Polished Concrete Options

Polished concrete is considered a durable and cost-efficient flooring solution. Homes and businesses in Australia have discovered the benefits of polished concrete flooring. Aside from lower expenses, this kind of flooring is low maintenance and introduces a wide variety of decorative options. Polished concrete flooring has grown more popular among homeowners because they have the elegant appearance of polished stone. For large warehouses, business facilities, and retail stores, the flooring’s superior durability and long-lasting performance makes it one of the best options.

Polishing Existing Concrete Floors

Almost all concrete floors can be polished to give them a unique lustre that will improve their overall look. Exceptions include concrete floors that are too irregular or extremely porous. Polished concrete flooring must lie above stable flooring foundation for it to last. If a contractor deems a floor suitable for polishing, certain surface preparations need to be done before polishing work begin. Dirt, blemishes, grease, and existing coatings would have to be removed. Uneven surfaces need to be patched.

Wet vs. Dry Concrete Polishing

The application of polished concrete may be wet or dry although a lot of Australian contractors use a combination of both. Wet concrete polishing involves the use of water, which acts as a lubricant and reduces friction to cool diamond abrasives. This method, while messier, helps extend the life of polishing abrasives especially resin-bonded disks. The wet process also eliminates grinding dust.

On the other hand, dry concrete polishing makes use of machines with dust-containment systems that leaves the site free from mess. Dry polishing is normally used for the initial grinding but as the surface gradually smoothens, polished concrete contractors would then switch to wet polishing for the application of finer resin-bonded diamond abrasives. Some contractors use resin-bonded disks designed to withstand friction in dry polishing, eliminating the need to change the method of application.

Decorative Polished Concrete

A lot of customers ordering for polished concrete floors are attracted to their decorative features. When it comes to designs, there are endless possibilities staining, dyeing, and engraving. Other options may also include scoring, grids, bands, borders, patterns, and radial lines.

Staining

There are two basic methods for staining polished concrete: reactive and non-reactive. The resulting effect of reactive stains would depend on a lot of factors including the properties of the cement used, concrete finishing methods, weather conditions, and more. Non-reactive stains include the use of water-based acrylic stains that do not rely on chemical reaction for the colour to come out.

Dyeing

The use of dyes on polished concrete is extremely popular due to many reasons. This option makes available a wide array of vibrant colours and allows for easier application compared to staining. Dyes have smaller particle size, enabling them to penetrate the concrete directly while leaving fewer residues on the polished concrete floor surface.

Engraving

Engraving polished concrete gives a distinctive and attractive floor surface. Special engraving machines are used to stain the concrete floor to give it colour and then engrave a pattern. The engraved or routed surfaces are left colourless, leaving a decorative imprint.