What Are The Best Ways to Winterize Your Patio In Minnesota?
Having an outdoor patio with concrete in Minnesota, it can easily be vulnerable to damage in the winter. As you may be preparing your home and car for the colder weather, you also need to think about winterizing your concrete. At Concrete Coatings of Minnesota, we have the best ways to make your concrete last.
What Can Damage Your Concrete In the Winter?
Salt and chemicals play a large part in damaging your outdoor patio. With the colder and icier weather, you don’t want to risk anyone slipping and falling on your patio. Therefore, you lay down salt and chemicals. While this may be a good solution in the moment, this can lead to your concrete cracking and needing repair sooner than you would like.
Aside from the chemicals and salt, the freezing temperatures that winter brings can also create significant damage to your concrete. In the summer, when it rains, the moisture quickly evaporates; In the winter, it does just the opposite. The moisture from the cold and snow can seep into your concrete and get trapped. The water and ice can cause your concrete space to expand and later crack and fracture. This creates pitted areas of your concrete that cause a greater risk of weakening your concrete.
What Can You Do To Prevent Damage?
The best thing you can do for your outdoor patio is to have it sealed. This will prevent any moisture from seeping inside and damaging your concrete this winter. At Concrete Coatings, we have the best Clean & Seal process that keeps your concrete looking brand new.
Our Process:
- Prepare the concrete by power washing its surface
- Apply cleaning agents that have been specifically formulated for concrete
- Thoroughly rinse all cleaning agents
- Allow the concrete surface to dry for 24-48 hours
- Apply one to two coats, depending on the project, of a commercial grade concrete sealer
Beyond Concrete
Although your outdoor patio’s concrete is one of the most important things to winterize in the coming months, you also need to think about caring for the other elements in your patio.
Make sure to have outdoor furniture that is made to last through the winter. With the harsh temperatures of Minnesota, you want the best quality furniture possible so there is no need to replace it every year. Make sure to also have covers for all your furniture for that extra layer of protection.
An outdoor patio often comes with a grill. We know how expensive grills can be so make sure it has the correct protection in the winter. Having a thick cover for it will make sure it lasts year after year.
Another essential item for any outdoor patio is lighting. Oftentimes people tend to string lights over their outdoor spaces. While this is great during the summertime, we suggest taking them down during the winter months. With the heavy snow in Minnesota, your lights can easily be damaged with snow packing on them or being blown down by the intense winds. You want those lights to last, so make sure you take them down and store them for next year’s use!
Contact the Experts
Knowing Minnesota, the cold months will be here before you know it. Contact us today for a free estimate on our Clean & Seal process. Besides outdoor patios, we specialize in garage floors, basement floors, driveways, steps, showrooms, and much more!
