Concrete Floor Polishing – Enhancing the Aesthetic Look of your Home

Concrete Floor Polishing is the ultimate flooring with no wax. High wax finishes that need no wax sounds great doesn’t it? Well, it is possible by using concrete to get the look that you have always envisaged for your house. Concrete polishing for the floors is not just cost-effective, environment-friendly and durable, but it also enhances the lifespan and resale value of your property. Concrete is fast becoming a replacement for other flooring material such as marble, granite, wood, natural stone as polished concrete is easy to clean and maintain and it gives a natural shine to the floors.

Conerete Polishing

Can all Concrete be polished?

This is one question that often crosses our minds. Almost every structure that is made out of concrete can be polished. However there are some exceptions of course.

• New Floors need no special design mix to achieve optimum results or a good polish. However there has to be adequate time that is given to make sure there is enough curing. Sometimes the clients specify the smoothing requirements pertaining to floor polishes and this makes it easy to achieve, as a set target is already in place before the process initiates.
• Most floors need some preparation before polishing to remove grease, dirt, coatings and some blemishes. Also, if they have patches or waves, they will not last long. So polishing enhances the longevity of the floor, but it must be prepared before the process starts.
• Some porous floors may need intensive cleaning before polishing and in fact may not meet the criteria for polishing at all.
• It is for all these reasons that experienced team of people need to be engaged in the job of polishing the concrete floors. Although there are DIY techniques to conduct concrete floor polishing, yet it is always better to take advantage of the professionals so that the desired customization, elaborate polishing and a fine finishing can be achieved.
• Sometimes, contractors apply hardeners to the floors before starting on the work of polishing. These mix products that are applied on the floor pre polishing react with the flooring agents and form a hard crystalline surface. This offers great protection from dust and grime and also is resistant to stains.

Polished Floor

Are Polished Concrete Floors slippery and dangerous?

Polished Floors are subject to slipping is the common misconception. Due to the polished wax look, a lot of people feel scared to tread on them in a callous manner. This can be a danger when they have just been mopped and cleaned. However, when they are dry, they are completely safe to walk on. The polished floors are slip resistant provided they are kept clean and maintained well.

• It is preferable to keep the polished floors free of oil and grease. Water is also an issue. These situations may cause anyone to slip irrespective of whether the floors are polished are not. Cleaning of flooring should be done on regular basis and spills and stains should be removed.
• Sealer coats are applied on concrete surfaces that are polished. . This contains an anti-slip additive. This is added to the coat beforehand and this ensures that traction increases while the look and feel of the polished concrete floor is the same.
• Low traffic access areas can exhibit high polished concrete floors whilst areas prone to more incoming and outgoing influx of people can be sustained with the usage of carpets, rugs, and even by rubber mats. There are many anti-slip conditioners that are applied on to the floor, but they must not contain many chemicals, otherwise they tend to destroy the surface area of the floor instantly.

Whether you go for simple floors, or introduce concrete floor polishing techniques, it is important to understand the texture and slope of the floor, and then assign the project to the professionals.