Concrete Polishing

As a former contractor, manufacturer and now basically an owner’s representative on most projects, I’d like to share a relatively simple formula that will handle this issue for 90 percent of your projects.

A concrete floor polished up to 3,000 grit, stained, guarded and burnished can be a sight of sheer beauty. For many customers, a polished concrete floor is the perfect fit. The only problem is, many concrete floors are far from perfect slabs. There are pinholes, cracks, pop-outs, gouges, and spalling joints, just to name a few flaws.

Picture the elementary school you attended. The floors were probably concrete covered by institutional-style vinyl tile or commercial-grade carpet. In a word, boring.

Today, most slabs are finished using mechanical trowels for the body of the slab and hand trowels for the edges. There are two basic types of mechanical trowels: walk-behinds and ride-ons.

In terms of decorative options, existing concrete slabs are limited to topical color systems. In many cases these coloration processes are subject to fading and wear and are sensitive in high-moisture environments. You’ll find more versatility in 3/8-inch concrete overlays. Not only do you have a choice of UV-stable integral colors, but you can also choose from several types of aggregates.

Mix designs are always a little tricky. As most Concrete Decor readers are not architects or engineers, there is a lot of risk associated with modifying a designed and engineered concrete mix.

In April 2015 the Concrete Polishing Association of America (CPAA) adopted a new position on the measurement of slip resistance of bonded-abrasive polished concrete floors.

A Tuscaloosa, Ala., company landed the contract to polish some 12,000 square feet of concrete poured as part of a major renovation to the US Space & Rocket Center, which serves as home to the internationally known Space Camp for bright and cosmically focused kids.

As we come out of the winter, I always deal with multiple polishing projects where the concrete was placed during cold temperatures. Although there are ACI standards for cold-weather placements, I still experience quite a few slabs that have issues related to cold weather.

Five projects that featured products from the Scofield line, a brand of Sika Corp., were honored in the 11th annual Decorative Concrete Awards competition. First-place winners and runners-up were announced during the 2019 World of Concrete in Las Vegas.

Floor flatness (FF) and floor levelness (FL) are measurements by which architects can hold concrete placement contractors accountable and provide a quality control level during the initial placement of concrete slabs.

Ohio State University experienced a growth spurt this past summer with campus-wide new construction and renovations that continued well into 2016.

If I were a contractor I would take “preexisting” projects over new projects every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

In his 68 years, Jim Vermillion has mastered many skills: military officer, airline pilot, inventor, seagoing kayak adventurer, business owner.

But he hasn’t been able to get the hang of retirement.

There’s a lot of misinformation and confusion surrounding delaminations in concrete. To help clear up things, let’s review different types of delaminations and associated repair options so you can use this information to better plan, manage or correct delamination issues.

Anthony Allen, owner of the largest winery in Maryland, knew he wanted a very special floor for his newly renovated wine-tasting and banquet rooms, located in a former dairy barn.

A floor at an Alaskan elementary school honored the natural environment and became art that kids can walk on, thanks to Mapei’s Ultratop PC polishable concrete topping.

Beauty may only be skin deep, but the performance qualities of an MQ Whiteman SlabArmor concrete surface are just as impressive as the strikingly good looks the SlabArmor system delivers.

One message comes through loud and clear in any discussion, debate or disagreement about the various types of densifiers used in concrete polishing.

Almost all of them work, with one exception...

Polished concrete has a large learning curve. It is important to know what you are up against and how different techniques can result in different outcomes. This article is a great place to start when learning your craft.

This is very similar to the story told in the old children’s tale, “The Tortoise and the Hare.” If you remember, the slow-footed tortoise won a race against the faster hare by keeping a slow, steady pace while his faster counterpart sprinted, tired and lost concentration.

The owner of Dallas’s Dave and Buster’s sports bar wanted the look of a contemporary football field for the floor. After the floor was polished to an 800 grit, Chris Post of Elite Concrete Solutions delivered that and more.

When it comes to decorative concrete on floors, sometimes you have to take it off before you lay it down. Take a closer look at your two basic options when clearing the way for new work.