Concrete Install Protection Techniques

Although concrete is a durable material, it is not indestructible and must be protected from various threats. Whether you are working with it in a fabrication shop, taking it to an installation site, installing it, or have left the job completed in full, you will no doubt have think about protecting concrete installs at all times. This means using practices and techinques designed to preserve whatever work has already been completed. In this article we are going to explore some of the tips used by many to protect concrete installations.

Storing Concrete and Protecting the Install

If you were asked to name two parts of the concrete fabrication process that were related, perhaps among the last of the two that you would think of would be the storage and the installation. Because storing concrete happens toward the beginning and the install occurs near the end, these seem unrelated. However, storing concrete can add protection the install.

How concrete slabs are stored makes a difference in the install quality because blemishes can happen at that point. When a concrete surface gets scratched, chipped, or even cracked, it adds to the work that must be done to the material. The end result might be a perfect installation, but how much time and money was spent to produce that installation? It all starts with the storage methods. Using the proper storage equipment in the correct manner affects the countertop's installation quality.

Protecting Installs During Concrete Fabrication

There are points in the concrete fabrication process where scratches, chips, or even cracks can take place. At any of these stages of working the material, a blemish or mistake can hinder the final result and it will be noticed after the install if not before.

During fabrication, a key concept to keep in mind is that the tools, and skill level of the worker will affect how the installation turns out. Choosing pads, blades, and bits that are designed for concrete surfaces will only take you part of the way, the tool quality and the skill level of the fabricator will take you the rest of the way.

Transporting Concrete Safely Protects Installs

Concrete that is transported need to be done so carefully and safely. This is because, even as the previous phases of the fabrication process can hinder the installation results, so can the transport phase. That's right! Installation protection occurs during the transport phase as well.

So what are the practices for transporting concrete surfaces that play a role in the protection of the installation of the countertop? One of them is the proper loading and unloading of the concrete onto and off of the delivery vehicle. Another is using equipment with rubber contact points that is in good condition. There are others as well but these are worth noting.

Protecting Your Concrete Installs

Obviously the step of the concrete countertop fabrication process that carries the potential for protecting the installation is the install itself. After all, it is the exact task that we are talking about protecting.

Concrete installs are protected at the time of installation in a couple of ways. As we talked about before, the transporting of the material needs to be done properly. At this point in the process though, the original material has had parts cut out. So, it requires even more care depending on how much of the surface has been removed. Again, as before, the proper equipment must be used so that the concrete is not scratched or chipped. The last thing you want is to add more work at this stage in the process.

Post Completion Concrete Countertop Protection

As much opportunity ther has been for the concrete install project to be marred up to this point, it now needs protection more than it ever has. Why" Because the completed project is going to exposed to others. Individuals that may not know about the dos and don'ts of concrete surfaces.

Protecting concrete surfaces after they have been completely installed is perhaps the most challenging since you and your tema will not be interacting with the material at all. After all, what used to be a concrete slab is now a completed countertop. However, after you leave there will be many others that come into area and some will be working on other aspects of the construction. These will be tempted to use the new countertop as a place to put tools, material, and even lunch. Using a caution warning protective countertop film that let's others know not to use the surface for anything is your final method for protecting the install.

Like other stone industry materials, concrete countertops need to be protected through the entire process. Being mindful of this need as the concrete surface is being stored, transported, installed, and even sitting completecontributes to overall profitability of your business.