Why The Epoxy Garage Floor Paint Is Flaking Away
Posted: Tuesday, December 01, 2009
by Anthony Davis
When people notice that their garage flooring is beginning to peel, their first reaction is to blame the paint. If the paint is peeling, then it's obviously inferior paint, right? Well, no, probably not. In fact, inferior garage floor paint usually will not peel so much as wear away, crack, or dull. No, if your epoxy garage floor paint is peeling, then you probably have a moisture problem.
Although epoxy does a wonderful job of protecting the concrete garage floor from water in the air, such as rain or humidity, it can't do a thing against water coming from below. The seal that the paint creates can keep everything from water to brake fluid from hitting the concrete floor. Oil, for example, will just sit right on top of epoxy paint until it is cleaned off.
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.
Humidity Kills Garage Floor Paint
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.
For more information on garage floor paint, check out Sweet Garage Floor.
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