Polished Concrete Flooring

All About Polished Concrete Floors

There are many reasons that so many people have been turning to polished concrete floors lately. The main ones are economical and aesthetic. Polished concrete has the appearance of high-quality marble, at a fraction of the cost. It can be used to give an old concrete floor a face-lift, or it can be used on newly poured concrete. If you're interested in Polished Concrete Brisbane, you can read on to learn more about it.

Polished Concrete for Old or New Floors

If you have an existing concrete floor and would like to give it a fresh new look, polishing is definitely a great option. The only "major" preparation that usually needs to be done is a little cleaning. The installer can power-wash your old concrete floors in order to prepare them for polishing. After that, he can get to work on doing the actual polishing - and you'll be left with a stunning new floor.

Perhaps you've been thinking about having concrete floors installed, but aren't thrilled about their lacklustre appearance. In that case, polishing may be just what you need. If you're on the fence about having concrete floors installed, you should know that having them polished can make them look absolutely amazing. The only thing that you need to be aware of is that installers usually wait at least one month before polishing newly-poured concrete. This is so that the concrete has time to set properly. After that period of time, the floor can be polished to a beautiful shine.

Preparing Your Concrete Floor

Sometimes, a Brisbane Polished Concrete contractor may have to add penetrating hardeners to your concrete floors so that they are ready to be polished. A professional can look at your concrete floors to determine whether or not they are suitable for polishing. If hardeners need to be added, don't worry - that step can be accomplished very quickly. Many times, it is done after the initial grinding stage is complete. It produces a nice crystalline structure that is conducive to producing truly amazing polished floors.

Dry Polishing and Wet Polishing

More than likely, your polished concrete company will use a combination of dry and wet polishing. The initial grinding is usually done using dry grinding. Dry polishing equipment has built-in dust containment units on it to keep dust at bay. Later, wet polishing equipment will be used to produce the shiny, glossy look that you want. Wet polishing produces less friction; its cooling effects help generate the polished look that you are after. Once the process is complete, occasional dusting is all that should be necessary when it comes to maintaining your concrete floors. They may need to rebuffed later on, but that shouldn't be necessary for a very long time.