Covering your concrete basement floor with a different material can be detrimental to its longevity and condition. This is because the concrete needs exposure to air in order for it to breathe properly.
This means that in addition to groundwater working its way up, you also have a moisture-laden flooring surface slowly releasing water vapor for years. Concrete needs to breathe; it's the nature of the beast. The key is found in controlling that breathing.
You are not required to have a vapor or moisture retarding barrier for outside concrete pads or unheated buildings. Although a vapor or moisture retarder or barrier is not necessary beneath concrete floors used for unheated carports, driveways, and outbuildings, some DIY enthusiasts and builders recommend it.
Sealing your concrete not only ensures your concrete surface is protected, but that it is long lasting. It should also be noted that compared to the cost of replacing a concrete surface, sealing is relatively inexpensive and easy to do–definitely worth a long lasting concrete floor, patio, slab, or driveway.
Even if the concrete foundation is enough to keep water away from the building, water vapor can easily rise to the surface and damage a building's foundation, subfloor, and main floor. A vapor barrier is crucial to protect a building from the many negative effects of water vapor on building materials.
Because concrete is a very porous material, it will absorb any moisture that it contacts. This can cause pooling. Without crushed stone, pooling water will settle under it and erode your slab. Adding a layer of crushed stone will add proper drainage, as well as create a barrier between your slab and the ground.
Without a barrier, cold air meeting warm heat-generated air inside a house would create condensation in the walls, leading to mold growth and other problems. Interior walls that may need vapor barriers are those surrounding humid areas, such as bathrooms, where moisture can seep through the walls and cause damage.
An unsealed concrete floor is going to be more reactive and sensitive to changes in temperature. It will freeze in cold climates and expand in warm ones. This can cause crumbling, chipping, and cracking.
Concrete can be described as a hard sponge that soaks up oil and water-based spills. Easily marked by tires and outdoor elements, it is important to seal the surface, so it looks beautiful year-round. The other benefit to sealing concrete is improved cleaning and maintenance.
Left unsealed, the colors will fade, water marks may be an issue, and stains can penetrate leaving ugly oil spots where the service guy left his old jalopy parked on the driveway. It's pure and simple, the job just won't last without a good sealer.
The base in concrete construction is usually a form of crushed stone. Most concrete contractors want a mix of coarse and fine aggregate to create a compactable base that is going to be safe for settlement and drainage.
Instead, use a layer of gravel underneath your concrete slab. Because concrete is porous, it absorbs water. If you place concrete directly onto dirt, water will collect under the concrete and slowly erode the bottom of the pad. Gravel prevents this erosion by allowing water to drain away from the concrete.
Oxygen is an important binder in concrete structures (really, the CO2 is), and without it, the compounds do not hold their rigidity. Every living cell would explode in a haze of hydrogen gas. Water is one third oxygen; without it, the hydrogen turns into gaseous state and expands in volume.
A few important things are needed to dry and cure concrete, but air isn't one of them. Concrete will cure without air. Even if wet concrete is completely buried underground it will still cure to full strength. Concrete goes through a chemical reaction as it cures.
The most efficient way to cure concrete is to use a plastic cover. The covers are placed on freshly poured concrete until the concrete has a chance to dry.
If your concrete is new, you'll need to let it cure; wait at least one month before applying sealer. Before you apply it, check the weather. Sealer needs to be applied in dry conditions because it won't adhere to damp concrete.
Concrete surfaces like driveways, walkways or sidewalks, in a general sense, do not have to be sealed or protected to perform well. As a matter of fact, a concrete driveway will last for years without being sealed, but once it begins to deteriorate it can be too late to stop it.
If you have cracks in your concrete, sealing won't do anything for those. You'll expend money and effort on something that you might rather replace before too much longer. Sealers fade. The seal on your concrete will fade over time, especially in high-traffic areas.
Reinforced polyethylene plastic sheeting (poly) comes in a variety of thicknesses and strengths. A 6 mil thick poly is commonly used as a vapor barrier and offers short-term savings to the homeowner.
Plastic should be placed under a concrete slab to protect it from moisture damage. Moisture from soil can penetrate the concrete causing it to crack with time and potentially risking lots of structural damage. A vapour barrier put under a concrete slab such as plastic sheets can protect it from this.
A vapour barrier is an important component in building construction. Its purpose is to help prevent water vapour from reaching building walls, ceilings, attics, crawlspaces or roofs, where it can condense and cause building materials to rot or grow mould.
You should not pour concrete directly on the ground before preparing a proper concrete base. The minimum best practice is to thoroughly prepare the ground by leveling and compacting the subgrade. Then add a subbase of gravel for additional load support of the final slab if needed.