There are many reasons to love winter. Unfortunately, that time of year also has its share of disadvantages. Minnesota winters are particularly harsh, to say the least. One reason winter is not always a wonderland is that it wreaks havoc on your garage floor. If left unprotected, your garage floor could fall victim to the weather and turn into a flaky, broken, and stained surface.

When you pull safely into your garage after a driving on wintry roads, you probably aren’t thinking about the condition of your garage floor. But while you’re getting cozy inside, long after you’ve parked, the winter remnants dripping from your vehicle are wrecking your floor.

Because of its porous nature, concrete is susceptible to some of the most common winter evils, namely water and road salts. Concrete absorbs them, drawing them down into its pores where they do their worst. This makes a sensitive, damaged, and unsightly garage floor.

When water hits untreated concrete, it begins seeping in. On cold, frozen days, this poses a serious threat to the cement. When water freezes, instead of contracting like many substances, it expands.

This expansion causes cement to break. This causes an effect called spalling, during which layers of concrete lift and scale in patches. It also creates pits. Each time water goes through the freeze, thaw, and refreeze cycle, there is potential for more and deeper damage.

Another harsh winter culprit is road salt. This stuff is invaluable in that it helps keep drivers safe. However, it also contributes to torn up and stained garage flooring. It works against your garage floor in a couple of ways. One is a process called sub-florescence.

When the water attracts and dissolves salt, it absorbs into the concrete. As the water evaporates and escapes the concrete, it leaves the salt behind. The salt recrystallizes inside the concrete, leaves nasty white stains, and breaks up the concrete.

The other way that road salt works against concrete is simpler. Salt just puts more water in your garage cement. Salt naturally attracts and absorbs water. The more water that gets into your concrete, the greater the risk it has of freezing and causing sub-florescence, spalling, and pitting.

When the warm months roll around and you notice the winter has ravaged your garage floor, don’t worry. Garage floor repair systems can bring your floors back to their pre-winter glory. They are effective for all sorts of garage floor problems, including spalling and pits.

In addition to repairing damaged floors, take time during the warm months to prepare your garage floor for the next Minnesota winter. Garage floor epoxy coatings are perfect for reducing the risk of and even preventing damage from moisture and road salts. These coatings resist moisture, are nearly maintenance free, and last for many years. They not only provide protection from the effects of winter, they also resist stains, protect from chemical spills, prevent hot tire pickup, and make your floor slip resistant and attractive.

When winter hits, it brings with it many fun aspects, such as skiing, ice skating, holidays, and snowball fights. It also brings ice and the need to melt it. When this infiltrates the cement in your garage floor, it creates damage. In order to get and maintain a strong, durable, and resistant surface, repair the damage and follow it with a protective coating.

At PolyTek Surface Coatings, we see the effects of these Minnesota winters on a regular basis. We know what it takes and we have the tools to repair damage and prevent it from happening. For more information, please contact us.