to seal or not????

[Tarheel Slim]

I had my 30x44 pole barn floor poured yesterday,i was wondering if its ok to not seal the floor,5-6 inch thick slab with poly under the concrete,they made it pretty smooth finish,I will have a small machine shop,and i will be working on and parking some 3, 5 and 7 ton tractors with steel wheels in there and was wondering what sort of issues i would have if i seal the floor,also its getting cold up here in the great white north,so if i wait for the concrete to cure it would be too cold to seal with no heat in the shop anyway. Im really not sure which way to go,anyone got any advice for me??

 

[ForceFed70]

Go for it. Only downside is that is can make the floor a little slippery. It's great for keeping your floor looking nice and helping to prevent staining.

 

[larry_g]

I would recommend sealing.

lg
no neat sig line

 

[Shea]

A sealer will help to protect the concrete as well as make it easier to clean. It will resist staining and prevent freeze/thaw issues as well. Something as simple as a penetrating sealer is not that expensive, it won't change the look of your concrete or make it slippery, and many can be applied right now. One of our favorites is a siliconate (not silicone) sealer. You can read more about them here.

 

[Armorpoxy]

Definitely add a sealer, makes it much easier to keep clean. We carry a nice, inexpensive solvent based sealer, email us for more info, thanks!

 

[RichardC12]

I would agree with everybody here it is better to seal the floor.

 

[Garage Flooring]

I had my 30x44 pole barn floor poured yesterday,i was wondering if its ok to not seal the floor,5-6 inch thick slab with poly under the concrete,they made it pretty smooth finish,I will have a small machine shop,and i will be working on and parking some 3, 5 and 7 ton tractors with steel wheels in there and was wondering what sort of issues i would have if i seal the floor,also its getting cold up here in the great white north,so if i wait for the concrete to cure it would be too cold to seal with no heat in the shop anyway. Im really not sure which way to go,anyone got any advice for me??

Seal it for sure.

Basic: TL39 is a densifier and basic silane siloxane sealer. http://www.garageflooringllc.com/concrete-densifier/

High Performance Sealer: TL021 has an incredibly high solids rate and is typically diluted and applied in two applications. Incredibly good protection for harsh winters, road salts, etc. http://www.garageflooringllc.com/tl021-penetrating-sealer-dust-proofing-concrete/

Protection from Oils and Automotive Fluids: All of the sealers above are hydrophobic (repel liquids) and as such provide some protection against automotive fluids. If you are really concerned about oil stains, etc, TL37 densifier (same page as the TL39 above plus Ghostshield 8505 is a great choice http://www.garageflooringllc.com/siloxa-tek-8505-concrete-sealer/

 

[Tarheel Slim]

Thanks folks ,i will be sealing the concrete.Seems like all the good quality stuff is sold in the US,im in Canada i have found some EUCLID Diamond Clear VOX,was thinking of going with that stuff...

 

[Garage Flooring]

Thanks folks ,i will be sealing the concrete.Seems like all the good quality stuff is sold in the US,im in Canada i have found some EUCLID Diamond Clear VOX,was thinking of going with that stuff...

Euclid makes good products. I am just not sure this is the right one for you. Here is their data sheet

http://euclidchemical.com/fileshare/ProductFiles/TechData/Diamond_Clear_VOX.pdf

I wonder if something like http://www.euclidchemical.com/fileshare/ProductFiles/techdata/baracade_silane_100.pdf might be more helpful. But ultimately go talk to someone that sells their product or give them a call and get a suggestion

 

[Tarheel Slim]

I talked to someone at Euclid and i explained to them i didnt want to go too glossy and wanted to put some sort of sealer on my bare concrete slab poured 6 days ago. Im looking for something that would allow my concrete to cure in the next few months,we already had frost once or twice this fall. Im not looking for the super high end floor finish but since these guys did a decent job on the floor i would like to seal it,however i have alot of **** im my shop usually and its old heavy cast iron engines parts and tractors ,so if i have to keep sealing my concrete every two years its going to be a royal pain in the ****.From what i understand once you seal a concrete floor ,you have past the point of no return as in you have committed yourself to a re-seal every so often as needed.The Euclid Diamond Clear VOX is water base and i was told to spray in one direction and roll it in the other direction.

 

[lowrider2]

I put Diamond Clear down on day 2 as in late July 16 and it seems wonderful so far. I rolled it two directions with 18" roller and overlapped the previous course by half. It turned out very nice...one 5 gal bucket did 2K SF. It's worth doing I believe. I'm told it needs to be "freshened up" every couple years...I might...or not.