What is polished concrete?
Concrete slabs have an inherent natural beauty, but until recently, residential and retail facilities preferred floor coverings, such as vinyl composite tile, decorative tile or terrazzo, to make up for the dull finish of concrete’s natural state. However, the benefits of natural concrete, such as cost savings and high-traffic durability, have long been a familiar solution for industrial sites.
Polished concrete is concrete that has been chemically treated and then finished with fine grinding tools to provide a clean polished surface. Polished concrete flooring is fast becoming an architectural choice for residential concrete floors as well as it provides all the durability of concrete with a cutting edge modern style.
It is extremely tough wearing and long lasting, easy to clean and maintain, making it a very cost efficient yet stylish solution for home owners.
A wide range of finishes are available – from river stone, granite, and black basalt aggregate mixes, to a simpler polished cement finish. Other colourings or decorative aggregates such as seashells, or glass chips can be added into the mix to provide a truly unique and customised surface.
How is it made?
The process of concrete polishing is similar to sanding wood – the only difference is the industrial scale of the equipment used and the expertise required.
Polished concrete is concrete that has been diamond ground and then treated with a chemical densifier before progressively polishing with finer diamond polishing tools.
The diamond grinding tools are usually sequenced in grit levels of diamonds and polishing pads which are specifically designed for polishing concrete. Typically, concrete is not considered polished before 400 grit which is known as honed concrete, polished concrete is normally finished to either the 800, 1500, or 3000 grit level depending on the shine and reflection specified.
A polished concrete floor can be walked on during the grind and polish process, and is ready to use within an hour of the final seal being applied.
Finishes
Because polishing is a multi-step process, you can choose the level of sheen from stain to high-gloss that meets your maintenance and aesthetic requirements, and giving you a truly unique finish.
There are a range of finishes available for your polished concrete floor or worktop: Ground concrete (20 to 100 Grit grinding), Honed concrete (200 to 400 Grit polishing), Low Sheen Polishing (400 to 800 Grit polishing) or High Shine Polishing (800 to 3000 Grit polishing)
There are also a range of aggregate exposures available, from only polishing the existing surface with minimal sand exposure to heavy exposure to reveal the maximum size of aggregate.
