The world's foremost resource on decorative concrete
Polished concrete is a process of progressive mechanical grinding, honing, densifying and polishing a concrete surface. This is done to achieve an aesthetically pleasing, highly durable, light-reflective finish.
There are two types of F-numbers, which measure floor flatness and levelness respectively. Industry expert Allen Face is the creator of the F-number system, as well as the inventor of several measurement instruments and a principal inventor of superflat floor technology.
What is ground and polished concrete? How do we determine the difference between a topical-polished floor, in which a product has been applied to the floor to seal it, and a mechanical polish with bonded abrasives?
How long is a set of diamonds supposed to last? Or more to the point, what kind of square footage can I expect out of a set of diamonds?
A high school teaching students the finer points of polishing? Bryon “Bru” Bruington, technical sales director for Kut-Rite Manufacturing Co., based in Michigan, heard about Compass High School from a colleague. “I was instructing for our polishing school in Tulsa, Okla., and a high school from Tucson had sent some […]
It is easy to understand the benefits of polished concrete. The word about polished concrete is out and we have done a great job of promoting the industry. Polished concrete is growing. The marketing has been great and many contractors are jumping on board. And the consumers are seeing a great product.
If I were a contractor I would take “preexisting” projects over new projects every day of the week and twice on Sunday.
A “punch list” is the final review of a project. It is usually completed by the project architect and is most often completed after the project has reached a milestone called “substantial completion.” And for a decorative concrete contractor, the punch list is probably the single largest money-losing piece of a project.
Prepping a concrete floor for polishing is one of the most difficult tasks we face in this industry. We cannot be aggressive like we can when prepping for a coating system, because there will be no coating to cover up the deep scratch patterns. We must take care to remove the surface materials while causing as little damage as possible to the concrete. We must be aggressive while being cautious.
Historically, chemistry for polished concrete consisted only of a hardener-densifier, and it was often viewed as an added expense with an unknown benefit. The times are changing.
Currently, we can identify nine unique categories of chemical accessories for polished concrete.
I was recently asked to troubleshoot issues on a polished concrete floor that failed to show vivid color, even after all the usual right steps were taken. It was “The Case of the Disappearing Color.”
