Take a typical two-car-wide driveway as an example. Figure a 60-foot setback from the street to the garage and the drive is 20 feet wide. That’s 1,200 square feet. Multiply that by $8 per square foot as an average of

what you will pay to have a p r o f e s s i o n a l contractor break up and remove your old cracked and heaved driveway and

replace it with a new concrete driveway. That’s a $9,600 expense.

“Or, in reality, it’s an unnecessary $9,600 expense that could have been prevented with an investment in maintenance that would have only cost pennies on the dollar,” inserts Mike Palubiak, owner of Perfect Power Wash.

If your driveway is larger or includes a large pad like all side-load garages feature, or your cost per square foot is higher, you

can easily expect to pay upwards of $15,000 to $25,000 or more.

As in the example above, strength can often be a weakness.

Concrete, while being very hard and durable, is extremely porous, which causes a predisposition to cracking. Concrete’s porosity also provides a pathway for water, dirt, salt and other contaminants to penetrate

its deepest recesses. In our area, this ability to channel water is the biggest reason for concrete to fail. Beginning in fall, water penetrates concrete and lays on the surface. It’s subject to freezing when the temperature begins to fall below 32-degrees at night.

After a few nights and days of weather at or below freezing, the water inside the concrete begins to freeze as well. The concrete itself tends to contract as it is subjected to both ambient temperature and internal temperature drop. On a warmer day, the water deep inside will begin to thaw and expand while the concrete, slower to warm than the water, remains contracted creating pressure. The result is hairline cracking that begins at a microscopic level and gets larger and larger over the season.

Left unprotected, the cracks grow throughout the cycling of hot and cold expansion and contraction. Eventually the

cracking grows from the very bottom of the slab all the way to the surface, gradually creating an uneven surface that is subject to additional breakage. At that point, your driveway is unrepairable and will need to be replaced.

Water also plays havoc with the steel rebar that’s used as reinforcement in any quality concrete job. Water can cause a corrosive and expansive reaction in concrete containing both alkali and silica. This can lead to immediate and extensive cracking with loss of structural integrity.

Hard yet brittle and porous, your outdoor concrete surfaces

are an expensive asset that should be protected just like any

other. Mike Palubiak, owner of Perfect Power Wash, can help.

Concrete

Concrete’s porosity also provides a pathway for water dirt, salt and other contaminants to penetrate its deepest recesses.

by BillYurgen

Unprotected concrete soaks up moisture.

VS

The moisture freezes, expanding and cracking.

Come spring, you are left with ugly cracks.

Perfect Power Wash’s penetrating sealer forms an invisible protective barrier against moisture and other damaging agents to keep your driveway in top condition for years to come.

Left unprotected, concrete cracks grow throughout the cycling of hot and cold expansion and contraction.

Regardless of its current condition, Mike Palubiak and his team at Perfect Power Wash can clean and seal your driveway to protect it from damage.

A Mimi Reader Exclusive!For Mimi readers only:

Have your concrete

driveway cleaned and

sealed now through

August 31, 2014, and

Perfect Power Wash will

professionally clean and

seal your concrete front

walk from the drive to

your door at no additional

charge. To schedule, or

for more information,

call 330-697-0131 or

440-856-3400.

Care 201Mike Palubiak, owner of Perfect Power Wash

How to prevent all of this misery?“Clean your concrete thoroughly on the

surface with a quality cleaner and a high-pressure concrete washer,” says Mike. “Thoroughly remove all foreign matter that

can be removed then immediately apply a high-quality sealer that penetrates deep into the nooks and crannies and dries as a well-bonded filler and surface protector.”

“Porosity is your concrete’s weakness, but it can also be its strength,” Mike adds. “That same ‘honeycomb’ quality that allows water and

contaminants to deeply penetrate also allows our advanced sealer to penetrate deeply, providing a filler that displaces any water collecting inside the concrete while creating the perfect surface for our sealer to adhere to.”

Mike recommends washing and sealing your concrete every two years. “Having your concrete cleaned and sealed regularly will help prevent ugly oil and chemical stains from permanently setting in place,” he adds.

“A good sealant will prevent invading fluids from penetrating down into the concrete. While some companies will claim they will remove these stains, often they do so by using harmful solvents that only temporarily remove the stain, leaving oil deep within the concrete that gradually weeps to the surface. Our experience is that it’s nearly impossible to completely remove old set-in stains. But their appearance can be minimized and further staining can be prevented.”

“It’s much better to use an environmentally safe cleaning agent along with rotary concrete cleaners that utilize high pressure at a uniform height of two inches to deeply flush out any contaminants,” Mike continues. “An immediate seal, like the one we use, deeply penetrates while displacing water and is usable within hours, a definite advantage over the dated technique of not using the newly cleaned surface until a sealant can be applied days afterward when the concrete is dry.”

As an added incentive, PPW will save you even more money for a limited time by professionally cleaning and sealing your concrete front walk from your driveway to your front door at no additional charge through August 31, 2014.

Power washing has become a wildly popular maintenance service for wise

homeowners who not only want their properties to look sharp and well maintained, but also know that regular cleaning and protecting will save them thousands of dollars in unnecessary repairs. In choosing a power wash company to clean your concrete driveway, be certain to hire a company that has the right equipment to do the job.

Mike says that to avoid uneven streaking, the company should use a walk-behind rotary cleaner instead of a wand sprayer. They should be capable of using at least 4,000 pounds of pressure in order to deep clean, not just surface clean. They should also use advanced products for cleaning and sealing that will not harm your pets or your plants. They should be fully insured. And, lastly, a good power wash company should adhere to industry standards for safety and effectiveness by having all of its employees trained and certified by a prominent industry organization like the Power Washers of North America.

Not by coincidence, Perfect Power Wash meets and exceeds these recommendations.

To arrange your Perfect Power Wash on your concrete patio, driveway, house, fence or roof, phone 7 days a week: 330-697-0131 or 440-856-3400. For your convenience, free quotations are done over the phone. For additional information visit www.PerfectPowerWash.com.

by Benjamin Margalit /Margalit Studio