The phone lines get busy each year about now. As soon as the temperature starts to drop people start thinking about getting work done around the house. It is a good idea to get some repairs done before the rain and snow becomes the norm. It is also a good idea to be aware of the products your considering, as an example -
Coatings are pretty popular and some do a good job for walkways and garages but there is a very slim window to install them here in Utah. Many of these coatings are water based and virtually all of them have required temperature ranges that must be followed during installations. The importance of the temperature is not the time of the day it is being used, it is the entire period during the curing process, these typically are a 24 hour period. So, here in Utah the "window" to do any of these installations would be June to August, historically our low temperatures fall below 50 degrees.
Want to find out if your installer is doing the right thing? Ask them for the installation instructions so you can follow along. Be careful though, some products are readily available but there is nobody training and providing support for the contractors doing the work. There is a tremendous amount of information available on the Internet and a little effort will provide plenty of data. Look for things like "installation procedures" and "manufacturer's specifications"
Do these two reports have the same information in them?
Are there steps in the installation procedures that vary or are simply missing when compared to the manufacturer's specifications?
What are the re coating requirements? Yes that's right requirements. Again the manufacture of these products knows that in order for them to offer a warranty etc they need to be maintained. If there is a failure and the area was not re coated timely there could be some finger pointing.
Check the contractors labor warranty. They are required to warranty their work for at least one year but you will find that the quality of the products they use have a lot to do with the time frame they will offer.
Investigate, investigate, investigate. Then relax and enjoy!
