If you have high-quality stonework on your property it deserves to be protected with a high-quality stone sealer.

Natural stone is porous, which means it has interconnected capillaries through which liquids and gases can move. In fact, porous materials act like a hard sponge and actually suck in liquids over time, along with any dissolved salts and other minerals or contaminants.

More porous stone, such as sandstone will absorb liquids relatively quickly, while denser volcanic stones such as basalt are significantly less porous and may take longer to absorb oils and water-based liquids.

Natural stone should be protected against sub-surface staining, everyday dirt and spills; this can be done by sealing the stone with a penetrating.

A waterbased penetrating sealer is carried into the stone by water. It then dissipates bonding the sealer resins with the stone. This process doesn’t alter the slip resistance or natural look of the stone. The deposited resins then create an oleophobic (oil-repelling) and hydrophobic (water-repelling) barrier which prevents subsurface staining.

Barefoot Concrete provides a high-quality, concentrated natural stone sealer that is an eco-friendly, non-toxic, and breathable penetrating sealer.

These products are considered “breathable,” meaning they allow for vapour transmission.Eco Stone Sealer is on the cutting edge of this type of technology and is the perfect product for both DIY applications and commercial.

This product is ideal for granite, marble and other natural stone surfaces. It can also be used on commercial, workshop and warehouse floors. It is a pure cross-linking acrylic sealer, developed for Australia.

To understand the difference, most acrylic sealers consist of large individual polymer chains that clump together to form a thick film on the surface. These films rely on a fairly weak adhesion to keep them stuck to the surface. As such, they are far more prone to delamination and failure than a polymer waterbased penetrating sealer.

However, Eco Stone Sealer is different. It’s polymer chains are very small, they are just a few nanometers in length. As such, they penetrate deep into the substrate and bond together to form an interlocking matrix from the inside out. This matrix is permanent and serves to strengthen and protect the materials sealed. The top of this matrix sits above the surface and provides a wear layer. Maintenance is easy, you can simply apply a maintenance coat every few years to replenish the wear layer and deliver the ultimate in protection.

Eco Stone Sealer has the smallest polymer size in our range of waterbased sealers. Therefore, it’s ideal for dense materials like densified concrete, granite and marble. For more porous surfaces, like normal concrete, we recommend Eco Concrete Sealer which is more suitable.

Eco Stone Sealer is a true nano sealer, it builds a very thin, yet tough surface layer. It is not a self-levelling sealer that delivers an artificial gloss, however, on smooth surfaces, Eco Stone Sealer will be glossy and it can be buffed to achieve even higher sheen levels.

You can apply the product as a two coat stand-alone sealing system on natural stone or polished concrete or you can use it as a final coat over Eco Concrete Sealer or Premium Concrete Polymer on more porous surfaces.

Features

• Versatile sealer for dense, natural stone and polished concrete surfaces
• Developed with moisture retention technology to aid in the curing of new installation cement-based materials
• Increases the surface quality of new and old concrete
• High-level stain resistance
• Eco-friendly Non-hazardous material
• Easy water clean up
• UV stable
• Industrial grade pure acrylic sealer
• Will not delaminate, blister, peel or turn yellow over time
• Commercial / Industrial Grade
• Applied to a wet substrate, saving time and money

Contact us to discuss how to DIY, or one of our applicators can do your project for you.

Barefoot Concrete supplies eco-friendly sealing products that can outperform traditional solvent-based alternatives. We provide high-quality products to the concrete sealing industry that are safe without compromising on quality, performance and durability.

Anyone who has applied a concrete sealer knows that you need the surface to be as dry as possible, with less than 4% moisture in the concrete, so that the sealer will be drawn into the surface and thereby bind to surface strongly and consistently.

In the case of most solvent-based sealers, any moisture remaining in the substrate may cause the sealer to whiten or have hazy patches. For freshly poured surfaces this often means waiting up to a month before a decent sealer can be applied. For surfaces that need to be pressure cleaned prior to sealing you will normally need to wait at least a day for the surface to dry out sufficiently. 

This waiting can turn even a relatively small day job into a two-day job. For contractors, this means a return trip a day or two later to apply a sealer. Worse still, all the time you are waiting for the surface to dry is time that the clean surface is at risk of getting dirty again.

With our sealer, damp substrates are a non-issue. In fact, the moisture is required to help the sealer to migrate into the substrate to give that deep penetrating and long-lasting protection.

As such, our product Eco Concrete Sealer can be applied to new concrete as soon as the surface is hard enough to walk on. This strengthens and protects the concrete against stains from day one.

We get this question a lot, “What makes Eco Concrete Sealer so special?” Well, besides the fact that this is a premium quality water-based sealer, THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT FEATURE OF THIS PRODUCT IS THAT IT IS DESIGNED TO BE APPLIED TO WET SURFACES!

Eco Concrete Sealer is a nano polymer solution that creates a breathable matrix seal in the surface of the concrete. This matrix regulates moisture content by slowly allowing water to be absorbed and/or released. This ensures the substrate does not remain waterlogged but that there is sufficient moisture for proper hydration of the concrete.

When Eco Concrete Sealer is applied to freshly poured concrete, it will prevent premature drying and ensure that sufficient moisture is retained for proper curing reactions to take place. The end result is increasing the strength of the concrete and reducing the risk of cracking and dry shrinkage. As a bonus, it also provides an excellent solution for prevention or fixing concrete dusting problems.

Key Features:

• Premium Grade, UV Stable Sealer
• Non-toxic and eco friendly
• Suitable for concrete, exposed aggregate, stone and other paved surfaces
• Tight cross-linking forms a tight matrix below the surface
• Premium stain protection against oil, dirt and other substances
• Applied to a wet surface immediately after cleaning
• Will not whiten, flake or yellow
• Increases surface quality and durability
• Saves applicators and clients time and money
• Can be buffed to a high gloss finish

What are the benefits to applicators or contractors?

• Safe and easy to apply. Non-toxic, No VOC’s and BPA free
• Clean and seal the SAME DAY – applied to wet surfaces
• Apply sealer throughout the winter months without fear
• One coat sufficient in most cases. A second coat can normally be applied within 30 minutes
• Seal concrete as soon as it is firm enough to walk on
• Exposed aggregate concrete can be sealed immediately after exposing the aggregate – No need for acid washing
• Concrete sealer doubles as a curing agent for new concrete
• Concentrated formula – a 20kg pail is enough product to seal up to 450m2

What are the benefits to homeowners?

• You can do it yourself – it’s that easy to apply!
• Environmentally friendly
• Contains no VOCs = healthy choice for your family and pets
• High quality, extreme durability and long-lasting protection
• Excellent stain resistance and water repellency
• Does not significantly alter the appearance of concrete, limestone or pavers
• Will not make surfaces more slippery when wet
• Minimal disruption – get the job done in a day

Contact us to discuss your requirements.

Barefoot Concrete is a premium supplier of Polyaspartic and Epoxy Floor Coatings.

We supply a range of proven flooring solutions for residential, commercial and industrial applications.

We specialise in epoxy, epoxy flake, polyaspartic, polyurethane and crack repair resin systems for concrete surfaces.  

We also carry Rhino’s “Concrete Solutions” range of decorative concrete resurfacing products, this range has been purposely designed to restore old stained concrete. These concrete floor coatings are a decorative system that consists of epoxies, acid stain, spray top and other cement polymer-based overlay systems.

Our flooring products meet industry standards and can conform to any specification. They are seamless, food-safe, chemical resistant, and with added granules meet AS/NZ standard for slip resistance.

As a supplier of polyaspartic and epoxy resins, we are committed to delivering nothing but the very best solution for your flooring needs. Our experienced sales team offer technical support to specifiers, architects, designers, builders, and work directly with qualified flooring applicators and contractors Australia wide to ensure the best results.

Whether you want stunning, decorative, functional or safe, durable, slip-resistant concrete floor coatings, know that you can rely on our range of polyaspartic and epoxy flooring systems.

Residential solutions

Are you currently building a new home or renovating an existing one? It’s not only colour schemes and finishes you need to consider, but flooring options as well.

Superior to traditional epoxy flooring, Rhino ArmaFloor 500 is unique to the home flooring industry. This polyaspartic floor coating combines the hard-hitting toughness of polyurethane protection with beautiful colour combinations that will maintain their look and integrity for years to come.

If you are looking for something that is not only easy to clean but aesthetically pleasing as well, add colour paint flake or quartz chip to achieve a stunning, seamless decorative floor finish that is second to none.

Rhino ArmaFloor 500 is fast to install, and depending on the size of your room can be completed in just a day. You could be back using your space the very next day.

When installed by one of our experts, our coating will fully protect your residential floors for lasting durability and beauty.

Industrial and commercial solutions

The use of epoxy for industrial flooring applications have been increasing significantly over the years. Rhino ArmaFloor epoxy can be used in the most demanding of industrial environments, this seamless, durable and waterproof product protects surfaces from chemical spills, heavy foot traffic and even forklifts driving over it.

Rhino ArmaFloor epoxy bonds to almost any substrate, the product is extremely durable and long-lasting, and as mentioned above, is seamless and even waterproof. The low VOC epoxy systems can be applied directly to existing substrates, as well as to new floors, offering a seamless, monolithic film.

Rhino Linings epoxy systems are suitable for commercial kitchens, warehouses, garages or retail applications. The flooring systems will give your floor a good-looking finish that will remain integral for many years.

When it comes to colours and textures, speak with your flooring applicator who will be able to provide you with a variety of options.

Backed by industry-specific experts, we provide back up and technical advice to the flooring applicator, ensuring that your floor coating will be installed to the highest possible standards and providing you with the ultimate solution for your flooring needs.

What’s the difference between polyaspartic and epoxy flooring?

Polyaspartic floor coatings are a fast turnaround solution for commercial, residential, chemical resistant, retail and other trafficable surfaces.

The polyaspartic floor coatings will enhance aesthetics and functionality, as they are non-yellowing and UV stable. These polyaspartic floors are glossy and are easily maintainable, with generic cleaning systems.

Epoxy floor coatings are a rapid curing two-component mix designed as a heavy-duty coating for garages, restaurant floors, aircraft hangars and most industrial applications.

If you have a question about our flooring products and application capabilities, please contact us. Barefoot Concrete uses independent approved flooring contractors and coatings applicators and we offer support from the design through to the installation of the flooring systems – you can rest assured we have it covered.

We are living in interesting times. The Coronavirus or covid-19 epidemic has dramatically changed the world in a very short time. This has resulted in an effort to contain the virus through social distancing and other means to minimize the spread of the pandemic.

If you, like me, are spending more time at home, either by choice or self-isolation or just practical social distancing you may find yourself wondering what to do.

While I have seen many silly videos of what people are doing while spending time at home I want to help you to focus on some of the things that you have wanted to do but have been putting them off because you are too busy or at work all the time.

Home maintenance and getting those jobs done while spending lots of time at home will help stave off the boredom and will keep you in shape. Getting outdoors in your garden and working on your house instead of vegetating indoors and binge-watching Netflix or movies and eating junk food will keep you healthy! Vitamin D is an excellent source of building up your immune system, so make sure you do stuff outside!

This is where we can help, our work is outside, we can come and do a free onsite assessment of your situation and help you get your project completed.

We do things like cleaning and sealing. Just as in the photo above we can clean and seal driveways, sandstone, and all types of concrete. We can also apply a coloured sealer as you can see from the gallery photos. Then we can also restore your concrete by fixing concrete cracks and putting on a decorative concrete overlay. Then, we can also do a flake epoxy floor for your garage.

If your business is closed and in much need of some work on the property, please call us, we can turn an eyesore into something aesthetically pleasing.

Whether it’s your driveway you want cleaned and sealed or resurfaced, or your house surrounds and paths, patio or entertainment area, we can help you to get those things done that you want to get done.

Make the most of the opportunity and do whatever you can to help your neighbour and your community get through this crisis.

The difference between a small job and a big job is the prep time.

Time is money and a key component of keeping costs in check. When a tradie prices up a job, the price is made up of the following formula: Price = Scope + Time + Resources.

Any changes to one or more of these components that make up the price affect the job costs and profitability of the job. Therefore, finding efficient and effective ways to do a job saves us time and when we save time we save money! 

However, preparation is the bane of existence for lots of tradies because they don’t expect it to be so time-consuming. You can easily devote an entire day or more to preparation – all before even starting the actual work.

When you need to protect outdoor surfaces by masking off areas, you need a good product and a good product, if you are going to save time. If masking up is done properly the whole job can be done without a mess, splatter or overspray on a surface that you have to clean up afterwards. 

For example, when applying a decorative concrete coating you can be sure that overspray is inevitable. While the applicator can use their own plastic, newspaper or boards to mask up, you’ll make your life easier if you use a construction grade outdoor masking film like Mask Up Outdoors from Barefoot Concrete.

What Is Masking Film?

Masking film is not the same thing as a tarp. Tarps are not meant to be form-fitting or to create a paintable edge.

If you need to walk on or cover items, consider using an industrial-grade drop sheet or dropcloth.

Pre-taped masking film comes in long rolls of 50m and widths from 550mm to 1400mm. You will find two types of masking film:

1. The first kind of masking film is called a pre-taped masking film. It is represented by Mask Up Outdoors from Barefoot Concrete and has a strip of 36mm masking tape running along one edge of the film.
2. The second kind has no tape, relying instead on the plastic’s static-cling properties to hold it in place. You can still use masking tape to tape the plastic sheet, however, the pre-taped masking film may cost more but it will save you time.

Choose the Right Size

The pre-taped film combines two steps: taping and draping. Firstly, you apply the masking tape, and then you pull up or pull down the plastic sheeting (draping) and tag it with masking tape to hold it in place.

Pre-taped masking film usually has static cling properties to cling to the surface you are protecting, however, due to wind and other factors, you will still need to use some masking tape so it doesn’t blow off when you are working or if its a bit windy.

Remember, too, that bigger is not always better. Using oversized masking film doesn’t just result in waste – you also need to cut or tape up all of that excess, which can be a pain when dealing with this extremely thin film that always wants to cling to your hands and arms.

Ask Barefoot Concrete for the sizes they have in stock as you will find one that best fits your requirements.

Where to Use

Interior Walls

A common way to use masking film is primarily when painting indoors like a ceiling. You can run the adhesive edge along the top of the wall, unfold the film downward, pressing it flat against the wall, tagging it with masking tape. Then begin to paint.

Windows and Doors

Masking film works great on windows because it sticks well to the glass. Masking film will rarely match the exact size of windows and doors. But all you need to do is run the adhesive strips down two sides of the area to be masked. If you have at least six centimetres of overlap, it’s not necessary to tape between the two sections (though it can never hurt).

Other Areas

Remember that masking film isn’t just for painting right to the edge. Often you need to cover cabinets and flooring to protect them from an ambient spray. Masking film works great for this.

Outdoors

A construction-grade masking film is perfect for masking up outdoors and where the tape needs to stick to rough, uneven, dirty or damp surfaces.

Large Areas

If you have large areas to mask, it’s nearly impossible to use newspaper or cardboard. Masking with masking film consumes far less time than masking with something else because, with film, you’re only dealing with a single sheet of film. With newspapers or cardboard, it can take five or six sheets to properly cover an area.

Barefoot Concrete recommends Mask Up Outdoors, a high quality, construction grade, multi-purpose pre-taped masking film. The product is suitable for masking up both indoor and outdoor areas in diverse weather conditions and is fit for purpose across many different industries.

The basic reason for masking up is to protect indoor and outdoor areas that we don’t want overspray or paint on. 

For every decorative concrete applicator working with spray-on concrete or concrete sealers, they are all familiar with masking as a form of prep work for decorative concrete resurfacing or painting.

Even though this could be seen as the most vital step for a successful job we still find applicators using a variety of methods and tools to make this an efficient and effective part of surface preparation.

To start masking you will need three things:

Firstly, you will need Barefoot Concrete’s Mask Up Outdoors product

Secondly, you will need an efficient and effective masking up process

Thirdly, you may need a tool to speed up the process

The first thing we recommend is using a good product. Barefoot Concrete has designed a product that is fit for purpose for the decorative concrete resurfacing industry. 

Mask Up Outdoors is a high quality, industrial-grade, multi-purpose pre-taped masking film that is suitable for masking up outdoor areas in diverse weather conditions and is fit for purpose across many different industries.

Why is it different? Because it has been designed for the outdoors with superior adhesion. As such it will hold up better in outdoor windy conditions better than any other market. It also has great UV resistance as well as waterproof properties so it can resist moisture and cling to outdoor surfaces.

Its a great product for protecting outdoor concrete, walls, glass, aluminium, pillars, pool surrounds, gates, garage doors and fences when painting or spraying on and sealing concrete overlays for decorative concrete resurfacing.

Secondly, things work best when we use good processes that are efficient and save us time on the job. As such, the functional design is critical to how the applicators apply the product so that their work is easy.

The best way to apply Mask Up Outdoors is at ground level and the masking film pulled upwards and secured to the wall by tagging with bits of masking tape.

The quality and durability of the Mask Up Outdoors are extremely important as it has to attach to outdoor brick, concrete, smooth and rough surfaces, and slightly damp surfaces at ground level and not allow seepage or bleeding through onto the surface it is supposed to protect. Therefore, the process is greatly affected by the features of the product so it can be applied efficiently. All Mask Up pre-taped masking film has an electrostatic charge to help to keep the masking film in place and cling to surfaces for ease of use and when using spray equipment in windy conditions.

Thirdly, some applicators use innovative tools to help speed up the process, as you can see from the main video. This masking tool enables the applicator to mask up areas much faster than not using a tool.

When using a masking tool you want to start out with a good process where you mask to the wall at ground level to minimize bleed through onto the surface. The tape is a pressure-sensitive adhesive so as you go stick the end of the masking paper down and walk your fingers back towards the masker, pressing the tape onto the surface as you go. When you are ready for more masking, press your fingers down on the masked wall to create tension, and simply pull out another length of masking as you go. Rinse and repeat.

When it does come time to cut the masking, use a box cutter or scissors, tear at an angle, as opposed to placing all of the teeth of the blade to the paper. This allows a smooth, clean line to tear off every time.

Probably the biggest trick in making sure your masking job is successful, is going back and tacking your paper down to the surface about every meter. When you spray the pressure may cause the masking film or tape to loosen so make sure it adheres firmly to the surface. Tacking that masking tape and film down properly will prevent any overspray on the protected surfaces. from sneaking up under where it’s unwanted. Also tape any seams where two pieces of pre-taped masking film connect by using Barefoot’ Concrete’s masking tape to you don’t have gaps in your protective masking.

My last tip for you is this, make sure that you have good coverage in every direction. Don’t leave any spaces that may be vulnerable to overspray if you do not cover it. Don’t forget to tack it down so it doesn’t kick up from the force of the pressure of the hopper gun.

Finally, one of the keys to masking is remembering that it is always better to over mask than to under mask. It’s going to take much less time to over mask than it would to try to remove overspray from your surface, that’s for sure! Especially something like brick! Masking up with Mask Up Outdoors is so cheap, so really go overboard to ensure that you’re not going to have any overspray messing up your plans at the end of a long day!

Go to our Facebook page to see a video of the Barefoot Concrete Mask Up Outdoors pre-taped masking film application in action!

High in durability and low in environmental impact, concrete is the perfect flooring material for sustainable living

Building homes that are green and environmentally friendly has become the mantra for more and more builders and homeowners, as they discover how easy it can be to attain all the benefits of sustainable construction without sacrificing aesthetics or breaking the budget. In fact, going green often saves money, especially over time, while being kinder to planet Earth.

Decorative concrete flooring is a perfect example of this synergy of beauty, sustainability and economy, giving you a durable, low-maintenance floor that will last the life of your home. Concrete floors, when left exposed, conserve resources by functioning both as a foundation slab and finished floor.

This eliminates the need for carpeting and other floor coverings that would eventually require replacement. In addition to conserving materials, concrete flooring offers many other environmental benefits, such as contributing to better energy efficiency and improving indoor air quality. These are the most compelling reasons to go green with decorative concrete floors.

Design versatility

Typically, interior concrete floor slabs have been hidden under other flooring materials such as carpet, hardwood, vinyl or ceramic tile. But why waste resources and money to add another layer of flooring when you can simply leave the concrete exposed?

Decorative techniques such as colouring, staining, stamping, stencilling and polishing give you unlimited design versatility, allowing you to create floors that mimic more traditional materials, such as tile or slate, or custom design a look that’s totally unique.

If you’re concerned about the toxicity of the products used to colour, stain and seal concrete, you now have more environmentally friendly options available. Although some concrete sealers and coatings are still solvent-based, many products today are available in low-odour, nontoxic versions that won’t affect indoor air quality.

Durability and resource conservation

When properly installed and sealed, a decorative concrete floor should last a lifetime and will never need replacement.

Few flooring materials can boast this same longevity. Carpet, tile and even wood floors eventually need replacement, which uses up resources and creates waste disposal problems. If you stick with a neutral colour palette for your concrete floor, it will easily accommodate any future changes to your interior décor.

Concrete floors also utilize sustainable materials. The predominant raw material for the cement in concrete is limestone, the most abundant mineral on earth. Your ready-mix supplier can also make concrete using waste byproducts, which reduces the consumption of raw materials. Fly ash, slag cement and silica fume, all waste byproducts from power plants, steel mills and other manufacturing facilities, are commonly used as partial cement replacements.

Decorative concrete floors can also incorporate recycled products, such as crushed glass, bits of recycled plastic, marble chips, metal shavings and even seashells.

Finally, in the highly unlikely event that your concrete floor ever needs to be replaced, the concrete itself can also be recycled at the end of its long service life.

Another way concrete floors minimize waste: The fresh concrete that goes into a floor slab is manufactured at a local ready-mix plant in the quantities needed for each project. This also saves on the energy required to transport a factory-made product such as tile or carpet from the plant, to the distributor and eventually to your home.

Energy efficiency

Because of their thermal mass and ability to retain heat, concrete floors are ideal for passive solar home designs. When homes are built to take advantage of solar radiation entering through windows in the winter months, concrete floors will absorb the heat from the direct sunlight and release the stored heat as needed at night to keep rooms warmer. Conversely in the summer and in hot climates, concrete floors shielded from the sun will stay cool longer and can actually help lower air-conditioning costs.

Concrete floors are also ideal for use with energy-efficient in-floor heating systems. With radiant heating, coils heated by electricity or hot water are embedded in concrete floors, warming the floor itself to deliver clean, even heat.

The Healthy House Institute says that with radiant heating, people can be comfortable at lower temperatures than with forced-air heating, helping to rein in utility bills. Another benefit: When homes are heated with in-floor radiant heating, no air is being blown around, as with forced-air systems, so no dust or dirt gets recirculated into the air.

Economy

An exposed concrete floor is often an economical alternative to other finish solutions such as hardwood flooring and tile. For new residential construction or commercial projects with site-cast concrete floor slabs, choosing to leave the concrete floors exposed can save big money over the life of the building.

For instance, you don’t have to buy and install an additional floor covering to put on top of the floor slab. In addition, the durability and low maintenance needs of concrete flooring will save you the recurring maintenance and replacement costs associated with less-enduring flooring materials, such as carpet and vinyl tile. In a typical home environment, decorative concrete floors are very low-maintenance, requiring only periodic sweeping or wet mopping.

The answer to this question is – yes! A concrete sealer is essential for protecting surfaces from the elements, stains from dirt, oil and other contaminants, and much more.

So, if you’ve just installed new concrete, whatever kind, make sure it gets sealed before it gets unsightly marks or stains that are permanent.

No matter what kind of concrete, a good sealer will keep it looking spectacular for many years to come while extending its service life. Even if the surface begins to show wear after years of exposure to traffic and the environment, you can often keep it looking its best with a good clean and a fresh sealer application.

Sealing your outdoor concrete

Sealing outdoor concrete surfaces is an essential part of hardscape maintenance. A concrete sealer is a lot like car wax – many people go without it and then regret it when the paint peels. Sealer may not seem necessary at first, but after a few weeks or months of exposure to weather and use concrete can become discoloured, stained and ugly.

There are many kinds of sealers, therefore we advise talking to an expert about the finish you wish to achieve.

A water-based penetrating sealer, such as silanes, siloxanes, silicates and siliconates, penetrate into the concrete to form a chemical barrier that shields against moisture penetration and contaminants. Usually, they provide invisible protection without changing the surface appearance, and most products are breathable, allowing moisture vapour to escape. They are most commonly used outdoors since they provide excellent protection against harsh exposure conditions.

Applications

A penetrating sealer is your best choice if your goal is to:

• Protect exterior concrete surfaces subject to corrosion
• Obtain a natural, matte finish
• Provide invisible protection without changing the surface appearance or leaving a sheen

For driveways and walkways where good traction is important, a penetrating sealer is a better choice than a film-forming product, such as an acrylic or polyurethane because a penetrating sealer does not leave a glossy film, it will not contribute to the slipperiness of the concrete surface.

How to apply a sealer

If you like DIY then its a straightforward job and you can use:

• a low-pressure, high-volume sprayer
• a pump-up garden-type sprayer
• a roller

For your outdoor concrete a penetrating concrete sealer is usually better than a film-forming product for safety reasons, but also because the end result will last longer and looks more realistic and natural, especially when sealing stamped concrete.

We recommend that all types of exterior concrete should be sealed including plain concrete, stamped concrete, stained concrete, integrally coloured concrete, exposed aggregate, stencilled concrete, engraved concrete and overlays.

Each surface lends itself to unique needs when it comes to applying the right sealer. For more information, call us to discuss.

If you want to densify your concrete because it has a moisture problem, what product do you use?

While Densi Proof and Moisture Fix are excellent products, you can get a similar product called Armadillo Colloidal for less from Barefoot Concrete.

What is Armadillo Colloidal? Armadillo Colloidal is a water-based, 100% colloidal silica dispersion for the densifier of concrete. Of all the densifier types, the colloidal silicas have the smallest molecule size, allowing the best possible penetration of low porosity concrete surfaces such as polished concrete. With a particular size of 12 microns, it provides a superior densifier result, providing a stronger, higher concrete surface.

The densifier concrete surface provides substantially reduced water penetration. It also prevents rubber marking from vehicle tyres.

It can be used on new and old concrete slabs to densify the concrete surface and reinforce the concrete slab. It can be used at time of pour but generally is applied after the removal of the curing compound or at the commencement of the concrete polishing process.

What are colloidal silica densifiers?

Colloidal Silica densifiers have the smallest particular size in the concrete densifier product category. This is not the molecule size, but the agglomerated macro particle size (ie lithium silicate is a larger molecular than potassium silicate but the agglomerate size in the solution is much smaller). The colloidal solution is an evenly distributed dispersion of individual particles and much finer again than traditional alkaline metal silicates (sodium/potassium/lithium silicate) clusters.

To understand the different densifiers, we use the order of particular size: Densifiers start with Sodium silicates and progress in size and cost to Potassium silicates, then Lithium Silicates, and finally the smallest Colloidal silica with a particle size of 6-12 nm).

Even though sodium silicates and colloidal silicates share similar raw materials (salt + sodium hydroxide), the final particle sizes depend on the polymerization of the sub molecules in the reaction chemistry. In the production of the Armadillo Colloidal product, sodium silicate an intermediary product and used a feedstock for further reaction to create the final colloidal silica product. The silica gels commons known as “sodium silicates” in densifier terms are a larger agglomerates macro molecular approximately 500 microns in size. Colloidal silica used in the Armadillo densifier molecule size ranges between 6-16 micron, with an average of 12 um.

Armadillo Colloidal has been formulated to be similar to the other major colloidal densifier products on the market with similar pH, solids and performance like Densi Proof and Moisture Fix.

Contact Barefoot Concrete for pricing today.

Barefoot Concrete is introducing a range of epoxy resin crack repair systems for concrete restoration.

Epoxy-based grouting is preferred to cement due to the quick setting of the epoxy, very low shrinkage, excellent adhesion, high strength, low viscosity to penetrate even hair cracks and good resistance to most chemicals. However, epoxy grouting is expensive and therefore should be used when cement grouting is not suitable for crack repair for the required functioning of the structure.

Epoxy grouting is done based on the type of crack and the width and depth of the crack in the concrete structure. Grouting of wide cracks requires a large quantity of grout material. Due to the cost fillers may be used to fill the cracks before applying the epoxy grouting system.

Very low viscosity epoxy resin is used for injection grouting of cracks. This is based on the width of the crack, the depth and extent of cracks, the viscosity of the resin hardener mix, their proportions, pot life, and application procedure etc.

The first crack repair system is the epoxy resin sealing mortar. It possesses high hardness, excellent polish, strong adhesion, fast curing, and bonds easily with the substrate such as concrete, stone, steel. It is mainly used for crack sealing and base bonding during the process of repairing concrete cracks.

The epoxy resin sealing mortar is a modified epoxy resin with excellent initial adhesiveness. It works well at low temperature or room temperature with a fast curing speed. It has high adhesive strength after curing, good hardness and toughness. It has good anti-acid characteristics after curing, good performance against moisture, water, oil, dust, humidity and weather ageing. The cured products have good strength for tension, pressure and bonding.

The second crack repair system is an epoxy resin grouting adhesive. It is mainly used for concrete crack grouting, repairing, reinforcement of beams, floors, poles, building basements, bridges and roadways. It is a two-component injection adhesive with modified epoxy resin and can be hardened at room temperature.

It is useful for repairing and reinforcing concrete cracks on outer and inner walls, roofs, beams, poles and floors. It can be used for repairing hollow parts of walls and floors, ceramics and stones. It is good for repairing cracks on concrete buildings, even prefabricated components, equipment, silos, reservoirs, dams, bridges, tunnels, pipes, and concrete pavements.

The epoxy resin for crack injection effectively seals cracks and improves the durability of concrete. It is waterproof, corrosion-resistant, ageing resistant, has low viscosity, fluidity, and can, therefore, be applied to cracks smaller than 0.05mm. After curing it has excellent toughness and impact resistance. It is easy to handle, has minimal maintenance requirements and is of reliable quality.

The third crack repair system is an epoxy resin structural adhesive that is eco-friendly. This product is a specialized adhesive for carbon fibre bonding reinforcement. It has good wettability, is a two-component system, contains no poison, and is widely used in structural reinforcement of beams, floors slabs, bridges, piers, and the seismic reinforcement of all kinds of concrete structures.

This product is a high-performance epoxy resin fibre bonding adhesive and can be used for effectual permeable bonding between concrete, steel, ceramic, stone, wood and other substrates with carbon fibre, glass fibre, basalt fibres, and aramid fibres etc. It is mainly used for building reinforcement.

The epoxy resin structural adhesive has excellent physical properties as it’s tensile strength is more than 10 times higher than that of ordinary steel, its modulus of elasticity is close to steel. It is suitable for reinforcement of Steel bars in concrete structures. It is widely used in bending, shear, compression reinforcement of section unit, and seismic strengthening of structures and masonry reinforcement.

The weight proportion of the product is only 1/4 to steel, the thickness of each layer is less than 1mm, and there is almost no increase in the weight and size of the original structure. There is no need for large construction equipment, and no other fixed facilities are needed as it has a short construction period. It has good corrosion resistance and durability. If you compare this product with steel-adhered reinforcement methods, it has a lower cost, and easier for construction quality assurance.

All three products come in 5, 10 and 15kg systems. Barefoot concrete also provides an Injection Auto Pressure Pump for epoxy crack injection and a high-quality Manual Epoxy Injection Dual Gun. Please contact Barefoot Concrete for a price.