• Concrete Scaling and Spalling is Most Often Preventable,
• Concrete Driveway Sealing,
• Why Seal Your Driveway?,
• Best Commercial Concrete Sealing Contractor in Kansas City,
• An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure.
• Sealwize Concrete Sealing

 

For consultations and free estimates, please request an estimate online or call 913-575-1469.

Your concrete driveway is the first thing guests see when they come to your home.  In order to keep your concrete driveway healthy and ensure its longevity, you need to make sure it’s properly sealed and protected.  For concrete driveway sealing in Kansas City, count on the experts at Sealwize to ensure that your concrete driveway is cleaned, protected and looking good for years to come!

We offer a full line of state-of-the-art lithium-based hardner/densifiers and advanced water repelling concrete sealers specifically developed for the unique needs of exterior concrete that are years ahead of the competition. 

Sealwize career professionals have extensive training and experience operating commercial grade equipment and applying our scientifically advanced concrete sealing products designed to ensure maximum performance.

We serve the entire Kansas City Metro area including Overland Park, Leawood, Prairie Village, Mission Hills, Olathe, Lenexa, Shawnee, De Soto, Brookside/Plaza/Ward Pkwy, Loch Lloyd, Lee’s Summit, Greenwood, Pleasant Hill, Blue Springs, Liberty, Smithville and everywhere in between.

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At Sealwize, we typically like to break up our season into two parts.  The first part of the season we mostly work on decks and in the second part of the season we mostly focus on concrete.  We can be more efficient this way.  And through the years we have found that most homeowners prefer to wait on sealing concrete until the fall anyway.

We are ready for concrete sealing season in Kansas City.  We placed a big order for concrete sealant.  We have a good inventory of our less expensive water repellent sealer and our long-lasting, technologically advanced lithium silicate concrete hardner/densifier sealants. 

While our $0.50/ft promotion expires in September, we are still offering great deals for sealing concrete in Kansas City.  We offer discounts for online estimate requests and HOA groups.  If you are thinking about having your concrete driveway sealed, talk to your neighbor and see if they may also be interested.  If we can do more than one project in the same subdivision at the same time, we offer discounts.  The more people that participate the lower the price per foot for everyone.  Its a great deal for organized HOAs. 

If you are reading this post, you probably already know you need to seal concrete to keep it looking nice and extend its useful life.  But did you know that not all concrete sealers are created equal?  There are big differences in concrete sealant performance.  Some sealers perform better than other under different conditions.  Be particularily weary of slippery film-formers and penetrating concrete sealants based on sodium silicate technology.  We know that most of you don’t want to get into the details of why one concrete sealer is better than the other, but if you are interested, please call us at 913-575-1469.  We can explain the differences, pros and cons, of every type of concrete sealant and can share third party test results upon request.  Suffice it to say there is a reason why lithium silicate is the preferred choice of architects across the country.

We are ready for concrete sealing season and ready to help you keep your concrete driveway in good condition.  Please request an estimate online and we will follow up with you to schedule a consultation.  Or if you prefer, please call 913-575-1469. 


Thank you!

913-575-1469

The fall is our most busy concrete sealing season but because we were not able to get to all the work done the last several years we offering special deals on concrete sealing during the summer.

With prices this low there is no reason to wait. 

Request Estimate Online!

To have the most benefit, consult a Sealwize distributor in your area at least 4–6 weeks before the first freeze of the season to allow time for your driveway vaccine to take effect and ensure enough time to get on the busy fall schedule. 

Even if you have less than 4 weeks before winter begins, you should still contact a Sealwize distributor for needed vaccines and obtain additional information about how to protect your driveway from illness and injury during the winter.

Sealwize of Kansas City recommends that you consult a professional concrete sealing contractor who specializes in preventative treatments that permanently strengthen concrete and protect against deicing salts.  If your driveway has any preexisting conditions, you should still seek treatment so the condition does not become more severe.  Sealwize distributors typically do not provide restoration or remediation services, and instead specialize in prevention. 

Preventative exterior concrete sealing is recommended even if your driveway currently appears healthy and unblemished.  In fact, this is the best time to seal and protect your driveway.  And at less than 1/7^th the typical price of replacement, it is difficult to accept the risk of inaction. 

Permanent concrete sealing in Kansas is kind of like getting a Yellow Fever vaccine before traveling to Central America for three months a year every year.  You know the risk, and it is always better to be safe than sorry at a fraction of the cost and hassle.  If you think about it this way, driveway spalling and deterioration is a vaccine-preventable condition.  Permanent concrete sealing from Sealwize is the closest thing to a preventative vaccine for driveway scaling, spalling and deterioration. 

If you would like to have your Kansas City area concrete driveway sealed, please request an estimate online.  One of your knowledgeable and friendly staff will follow up to schedule a no hassle free consultation and estimate.  Or you can call us at 913-575-1469.

Disclaimer – This article is written to help property owners understand the importance of sealing exterior concrete and is not intended as a literal comparison that implies complete prevention of surface deterioration is possible.  Sealwize of Kansas City cannot unequivocally guarantee concrete sealing treatments can prevent all concrete surface deterioration.  Although our Lithium-based concrete hardener/densifier is the best treatment for weak concrete, it cannot completely overcome problems associated with a poor concrete mix or poor finishing techniques.  We are unaware of any concrete treatment that can guarantee 100% prevention protection. 

Sealwize of Kansas City proudly serves the Lee’s Summit, MO zip codes of 64063, 64064, 64081, 64082, 64083, 64086 in Jackson County Missouri.  Fall is the best time of year to seal concrete before the winter freeze thaw cycles begin.  The schedule is getting full with homeowners taking advantage of these recession buster deals so call today!

Concrete driveways are common across the United States because they are not overly expensive, typically have a long service life, require limited maintenance, and look nice.

However, most concrete is porous and vulnerable to surface deterioration caused by frequent freeze thaw cycles and deicing salts.  This type of surface deterioration is referred to as spalling and scaling.

What Causes Spalling and Scaling?

Essentially, spalling and scaling is when the top layer of the concrete breaks down or flakes away exposing the stone aggregate underneath.  And once this deterioration begins it can be difficult to stop and impossible to reverse.  It just keeps getting worse every winter.  This type of damage typically occurs for two reasons: 1) poor quality concrete and/or improper finishing techniques, and 2) the concrete was not sealed to protect it from the elements.

However, the good news is that concrete sealants can increase the strength and extend the life of concrete to protect against.

De-icing Salts

Solvent-based snow and ice melt can also damage concrete and steel concrete reinforcements.  As salts melt snow and ice to water they enter the concrete and leave corrosive deposits and increase the number of freeze-thaw expansion cycles.  And although some claim that de-icing salts themselves do not directly cause damage, many with first hand experience would argue otherwise.  Many homeowners have complained that a driveway was blemish free in the fall and noticeably pitted and flaking in the spring.  This is especially true and more common for newer green concrete less than two years old.  See the picture below!



Choose Sealwize Sealers to Protect Concrete Driveways

Some high quality concrete is strong enough to withstand freezing water expansion.  However, it is difficult to tell whether or not you have high quality concrete.  To be safe, you should use a deep penetrating lithium-based concrete hardener/densifier for the best long-term protection.  And for maximum protection, choose a high solids content commercial grade lithium silicate silane siloxane hybrid concrete sealant that hardens, strengthens and densifies concrete making it less absorbent and less susceptible to deterioration and contains a water repelling salt barrier that neutralizes harmful chloride ions.  For this type of protection you might expect a ridiculous price tag but you would be surprised – the cost is only slightly higher than other lower performance treatments.   Most experts would agree that you should avoid silicones, epoxies and acrylics all together because they do not allow the water vapor to escape and need to be reapplied frequently.  All three Sealwize concrete sealants are water vapor permeable and allow the concrete to breathe and release water vapor, which is critical for performance.  When applied, the Sealwize concrete sealants will not change the appearance or surface traction but the invisible barrier is noticeable every time it rains.



Properly sealing concrete when it is still undamaged is critical for maintaining a healthy, unblemished driveway and will enhance the value and appearance of your property.

This article was written by G Jason Schnellbacher with Sealwize of Kansas City.  Sealwize of Kansas City is a licensed distributor and applicator of Zerovoc Technology products.  Zerovoc Technology is a manufacturer and supplier to trained professional concrete sealing contractors in the United States. To learn more about concrete sealers and water repellents visit Sealwize of Kansas City or Zerovoc Technology on the web.

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

LITHISEAL ZLi 71 is a clear, solvent-free, odorless, VOC compliant, water-based environmentally safe-to-use salt barrier and dust proofer that seals, hardens and densifies concrete and masonry.

LITHISEAL ZLi 71 was developed to treat a wide variety of mineral substrates including architectural concrete, concrete block, splitface block, pavers, stucco, porous and dense brick, clay tile and exposed aggregate concrete. It has been found to be particularly effective in commercial concrete sealing applications where high water repellency performance is required.

UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS

LITHISEAL ZLi 71 incorporates the sealing, hardening and alkali-silica reaction (ASR) preventing properties of lithium silicate with the chloride protection of silane/siloxane, all in a single, permanent application. LITHISEAL ZLi 71 forms an effective chloride ion screen providing unmatched protection against water and water-carried salts that cause erosion, deterioration and corrosion. LITHISEAL ZLi 71 can be used as an interior or exterior treatment for both horizontal and vertical concrete and masonry. It is perfect for parking garages, bridge decks, brick structures, historic restoration and integrally colored concrete.

LITHISEAL ZLi 71 proprietary silane/ siloxane technology provides excellent water repellency to reduce cracking, spalling, freeze/thaw damage, chemical degradation, biological growth, efflorescence, and dirt pickup, thereby lengthening substrate life and reducing maintenance costs.

LITHISEAL ZLi 71 helps prevent Alkali-Silica Reaction (ASR), a serious problem that occurs when the alkali in the large and fine aggregates reacts with the silica in the cement and with water to form an expansive gel, which can break concrete apart. Other chemical hardeners use potassium or sodium compounds, which can raise alkalinity and contribute to ASR. LITHISEAL ZLi 71 uses lithium technology that does not contribute to the alkalinity and can even prevent surface ASR.

LITHISEAL ZLi 71 meets industry standards (NCHRP 244) for protecting concrete against chloride intrusion. (89% + effectiveness)

LITHISEAL ZLi 71 is vapor permeable to resist cracking, peeling and blistering. This lengthens substrate life and allows for greater structure strength over time.

LITHISEAL ZLi 71 protects gray and colored concrete from weathering and efflorescence thereby reducing maintenance, cleaning costs and repairs.

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES

Form: Milky white, dries clear
Solvents: None
Total Solids: 28%
Active Ingredients: 100% of total solids
Weight/Gal: 9.28 lbs/gal
Specific Gravity: 1.14
Volatile Organic Content: .2 lb/gal
pH: 9
Slip Resistance: Does not change surface friction coefficient

New concrete should be allowed to cure for at least 28 days before applying LITHISEAL ZLi 71. In addition, any repair work should be performed at least 3 days before application.

FINAL RESULTS

Typical drying time is 1-2 hours for both horizontal and vertical surfaces.

Horizontal surfaces are ready for foot traffic and use when dry. Vehicle traffic should be kept to a minimum for at least 24 hours. A light lithium residue may form on the surface after the surface is dry. This is excess solution that was not absorbed and can be removed with a stiff broom. Caution: During application, surfaces wet with solution may be slippery.
Water repellency and hardness continues to develop for up to 20 days following the application; however, significant results should be visible within 24 hours.
Note: All clear sealers will accentuate any nonuniformity in concrete color, texture, or finish.

TEST DATA