Your garage pad suffers daily abuse, whether you’re driving on it or not. Because garage pads are literally the foundation of any garage, they’re held to an extremely high standard of resilience and when that resilience is compromised, it means that your garage and whatever is on top of it are also at risk.
Garage pads in Regina, SK can suffer wear and tear in numerous ways—from vehicles, weathering, age or other types of abuse. Take a look at some of the most common indicators of garage pad abuse and how they can affect your garage pad and the need for replacement:
Vehicle wear: Depending on the vehicle that you drive, your driving and parking on your garage pad could warrant a number of different types of wear. Heavy-duty trucks, for example, can cause sinking in different areas if the foundation of your garage pad wasn’t laid appropriately. Likewise, if your vehicle has things like a plow or chains attached to it, these items can cause abrasions on the pad that eventually lead to missing chunks.
Salts and chemicals: In the wintertime, it’s not uncommon for vehicles to drag in salt into garages, where it’s left to erode the floor. While visible signs of salt erosion aren’t all too common, if there are cracks in your floor due to shrinkage during the curing process, saltwater can seep into them and begin to eat away at garage pads in Regina, SK. Other chemicals spilled in garages can also have the same effect and still more can cause staining and weakening of concrete over time if not mitigated properly.
Weathering: If you’re the type of homeowner who likes to utilize your garage as a functional space, you’re likely to have your garage door open frequently. The problem with this is that your garage pad becomes exposed to many of the weathering factors that are known to break down your sidewalks and driveways. Coupled with other detrimental factors, such as chemicals and vehicle abuse, weathering can show up quickly on garage pads.
Cracking and chipping: Based on any of the factors above, as well as poor initial installation and improper maintenance of a garage pad, you’re bound to experience cracking and chipping in your garage. Aside from being unsightly in and of itself, this wear and tear can actually invite other deterioration factors into your garage, quickly eroding your garage pad.
It’s best, at first sign of these garage pad issues, to consult with a concrete contractor about your options. In many cases, some maintenance is required to get your concrete back up to a sustainable level of resilience—however sometimes complex restorations and renovations need to be undertaken to ensure that your garage pad holds up to its task.
Don’t attempt to repair garage pad damages with conventional concrete fillers or worse, let them continue over time—make sure that you’re consulting with a professional about what your options are and which method of mitigation or resolution is right for your unique damages.