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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.
I venture to guess that most of the floor-covering installers reading this tip don’t consider “grinding or honing wet” an option when bidding polished concrete. I don’t blame you. In the floor covering industry, the idea of adding water to the concrete sounds crazy. Most of the time, you already […]
Let’s tackle understanding what happens when slabs curl and why concrete has light and dark areas that never change. (We call these differential curing marks). These are two more common types of damage that wouldn’t exist if you technically mixed, placed and cured concrete. Knowledge is power. What is curling […]
Being proactive early can make or break the success of your project! It’s essential to educate your crew, so these questions don’t cause unneeded anxiety. Knowledge is power when the owner of a site asks the polishing contractor questions like: “Why did my concrete crack and how can you fix […]
In this tip, you’ll learn about craze cracks. These common cracks wouldn’t exist if installers had properly mixed and placed the concrete and allowed it to fully cure. Craze cracks — sometimes called map cracking, mud cracking or spider cracks — all name the same thing. I believe you should […]
Let’s say you performed a mock-up or a Mohs test on a concrete slab. Subsequently, the results determined the concrete slab is soft (scratched at a 6, 5 or 4). Here are a few items not on the “typical packing list” that’ll come in handy. Extra diamonds and high-solids densifiers […]
When producing a coarse aggregate floor directly for an owner or client, most people commonly assume that all you must do is work harder and grind deeper during the first grinding steps. Always begin by doing the Mohs hardness test. The result helps you determine the correct bond to start […]
Capitalism is predicated on the idea that this isn’t a one-size-fits-all world. I might want a sportscar while you prefer an SUV. You play softball with the gang on Saturday afternoons while I like to hike nature trails. The same holds true with concrete flooring. While it’d be nice if […]
Looking for a cost-effective flooring system that’s quick to install and easy to keep clean? Then check out Westcoat’s Grind & Seal, a great-looking alternative for polished concrete. The popular system aims to revive and protect plain concrete in commercial establishments from showrooms to restaurants. Depending on the sealer or […]
For such a simple piece of equipment, Fas-Trak Industries Inc.’s Ultra-Trak offers users a lot of flexibility when it comes to applying densifiers and sealers, says Dan Baird, president of Floor Tech Solutions Inc. The automated application system can apply concrete chemicals at a rate of up to 25,000 square […]
To loosely quote Theodore Roosevelt, nothing in the world is worth doing unless it takes effort. Take for example the Alila Marea Beach Resort Encinitas in San Diego, California, and its exquisitely stenciled polished concrete lobby. “This hotel was challenging, as are many high-end structures,” says Mona Kharouba, superintendent for […]
