Spalted Concrete

Hi Oilcan,

There's a company called Glass Fusion that might have what your looking for (maybe not..?), but it's at least worth a look. Here's the link: http://www.glassfusion.net/

Good Luck!

J Lo-to the "z"

Thanks I'll look into it.

Oilcan13

A good product might be "capillary waterproofing" (to be googled). This gives several manufacturers including Xypex and Penetron who are well known in the industry. The idea in your case is that the product will stop the salty water from penetrating by capillary action into your concrete and so reacting with the alkaline concrete. It will fill up all the cracks that the salty water currently uses and will even lie dormant till other cracks arrive and then will fill them up too. It explores the cracks by crystalline growth. I would think that you need to get some direct technical advice from the manufacturer as to how effective the product is when salt is already present in the concrete.

Thanks, I'll check it out.

Oilcan13

First question that comes to mind is, What happened to the sealer you applied? Second is, have you Lost the surface ?

Biggest Question: Can you provided a definition of " Spalted Concrete " ? How about a photograph ?

Glenn

Evidently the sealer should be applied every year or at least every other year. I suspect that traffic over the years has worn the sealer off to apoint that the salt runoff was able to penetrate the surface. spalting is the top layer or finished surface of the concrete peeling off due to reaction with salt. No the entire surface is not gone just in spots.

I see You are from Florida, this would explain Your questioning about spalting. I have a friend who lives in Boca Raton and I understand he paints his drive, do most people in Florida paint their drives?

oilcan13

Oilcan,

No, I can't say most people Paint their driveways in Florida. And if for some strange reason, you would want to do that, there are protective measures one would take in order to have Any Coating demonstrate a decent longevity!

Sounds like you have a condition commonly called "Scaling". Root causes could be, Alkali Silica Reaction, Efflorescence, Carbonation, Ettringite or possibly Freeze Thaw. This of course assumes the concrete was placed and worked correctly when poured!Concrete Spalls are pretty easy to identify, as they are open cracks on a surface that follow the pattern of Re-Bar. Caused by Iron Oxide[Rust] on the steel. As the steel rust it expands in volume, eventually causing the concrete bond to the steel, to break and a crack to radiate all the way through the matrix, appearing on a surface.

Your Fiber Mix Concrete is a great product to use if your trying to minimize surface cracks that may occur after a pour. It does, however promote absorption of water/contaminates into the concrete. In addition to normal capillary/gel pore paths, each little fiber particle[visible] on the surface is another opening to allow water to enter the matrix.

When selecting a concrete sealer there are some basic questions to ask before applying or buying! (1) If there is a provision for reapplication [What Happened to The First material Applied? (2) Is there a cautionary statement on the label[Do Not Apply on Glass or Metal Surfaces]! (3) Are there compatibility issues with other treatments like coatings? I've seen everything from Transmission fluid to Curing Compounds[Monkey Snot] used to seal a concrete.

Only Buy; a sealer that comes with a waterproofing warranty. that forms a solid [Inside The Concrete] in the Gel Pore system, is not subject to abrasion, is compatible with All glues and coatings and prevents moisture vapor emissions. The Hot Rod epoxies mentioned in this thread will do nothing except form bubbles for you when moisture in the concrete migrates to the surface and collects underneath a coating!

OK, so now!, What are you going to do with your Scaling problem?

Is your fiber mesh fiber glass?? There is a problem with osmosis and salt water it will keep sucking water into it and reactions in the hollow strands make large molecules which cannot pass back out and keep expanding hence the spalling. an epoxy sealant could be a good route to go, but you can expect further spalling until the reactions slow down or cease.

I think it will be very difficult to stop moisture getting in at all as it can rise under the slab. It is possible that some of these silicone solutions would do a better job of penetrating the cement and displacing moisture and subsequently blocking further moisture to create further reactions. however once you use this method the surface will probably reject any other material you might apply to the surface. Probably you would want to reapply the silicone occasionally to keep the integrity of the surface up.

Yes its fiberglass. I've done other drives and side walks using this same concrete/fiber mesh combo with no appreciable problems.

Thanks for Your input

Oilcan13

If you do use epoxy, make sure that you use liberal amounts a "no slip" material that the manufacturer recommends. I didn't on my garage floor, and if it gets wet, look out. I have dropped my motorcycle once because of it being slippery.