Gresham Driveway Coatings Built for East-Wind Ice Storms

Every few winters the east wind pours out of the Gorge, and Gresham ends up under a sheet of freezing rain while downtown Portland is just wet. People salt their driveways, the salt melts the ice, the water soaks in, and that night it freezes again. After thirty or forty winters of that, the top of a Gresham driveway starts to peel off in flakes, starting at the bottom where the salt collects.

That flaking is called scaling or spalling, and it is the main reason people in Rockwood, Powell Valley, and Hollybrook call us. The good news is that the slab under the damage is usually still solid. The surface is what failed, and the surface is what we replace. We are about 30 minutes out via I-205 and I-84.

Stopping the Freeze-Thaw Cycle

Concrete scales because water gets into the pores and freezes. Salt makes it worse by adding more freeze-thaw cycles and by attacking the surface paste. The fix is to keep water out. On a sound surface, we apply a penetrating densifier that closes the pores and an acrylic sealer rated for deicer.

On a surface that has already scaled, we grind off the loose material and rebuild the top with a polymer overlay anywhere from 40 to 100 mils thick. It is built to handle salt and freezing, and it gets a grit broadcast so you are not skating to the car on an icy morning. Cars wait about a week, then it is business as usual.

Our Driveway Coatings System

Materials: Polymer overlay or densifier + acrylic sealer
Thickness: 40-100 mils
Install time: 1-2 days
Walk on it: 1-2 days after
Drive on it: about a week after
Warranty: 8 years

Salt and deicer resistant.

Thirty to Fifty Years of Salt and Wind

Most of Gresham is 1970s to 1990s subdivisions, and those driveways have been salted for decades. We see scaling, oil, control-joint cracks, and sometimes old paint. Near Historic Downtown Gresham, older homes have thinner driveways from the 1940s to 60s. Toward Kelly Creek and Pleasant Valley, newer driveways are in better shape and mostly need protection before the damage starts. The east wind also blows grit onto driveways, which grinds into bare concrete. Near Gresham Butte, sloped driveways need extra grit for traction.

Gresham Neighborhoods We Cover

Rockwood, Powell Valley, Gresham Butte, Kelly Creek, Historic Downtown Gresham, Hollybrook

Gresham Driveway Coating Prices

A typical Gresham two-car driveway runs about 500 to 650 square feet. Our $3 to $7 per-foot range puts that at about $1,500 to $4,550. Driveways with salt scaling usually need an overlay, which puts them in the upper half. Newer driveways that only need sealing come in lower.

Frequently Asked Questions

Salt has pitted my Gresham driveway. Can a coating fix that?

Yes, if the slab underneath is solid. We grind off the scaled surface and overlay it. The overlay is made to handle salt, so the pitting will not start over. If the concrete is crumbling deep into the slab, replacement is the right call.

Can I still use rock salt on a coated driveway?

Go ahead. Rock salt and magnesium chloride are both things this coating is built to shrug off. Clear the brine away once the ice is gone instead of leaving it to soak for a week, which helps any concrete last longer.

Is the coating slippery when it ices over?

Ice is slippery on any surface. But our coating has grit worked into the top, so when the ice melts and it is just wet, you have much better grip than on smooth sealer. Still, salt or sand during an ice storm.

Will the east wind grit scratch the coating?

It will wear any surface over time. The overlay is much harder than bare concrete and handles it well. Sweeping off grit after a wind storm keeps it from being ground in by tires.

When is the best time to coat a Gresham driveway?

Summer, before the ice season. We need dry concrete and warm weather for a good cure. Getting it done in July or August means the driveway is protected before the first east wind storm.

Nearby Cities Where We Also Install Driveway Coatings