Mystery Sealer on Concrete

[Kels]

Inherited land with a shop. It was built ~15 years ago. Part of it looks like it was/is sealed. in that area there is a spot that looks like the sealant started to come up/off/peal this is in a very small area. I am wanting to finish this area of the shop, and was thinking the sealant needs to be replaced or repaired.

the sealer that is on would be matt transparent. where it started to peel is a little reddish not sure if that is of any significance.

I do not know if there is a vapor barrier below the cement, I do not know what type of sealer was used.

What should I do?

 

[larry_g]

A couple of things to think about,

Is the bad spot in a traffic wear place and just worn through?

Is the spot where there could have been impact damage, is the cement marked up?

Scrape away a bigger spot maybe 12" across if you can. Then tape a plastic sheet over the spot to see if moisture gathers under the plastic. The plastic has to be sealed to the floor on all sides. If you cannot scrape any up then I would suspect that it is mostly ok. If moisture gathers then you have no vapor barrier.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[Kels]

So I ran out and got 2 pics this morning as I was leaving for work.

When I took the photo, I got to looking at it closer, I am thinking it's actually something spilled on the concrete, not the sealer.

So tonight I am going to attempt to clean it off.

I also noticed as you can see in the second photo that there are darker spots randomly on the concrete. These feel the same as the lighter area nothing looks wrong with the surface. Any ideas on why there are darker spots?

Last question for now. Based on what Information I have given (not much) whats an average life span of a clear sealer for concrete. If nothing is wrong I might throw down some flooring but am not sure if I am nearing a time I should re-seal it while the room is gutted.

 

[Kels]

Oh Will also do the plastic test tonight as well to test for moisture.

 

[Kels]

LOL! No idea what that was that I thought was the coating pealing up but it cleaned off. but it had been there for YEARS so gross! guess the good news is it wasn't the concrete sealant!

Still no idea on the darker spots are. and waiting on the moisture test.