Frequently Asked Questions
What concrete contractors and facility managers ask before they specify it.
Concrete Mender & Structural Repair
How is Concrete Mender different from a patching compound?
A patch is a different material bonded to the top of the slab, with a perimeter bond line that becomes the new weak point. Concrete Mender is thin enough to penetrate into the crack network and porosity around the defect and cure inside the existing matrix. There is no perimeter to debond because the repair grades into sound concrete.
What kinds of damage can it actually fix?
Spalled and raveling control joints, shrinkage and settlement cracks, popouts, surface delamination, damaged dock edges, ramp noses, and impacted corners. What it does not fix is failed subgrade, slabs that have lost bearing, or corroded rebar that needs exposure and treatment — we will tell you when a job is past a resin repair.
Can the repair be coated over?
Yes, and that is the normal sequence. Let it cure, grind flush with the surrounding slab, then profile and coat the whole area together. The repaired zone accepts primer, basecoat, and topcoat identically to the rest of the floor.
How fast can we get the floor back?
On a typical job: repair and grind in the morning, prep and basecoat by midday, topcoat in the afternoon, foot traffic the next morning, vehicle traffic shortly after. Cold rooms and low ambient temperatures extend that, so confirm the working window for your conditions.
Preparation & Coating
What surface profile does the coating need?
CSP 3–5, achieved mechanically by diamond grinding or shot blasting. Acid etching does not produce an acceptable profile and should not be substituted. Coating bonds to profile — a hard-troweled surface gives it nothing to grip.
Do I really have to test for moisture?
Yes, on any slab on grade. A slab without a functioning vapor barrier pushes moisture upward continuously, and hydrostatic pressure will lift a coating off in sheets months later. Test the moisture vapor emission before you quote the job, not after you have coated it.
The floor is soaked in oil. Can it still be coated?
Usually, but not by grinding alone — grinding an oil-saturated slab just exposes more contaminated concrete. Degrease chemically with Super Orange Cleaner first, then prep mechanically, then verify the surface is clean before coating. Skipping this is the single most common cause of coating failure on shop and plant floors.
How much material does a floor take?
At 100% solids, one gallon yields 1,604 mil-sq-ft — divide by your target DFT for square feet per gallon. Add material for the surface profile itself, which on a shot-blasted slab is significant. Send us the square footage and the spec and we will run the numbers with you.
Ordering, Pricing & Private Label
Do I need special equipment?
For the repair and floor coating products, no plural-component rig is required — but you do need real surface prep equipment: a diamond grinder or shot blaster with dust collection. If you are also spraying the polyurea products such as Badger Black or OR7K, those need a proportioner with a heated hose.
Can I get this under my own brand?
Yes. WatchGuard is Oak Ridge's private-label brand, and the entire concrete system is available either as WatchGuard or under your own name, with technical data sheets and safety data sheets included. Concrete contractors and regional distributors both do this.
Do you sell to facility owners directly, or only through contractors?
Both. Plant and facility maintenance teams buy directly and do their own repairs regularly. Contractors and distributors get tiered wholesale pricing — mention your region and volume when you contact us.
Can you help spec a job we have not quoted yet?
Yes, and we would rather do that than fix a spec after the fact. Send photos of the failure, the square footage, the service environment, and the traffic. You will get back a repair sequence, a coating spec, and material quantities.
Question About a Specific Slab?
Send photos and a description. You will get an answer from someone who has actually done the repair.
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