Polished Concrete Floors

Polished concrete has a glossy, mirror-like finish. The color and design options available are virtually endless. You can choose virtually any color or combination thereof, sawcuts can be used to create patterns, and aggregates or other objects can even be embedded into the concrete prior to finishing, so your floor can be as simple or as complex as you like.

Polished concrete floors are a popular choice in commercial applications because they are attractive, versatile, durable, low maintenance, and easy to clean. The only maintenance polished concrete floors require is regular dust mopping and the occasional wet mopping.

Process

The process for finishing an interior concrete floor is to grind the surface down until it is smooth. The amount of grinding will vary per job, based on your needs and the condition of the concrete. Shallow grinding is often used to prepare the surface for polishing or for a solid-color epoxy, while a deeper grind can expose the small stones in the concrete, providing a unique texture to your concrete floor.

Once the initial rough grinding is complete, the fine grinding stages begin. This involves diamond abrasives embedded in a plastic or resin matrix. Progressively finer grits of polishing disks are used, in a process called lapping, until the desired sheen is achieved. The higher the gloss, the higher grit polishing disk will be used

An internal impregnating sealer is applied during the polishing process. This sealer is invisible and protects the concrete by hardening and densifying it. Because the sealer sinks into the concrete itself, it eliminates the need for a topcoat of any kind which drastically reduces maintenance.