All About Polished Concrete Floors

Copyright (c) 2010 Nadine Davis

All over Australia, homeowners and business owners alike are turning to polished concrete. In addition to being incredibly attractive, it is also surprisingly affordable. Considering how nice it looks, it is very inexpensive. So, are you ready for polished concrete? Learn more about it below.

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 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. Upon completion of the process, sporadic dusting is probably all you will need to do as far as maintenance of your concrete flooring goes. They may need to rebuffed later on, but that shouldn't be necessary for a very long time.