![]() The long-term cost advantage becomes clear when you factor in the maintenance and how quickly the floor will need replacing. “If we’re talking about a house where someone’s going to polish the inside of their house or commercial space, they can go with cheap VCT (vinyl composite tile), but ceramic tiles can be pricey and it’s not a simple install either.” “Tile is cheaper if you’re just considering the material, labor and installation,” he says. And when you consider the costs of finished concrete versus tile, for example, that makes a big difference. ![]() Savage says that unfortunately, few people consider the long-term cost of their flooring selection when they’re picking it out – they only calculate the upfront costs. Once your concrete floor is completed, you’ll have a beautiful, durable floor that will outlast any other flooring out there. Once the floor is ground to the desired level, densification is easy with a chemical densifier/hardener like LS, LS/CS or Blended Densifier. To optimize the performance and appearance of your concrete floor, chemical densification is critical. You want to start the grinding process with a 30- to 40-grit diamond, take another pass with an 80-grit diamond, and then finish with up to 150-grit or finer if desired. You start low and gradually move up to higher, finer grit levels.ĭiamond tooling attaches to the bottom of the grinding machine to cut the concrete – and yes, they’re real diamonds, which are ideal for this application due to their hardness and tolerance of high heat generated by the friction of grinding the concrete. The diamond tooling and its various grit sizes are like the sandpaper – the higher in number, the finer and shinier the finish and the lower the number, the courser the finish. It takes a concrete grinder and a selection of diamond tooling that goes onto the machine. Grinding concrete is similar to sanding wood, Savage says. If there are places where the floor is particularly beat up, a spalling repair may be required. These can be filled in with a polyurea joint filler. Once the adhesive is fully removed, you’ll want to address cracks and joints in the concrete. “People get on Pinterest or Google or see a concrete floor in a store and say, ‘That’s what I want,’ but what you want may not be what you’re going to get out of your particular floor.” This is why Savage stresses that homeowners should clearly communicate exactly what they want to a professional installer or contractor who will be upfront about what is realistically possible. There are dozens of variables in polished concrete that make each floor unique, explains Nick Savage, head of PROSOCO’s concrete flooring group of chemicals for polished concrete. One thing to keep in mind is that getting the concrete floor you want is not a routine step-by-step procedure every time. Plus, in many cases, concrete flooring is more cost-effective than flooring alternatives like carpet and tile. ![]() It offers endless opportunities to customize your floor to a specific, desired aesthetic and style. As a flooring topping, polished concrete is beautiful, durable, long-lasting, environmentally friendly and low-maintenance. Finished concrete is a wonderful option for interior floors of all kinds. If you’ve decided to go with finished concrete floors in your home or commercial building, or maybe you’re just concrete-curious, you’re in good company.
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