Sealing your concrete driveway is a task that many folks do with more than one goal in mind. Sealing your driveway not only protects the concrete from water damage and prevents existing cracks from worsening with freeze/thaw damage, sealing your driveway, when the right product is used, can protect the concrete from salts that erode away the pavement. Salt that you put on your driveway to melt away the snow can be hard on the concrete, but even if you do not use salt and shovel the driveway only your vehicles still drag salt from the street onto the driveway. This salt being brought onto the driveway from the street lasts all winter long.
Driveway sealing can be time consuming, especially if you have a particularly large or long driveway, but by using a quality product the number of times that you have to seal your driveway can be reduced greatly. DEFY All Purpose Heavy Duty Water Repellent is a
water repellent containing SaltShield. This water repellent is strong enough to protect even horizontal concrete areas which are plagued by sitting water. This product is also a brick driveway sealer because it protects brick pavers from de-icing chemicals that come with the winter months.Water that sits on the driveway from rain or melted snow can make existing hairline cracks a huge problem. As the temperature decreases over night the water will freeze and expand from its contracted form in the day. This expansion and contraction process is known as freeze/thaw damage and it affects areas all over the home. The top of the chimney crown, for example, may develop cracks which can fill with water and worsen due to the effects of repeated freezing and thawing. One cold winter is all it takes for hairline cracks to become deeper and wider, and de-icing chemicals can actually eat away at your concrete or brick driveway.
DEFY All Purpose Heavy Duty Water Repellent covers approximately 125 sq. ft. per gallon and carries a seven year warranty if applied by a professional. An interesting aspect of the product is that it is completely vapor permeable. A small amount of water naturally exists in and on top of the concrete even on a dry day with low humidity. The breathable formula that DEFYhas developed allows these vapors to move freely so as to not trap them in the masonry surface and add to the effects of freezing and thawing. Instead it allows them to move out of the brick or concrete whenever possible while not permitting larger water molecules to enter. A pump or airless sprayer is the recommended application method for this product and you should allow an hour or two for the product to dry before driving or walking on it plus at least six hours before rain.