If you live in an area with a warmer climate, such as in the West or the South, then there is a strong possibility that your driveway will be made from concrete. Concrete driveways also appear in colder climates, though asphalt tends to be the preferred method of construction, as it holds up to colder seasons better than traditional concrete.
Either way, wherever your home is located, having a concrete driveway means you are at risk for the various problems that can plague exterior concrete. Concrete, while strong and long-lasting, can suffer from cracking, spalling, crumbling, and a general degradation over time with prolonged exposure to the elements. As concrete is dotted with tiny pores all across its surface, these pores can allow water, salts, and other debris to enter to the concrete’s microscopic network of pores and hairline cracks. The incursion of water, salts, and such can be disastrous for the concrete driveway, as the concrete can degrade over time from within.
Fortunately, there is an easy solution to prevent the degradation of your concrete driveway. Whether you live in a warmer or colder climate, you will want to use an acrylic sealer on your delicate pavered driveway. Pavers are a type of concrete with larger pores that is, accordingly, more porous. The increased porosity of the concrete makes penetrating sealers a bad option for protecting the surface from degradation. Therefore, the best option remaining is a surface sealer, like an acrylic.
You will likely want to choose an acrylic sealer that is a water-based solution, as these are easier to apply while also being safer for yourself, your family, and the environment. These sealers are full of large particles of acrylic sealant that pool on the surface of the concrete driveway to be spread out evenly over the course of the application. Once spread out properly, the sealer will provide comprehensive surface-level protection.
Our Take: The top acrylic sealers for exterior driveways are Cryli-Tek 5505 and Everclear
The Glaze-N-Seal Multipurpose Sealer offers an adequate level of surface protection for your more delicate and decorative concrete surfaces. The sealer itself is an acrylic sealer, meaning it is made up of large particles of acrylic sealer that will not penetrate past the surface of the concrete, as would a silicate. Instead, the particles of sealant will remain on the surface of the concrete upon application, waiting for the person applying the concrete sealer to evenly spread over the surface of the concrete.
When spread properly, acrylic sealers will bond to the concrete substrate to help repel water from entering the concrete and causing potential damage. The Glaze-N-Seal offering is a water-based sealer that will result in a mild gloss. If you prefer a matte, or more natural looking surface, then you should opt for a different choice. However, the water-based nature of the concrete will help conform with various environmental laws and regulations dealing with VOC contents in states like California, New York, and New Jersey.
That being said, it isn’t as safe for personal application as some other acrylic water-based sealers. The Glaze-N-Seal product contains ammonia, which will result in a hazardous odor. It is also not really acceptable for indoor applications, as the fumes can be potentially harmful with prolonged exposure. Aside from these concerns, the Glaze-N-Seal Multipurpose Sealer is a perfect acceptable choice for a water-based concrete surface sealer, though we have certainly reviewed stronger, more cost-effective products.
In the market of concrete sealers, there are a number of different options available to you. There are offerings such as surface-level sealers, such as acrylic sealers, epoxies, or polyaspartics and urethanes. Then, there are the penetrating variety of sealer, such as silicates, whose carriers can range from sodium to lithium. While it may be confusing to determine the difference between a silicate and a silane/siloxane, for example, the differences are not all that esoteric.
For instance, we shall consider a silicate versus a silane/siloxane. A silicate is a penetrating sealer made up of small particles of sealant. These small silicate particles are suspended in a sodium or lithium carrier that helps transport the particles past the surface pores of the concrete. The water or solvent which the silicate sealer is based in will simply allow the particles of silicate and sodium/lithium to be spread on the surface – from there, the water will evaporate and the solvent will become part of the concrete.
Once within the concrete, the silicate particles will pass through the vast network of miniscule hairline cracks and microscopic pores natural to every piece of concrete. Part of what makes concrete such a strong material is the build-up of calcium silicate hydrate. Silicate sealers react chemically with minerals present within the concrete to create more CSH, which makes the concrete stronger while simultaneously blocking out the passage of water, salts, and gases through the concrete.
Silane/siloxanes, while also a comprehensive type of concrete sealer, work a little differently. While the silane particles penetrate within the concrete, they do not react chemically to densify the concrete. Instead, the silane and siloxane particles will work in concert to create a hydrophobic barrier that will block out water and moisture. The larger particles of siloxane will remain on the surface of the concrete to provide the brunt of this barrier, while the silane particles will complement the barrier, reinforcing it to make it stronger.
As the silane/siloxane sealers feature larger particles, they are better suited for such concrete surfaces as cinderblocks, concrete blocks, and bricks – the more porous materials to which you cannot apply silicates. Both sealers are excellent choices for projects that require their particular strengths, but just make sure to do the requisite research to determine which your project needs.
Our Take: Silane/siloxane sealers readily available are Siloxa-Tek 8500 and Okon S40 while a silicate densifier that has stood the test of time is The Ashford Formula.
While water damage is an obvious potential damage a home or building owner has to worry about when it comes to concrete, there are other potentially harmful things that you may not even notice. The passage of radon, a gas linked to cancer, through your concrete into your home or building is one of these. Concrete, by its very nature, has a large amount of tiny pores and hairlines cracks that extend throughout it. Beginning at the surface, these pores can allow gases like methane and radon to pass through your concrete with little problem.
While concrete as a structural material often makes it the only choice for construction, regardless of drawbacks like the passage of radon, you can easily defend your home or building from this potentially carcinogenic gas. Radon is a colorless, tasteless, and odorless gas that is actually the second greatest cause of lung cancer, after smoking, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In order to know if radon is afflicting your home or building, you need to get a radon test kit and follow the instructions. As the gas cannot be tasted or smelled, these test kits are really the only way to know if radon is plaguing your home.
If you have radon in your home, a possible cause could be that it is coming through the concrete. Therefore, the solution to this problem would be to use a quality concrete sealer specifically designed to block out radon, methane, and similar harmful gases. A surface sealer is not a great choice, as it would not comprehensively block out the gas. The best choice for a concrete sealer is a silicate sealer. Silicate sealers are part of the class of penetrating sealers, coming in sodium or lithium forms. The particles of silicate in the sealer will penetrate past the surface pores of the concrete into the material. Once here, they will react with various minerals already present within the concrete to chemically produce more calcium silicate hydrate (CSH). The production of CSH will block the pores and cracks through which radon and similar gases can travel, helping ensure your home remains adequately protected.
Our Take: A radon reducing sealer that can be used is Radonseal.
The SealMaster Concrete Sealer is an acrylic surface sealer that is meant for decorative concrete and other, more delicate concrete slabs. As an acrylic sealer, it will not penetrate within the concrete slab, as will a penetrating sealer. This makes it less long-lasting, but also more appropriate for specific projects like decorative concrete.
The SealMaster sealer is a water-based product that is a 100% acrylic solution pre-mixed with water. It promises to dry clear and protect concrete from penetration through the surface of water, debris, and dirt. However, an acrylic sealer cannot truly offer guaranteed protection from surface penetration. Where a penetrating sealer will chemically react to lock out those intruders, an acrylic sealer is more like a raincoat: the water will bead and roll off at first, but the water will seep into the concrete with too much prolonged exposure.
The SealMaster Concrete Sealer is an adequate and average product offering protection for your more delicate concrete products. It is not as chemically harmful as other products, and it offers an average coverage of 200 to 300 square feet per gallon (depending, of course, on your particular project).
When purchasing concrete sealers, the market can be somewhat cloudy. It is not apparent enough to just understand what you need to look for, nor is it clear enough to just purchase concrete sealer without any research. The best way to go about the process is to perform a substantial amount of research before buying a product. You want to make sure you know what exactly you want to accomplish with your particular project, as well as what steps you need to take to complete it. Once you have this solidly in mind, you should go online and research the best concrete sealers for your particular project.
Once you have found the best type of sealer (i.e. penetrating, surface, silicate, acrylic), you want to start researching manufacturers. Manufacturers of concrete sealer are different from the distributors of concrete sealer. In this field, manufacturers typically do not distribute their own concrete sealer. Some of the weaker varieties will do so to save money, but the higher quality manufacturers don’t tend to concern themselves with directly selling their products.
Thus, you have a most manufacturers simply producing the concrete sealer products to be distributed by a distributor. Distributors can be large retail entities like Home Depot, or they can be smaller online services. These online services are a much better choice if you want to find a truly high quality concrete sealing product. Concrete sealers vary so much in usage and type that the big retail chains cannot stock all of the necessary varieties. They simply keep a couple of brands of weaker material on hand to sell to the unknowledgeable consumer. However, their online retail has some more choice, making their websites a better bet. Despite this, you should still consider purchasing from a third-party retailer online that can offer you some of the stronger and more specific concrete sealing offerings.
In sum, the manufacturers of concrete sealer research and develop their concrete sealers, making sure they are optimally primed to work to their full potential. Then, once the products have been developed and tested, they are produced in large volume before being sent out to various distributors. These distributors sell the manufactured product for a small fee, leading to a symbiotic relationship where all participants, including the consumer, are happy.