not in the budget. Seems like they would be educated on all the
benefits of curing and sealing new concrete?
The sealer I use will protect the driveway 20+ years when applied
correctly and It is still a hard sell !!
Let us know what you have experience by taking a extra minute to
respond to the Poll.
 
In New Jersey particularly, there's not much sealing of basic concrete. It is usually requested on stamped concrete or pavers.
 
alvisishere said:
Have you guys ever cleaned driveways that was sealed?
If you have you would see how it makes our job easier and customers happier!
Click to expand...
Ya, they may not need you. LOL
 
Ron Musgraves said:
Al, the problem here in phx is that no seal lasts. so customers spend more money cleaning and recoating every year or two.
Click to expand...
Ron,
If you believed a sealer would last until you retired and then some and its impossible to fade because it is a clear sealer and you can't tell its on.
This is how it works for people who do use it...

With a small pump up sprayer you mist a light coat of this sealer on the new concrete as soon as it sets....construction on the house is completed in 2 or 3 months...last thing to go in is sod, after that you are called to pressure wash for new homeowner, guess what everything comes off in half the time, using less acid (maybe none) because nothing has penetrated the pours of the concrete. After cleaning you mist a second coat...that bonds with the first coat that has already penetrated INTO (not on top)
The only way for it to wear off ...is that the concrete has to wear down.
Concrete like anything else will get dirty, have maybe a oil leak of some kind....this is the good thing.........When they do call you.......you can get it Clean..... Hence happy customers = referrals = $$
Somehow this this makes since to me, but I am pretty gullible when it comes to trying new things.!
 
Not many contractors here in Va. seal concrete. If it was my concrete I would, makes cleaning much easier. Many years ago I worked for my Uncle during the summer break from college and we poured many miles of the v drainage ditches for the highway dept. Will never ever pour concrete again, only clean it !!!!!
 
The sealer I use will protect the driveway 20+ years when applied correctly and It is still a hard sell !![/QUOTE said:
What sealer are you using that last 20+ years?
Click to expand...
 
Al I used to deal with a guy that was a dealer for a comparable product and it was an extremely hard sell to the homeowners, and don't even waste your time talking to businesses about it! I agree that it would make your job easier to clean but the stuff I thought about using was $30 a gallon plus shipping and that only covered around 75sqfeet!

my theory is if the homeowner can't see what they are buying then no matter how good of a salesman you are its going to be TOUGH!
 
Hi Paul here.
I'm new to this site,and like to put in my two cent's on sealing concrete.
I have been cleaning and sealing concrete for the past three years,with some very good results.
Ask youself why is it that the concrete in europe last untill this day,there is concrete in Athens that the Romans poured millenia's ago,so why is it that most of the concrete in this country is falling apart?
Well for one,the Romans poured concrete and flooded the concrete with water,and let it cure.
I live in florida and here they poor concrete in full sun ,in mid summer,and do nothing.
Still wondering why concrete fails in this country?
For one have you done a reading lately on how much chlorine is in our drinking water,wat do you think this does to the concrete?
We have all seen after pressure cleaning that we end up with a bunch of sand at the end of the drive way,ad to this acid rain and numeros caustic chemicals we like to use,wat do we end up with?
A drive way that's like a sponge,so good luck trying to keep it clean,and free of mold and mildew.
Anyone see my point ?
Now every one in the business is alway's worried about repeat business,but would you rather have a whole buch of happy customers,and possible make five times the amount that you would normally earn?
I have been sealing concrete ,pavers and every thing else under the sun and thank dog, i have made a pretty good living.
So here i am to the end of my spiel,like said i'm new to this site and not yet know on how to access in the vendor section, so my apologies.
In a mean time if some one would like to call and find out about this miracle sealer that will keep concrete clean for the next seven! yes seven! years please feel free to call me.
yours.
Paul Bogaars.
Extreme Seal inc.
Tel 8130679-9703.
Tampa FL
 
extremeseal said:
Hi Paul here.
I'm new to this site,and like to put in my two cent's on sealing concrete.
I have been cleaning and sealing concrete for the past three years,with some very good results.
Ask youself why is it that the concrete in europe last untill this day,there is concrete in Athens that the Romans poured millenia's ago,so why is it that most of the concrete in this country is falling apart?
Well for one,the Romans poured concrete and flooded the concrete with water,and let it cure.
I live in florida and here they poor concrete in full sun ,in mid summer,and do nothing.
Still wondering why concrete fails in this country?
For one have you done a reading lately on how much chlorine is in our drinking water,wat do you think this does to the concrete?
We have all seen after pressure cleaning that we end up with a bunch of sand at the end of the drive way,ad to this acid rain and numeros caustic chemicals we like to use,wat do we end up with?
A drive way that's like a sponge,so good luck trying to keep it clean,and free of mold and mildew.
Anyone see my point ?
Now every one in the business is alway's worried about repeat business,but would you rather have a whole buch of happy customers,and possible make five times the amount that you would normally earn?
I have been sealing concrete ,pavers and every thing else under the sun and thank dog, i have made a pretty good living.
So here i am to the end of my spiel,like said i'm new to this site and not yet know on how to access in the vendor section, so my apologies.
In a mean time if some one would like to call and find out about this miracle sealer that will keep concrete clean for the next seven! yes seven! years please feel free to call me.
yours.
Paul Bogaars.
Extreme Seal inc.
Tel 8130679-9703.
Tampa FL
Click to expand...
 
Actually most of the problems I have seen with concrete is the contractors watering it down to make it more workable because they schedule too many stops on the way so when the 2 hour window is about up, the concrete is starting to get hard to work so what do they do??? They add water not knowing that adding water to the mix weakens the mix immediately, a lot of concrete contractors do not even know this but they should.

On one of the concrete websites there is a chart that shows the weakening of the concrete by adding water to the mix, that is why they add water at the yard and get it on the way instead of adding water at the site of the pour.

Caustic does not do much damage to concrete compared to acids, a strong acid can eat the concrete as you watch it, look at what the muriatic does. I have used very strong caustic mixes and have not seen any damage over several years of use on the same concrete pads. Acid is the bad guy here, not really caustic. At the refinery we used strong caustics to clean up the oil spills on the concrete pump pads for many years, I was there 12 years and they had been doing it the same way for over 20 years before I got there and the concrete was in great shape, especially for pump pads where there are motors running all the time causing some vibration which would normally weaken concrete over time if the vibration is excessive.

Acid Rain, that is hardly around since many years of EPA fines and stricter control to the big businesses. When I was at the refinery for 12 years, they did testing on the stacks and anything else that emitted pollution and kept records that the EPA checked in on. Sulfur emissions along with moisture in the atmosphere cause acid rain (sulfuric acid) which is very, very rare to find and is usually up in the northern states when it was a huge problem, not down in the south.







_________________
Superior Power Washing
Chris Chappell
361-853-2513
prostaff@superiorpowerwashing.com
House Cleaning
Driveway and Sidewalk Cleaning
 
Sealing Concrete

We seal concrete as an add on the the job. We have extensive background knoweledge in the construction area. I have a division that does tuck pointing of brick walkways, houses chimneys etc.. Just like with brick and mortar sealer will not last forever. Not even 20 years. I will tell you how the best sealer in the world will fail. Concrete is pourous so when you seal it you block the water from getting underneath and other staining materials. However there is grass all around the concrete and water under the ground. Not to mention condensation etc... The moisture will actually leach up from under the concrete and pop the sealer off of the surface. Buy a decent non-yellowing clear sealer and set it up to come out and reclean and reseal every three years. If you explain the situation to the customer he will know why you are charging more and nine times out of ten people will choose you because you took the time to explain the situation. There are Thousands of dollars that are passed up everyday because salesmen decide what people can afford.
 
I think that another reason that nobody seals concrete down south here is because we don't have the freeze/thaw cycles like the people up north have in the winter time, it hardly ever snows. We had snow in December 2004 but before that it was back in 1972 or 1973.

With all the city sidewalks, concrete pads, parking lots, driveways, etc.... nobody ever seals them because nobody ever has and they all come clean when you pressure wash them.

I have wanted to upsell sealer to some customers but they even tell me unless I could guarantee that the driveway will stay clean for at least 5 to 7 years then why bother? I have not seen a sealer that will guarantee something like that.

Down here if you leave your car sit too long, there will be mold and algae on it too, it grows everywhere due to the high humidity we have here all year long from the Gulf of Mexico.
 
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