Unpopular opinion - sealed concrete floors look worse after 2 years than a good broom finish

I did a residential garage floor in Phoenix about 18 months ago where the homeowner insisted on a high gloss sealed finish. Looked amazing the first week, but after a year and a half of cars and foot traffic, that seal is peeling in spots and showing every scratch. Meanwhile, I did the neighbor's floor with a standard broom finish and a basic sealer, and it still looks solid. We push this polished look too hard for places that actually get used.

2 comments

2 Comments

reese8614d ago

Man, you hit the nail on the head with "looked amazing the first week." That's exactly it. I did a guy's driveway here in Texas with that high-gloss epoxy stuff and it was like a mirror for about a month. Then the summer heat hit, tires dragged in dust, and the thing looked like a scratched-up phone screen by year two. Meanwhile my own garage just has a basic broom finish with a cheap sealer I throw on every couple years, and it still looks fine. We get sold on this "showroom" look but it's just not built for real life.

taylor_fox14d ago

Same here man, I gave up on the fancy stuff after my first attempt peeled up in the humidity. I just use a good concrete sealer from the hardware store now, the water-based kind that goes on clear and dries flat. I do a fresh coat every spring when it's still cool out, maybe two hours of work for my two-car garage. The concrete still gets dirty but a quick hose down brings it back, no scratches or peeling. It's not gonna win any awards for looks but it's been holding up for six years now with zero fuss. Sometimes the simple answer is the right one, you know?