Parking Garages New Jersey – Painting & Water Proofing

Painting parking garages are fun projects. Some commercial painting contractors are able to paint parking garage structures. But most do not realize some of the big issues that need addressed when painting concrete structures. Often overlooked by painters are the steel or other metal reinforcement imbedded into the giant concrete slabs, These reinforced slabs that make up the structure of just about all parking garages and large concrete structures can be vulnerable to spalling.  Since concrete resembles a hard sponge when it gets wet or saturated, this moisture goes into the concrete. The imbedded metal then gets wet, which is used for reinforcement. When these metals get wet the will tend to eventually rust especially if salts are introduced as with the shore environment or in the winter when areas are salted to melt the ice and snow. When the metal imbedded in the concrete starts rusting it expands and causes the concrete to pop and break apart, this is called spalling and creates a costly repair for the facilities team. NJ and other northeast areas have both the salt from sea mist and the salt from ice melt. These environments mean that the protection of the concrete structures is vital!

Painting Parking Garages

There are many systems that we can use that protects the concrete from spalling. When painting the sides and ceilings of parking garages, we check that the moisture can slightly pass through. This is important since each level will inevitably get a little wet. If ceilings are 100% water tight they will trap water or possible peel so they need to be able to dry out slightly. At the same time the structure needs protection on all sides –  top, inside walls, outside walls and bottom. We can do a site survey and make an assessment of the things needed.

Painting and water proofing roof decks, flooring and concrete structures have been a lot of fun over the years. We look forward to doing many more!