10 Dec 09 Why Does My Garage Floor Grow Lines During The Cold Season?

Winter is here again. There is snow on the ground, the trees are suspiciously shiny with ice, and suddenly a crack is appearing in your garage floor. Oh, don’t worry, your garage isn’t the only one affected; this happens to many people once temperature starts to drop.

A Concrete Garage Floor Will Absorb Any Liquid

Your concrete garage floor acts like a very, very slow sponge. Any liquid that comes in contact with it will be soaked up, albeit slowly. Those of us who have changed their own oil know this as the smallest bit of motor oil will create a tiny, but permanent stain. All concrete garage floors are the same, so you’re not alone here, either. Any garage flooring that has no cover will absorb water as well. Water doesn’t sound very threatening, I know, as it would be a clear stain, right? Unfortunately, when the temperature gets low enough, water does something that many other chemicals don’t do…

Water Is A Frigid Concrete Assassin

It freezes. Although things generally contract when they become cold, water included, ice is obviously much more solid than water. Concrete is definitely much stronger than ice, of course, but having tiny pockets of ice throughout the concrete adds solidity where there generally is none. This makes the concrete garage floor a lot more rigid than it generally is. This rigidity is a very bad thing when the concrete begins to contract, as it naturally will when it becomes cold.

Moisture Is Incredibly Tenacious

“But I keep my garage door closed!” you say. Well, that doesn’t always matter. Humidity in the air can still get to your garage floor, even if your garage has been kept closed up. No garage is waterproof, so any garage floor is susceptible to the effects of moisture, even those protected by doors and walls. Not only that, but moisture can also creep in to the concrete from the sides and underneath, though that depends largely on your area, just how much rain you’ve had, how long water sat against your garage, and how high your water table is.

A Garage Floor Covering Can Prevent This!

Garage floor coverings, like tiles and mats, will help to protect the concrete, keeping cracks away. There really isn’t anything that can be done about moisture coming from the bottom and sides of the concrete slab, but generally that’s only a very small part of what needs to be addressed. For the most part, the moisture will come from above. If there’s not too much moisture coming from underneath, you can use an epoxy garage floor coating to seal the garage floor from moisture, which will almost completely keep it out. Although not as effective, a garage floor covering like tiles or a mat will also help since they can absorb a lot of moisture as well.

Will A Garage Floor Covering Help If I’m Absolutely Positive That Moisture Wasn’t To Blame?

It definitely will, yes. Besides the obvious effects of the sun, which doesn’t account for much in a garage, the garage floor’s main warmth source will come from underneath. With a coating or covering, this warmth can be kept down in the concrete, and keeping the garage floor a bit warmer will mean less contracting, and generally less cracking.

Check out Sweet Garage Floor for more garage flooring information.

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