Generally, when someone notices that their garage floor paint is peeling, they want to blame the product. They assume that, since the paint is beginning to flake off, it has to be due to faulty garage floor paint. This is not always the case. In reality, most garage floor paint will not peel, even if it is cheaply made or incorrectly installed; it will usually dull or rub off instead. For the most part, garage floor paint that is peeling is suffering from a moisture issue.
The Effect Of Moisture On Epoxy Garage Floor Paint
Epoxy will definitely insure the protect of your garage floor’s concrete from moisture and humidity in air, but doesn’t have any defense against moisture from under. Epoxy is made to have a seal-like ability that is able to prevent moisture from most origins from penetrating through, almost completely. For example, if oil were to drip on the garage flooring, it would not be able to penetrate through the epoxy paint, and as a result the concrete will not have absorbed it and can just be cleaned up.
Concrete Has Pores Too!
Since the concrete for your garage floor sits underground, both its sides and bottom are able to absorb any liquids that they find there. Even if something were to somehow get to the concrete there to stain it, you’d never see the actual stain, so the primary worry is water. Unfortunately, this water that is absorbed into the concrete must evaporate. That wonderful epoxy garage floor seal suddenly becomes its own worst enemy. It’s a dual edged sword: it will keep the moisture in just as it keeps moisture out. As the water rises through the concrete, it begins to create bubbles under the garage floor paint. As the bubbles expand, they will eventually burst, causing the dreaded epoxy paint peeling.
Epoxy Garage Floor Paint Does Not Get Along With Humidity
There are some area related factors that cause the dreaded peeling effect. Generally speaking, humidity plays a leading role. If you live in an area that is humid, most everything will stay damp, along with the earth under the concrete and also any wood that has not been treated that garages are commonly made of. Your concrete garage floor will absorb the moisture from these sources. But this situation can be increased fiercely when water pools from the concrete any where around your garage.
Ground Water Is No Exclusion
The height of your water table can also affect the garage floor coating. The water table is, put loosely, the surface of the ground water. If the water table sits high, this means that the water is sitting close to the bottom of your concrete, and the water will try to use the relatively porous garage flooring to make its way to the surface to evaporate. If the soil in your area tends to stay relatively moist, even when the earth is cracking only a few miles away from a heavy drought, then beware. It’s very likely that you have a high water table.
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