Will Ice Melt Damage New Concrete?
Will Ice Melt Damage New Concrete?
Do you have a new concrete patio? Winter is coming, and it’s time to think about how the ice from snow will affect your investment. What happens when there is too much ice that melts on top of the fresh concrete? Will it damage it in any way? It might be hard for most people to know what kind of effect this could have, but luckily we do! In this blog post, we’ll go over all the signs of damage that can happen to your new concrete.
Will ice melt damage new concrete?
The free-thaw-freezing effect caused by some types of ice melt, such as calcium chloride and magnesium chloride, can cause damage to your new concrete. This is because these types of ice melt are corrosive, which means that the high-grade salt leaches through the concrete, causing it to erode over time. Concrete will start breaking up after a few years or sooner if massive amounts of water flowing on top at once from heavy rain or snow melt, for example. It’ll also break down faster if the freeze-thaw cycle happens too often.
What are the signs of damage?
There will be a few different warning signs that your concrete is starting to show wear and tear from all the moisture. The first sign of damage you’ll see will be in the form of cracks, which can cause further problems like water getting inside (which would make it freeze).
After this, you might start seeing some erosion patterns on top or even potholes forming as well. Some other reasons for these types of damages could also include frost heave or expansion due to quick freezes followed by thaws. Cracking during exposure to high-temperature differences, such as hot days followed by cold nights; alkali-silica reaction where there’s too much sodium chloride present because of salt being used as the de-icer for ice and snow.
What’s the best way to make sure this doesn’t happen?
The good news is that there are ways you can prevent your new concrete from getting damaged if it starts to rain or snow heavily, so let’s go over these methods in detail. If you’re worried about damage, then one of the easiest things you can do is cover up with some plastic sheets before anything has a chance to be exposed at all.
You’ll want to use a heavy-duty type that won’t rip easily because wind gusts could cause problems as well (which would lead to unwelcomed moisture). Next, we recommend covering any plants around, too, since they may not handle being soaked by water very well either; after all, frosts and freezes can cause damage to the plants too.
The best way is through a system with an ice melting mat that’s made with stainless steel beads or granules, which will keep it from getting corrosive levels of salt leaching into your concrete. This type of de-icing system doesn’t use any salt at all! Instead, they work by lowering the freezing temperature, so there’s less chance for this damaging effect to happen in the first place.
You’ll just need some simple upkeep since you have to change out these mats once every few years because they won’t last forever either. But luckily changing them out isn’t difficult if you follow our instructions.
If it starts snowing heavily around your area, then be sure to invest in a roof rake to make it easier when the snow finally melts. You’ll want something like our aluminum roof rake, which is durable and lightweight so that you can easily get rid of any ice or snow on your roof quickly.
At NorthRock Minerals, we offer a variety of ice melt products and solutions. Contact us today to learn more and get a quote for what you need.