Concrete Polishing and Restoration Services

Today, polished concrete is the fastest-growing surface type in the United States, and for good reason. In fact, for several good reasons. Most people cite ease of maintenance and beauty, which is now one of the biggest reasons for its use, but this was not the original reason either. Polished concrete is also credited for creating cleaner indoor air quality. This is because the chemicals and plasticizers used in carpet adhesive, carpet underlayment, and the carpet itself are not present and do not contribute to poor indoor air quality. Still, another great reason, but not the original reason.

By sealing or reinforcing concrete floor, it can be polished to a mirror finish. In effect, the polished shine was a side effect rather than a planned benefit. Polished concrete reduces salt dust and concrete dust, improves interior air quality, is less expensive to install, and is beautiful. You may have only one of these reasons, but you will reap the benefit of all of them. We hope you enjoy your polished concrete floors as much as we enjoyed polishing them for you

Yes. Polished concrete does not have the pores and grooves of rough pavement, like what you find in your driveway or sidewalk. By sealing these surfaces, dirt is kept on the surface where it can be easily removed. It will not wear or stain as easily as an absorbent carpet. It lacks grout lines that trap dirty mop water, like a tile floor. Polished concrete is flat, making it easier to dust mop and mop effectively. The only surface that may be better, in our opinion, would be a granite slab floor, but these are very rare, and even then, only if compared to unsealed concrete. Once sealed, polished concrete is just as easy to clean and maintain.

Ever wonder why Home Depot and Lowe’s have taken the time to polish their concrete floors? They save millions of dollars in janitorial costs by polishing concrete. Years ago, they were wondering why products on the shelf were so dusty, and as they studied it, they discovered the dust was not concentrated by the entrances but was evenly distributed throughout their large warehouse. By studying the dust, it was determined that it came from two sources:

· Concrete dust that was broken off from the then-rough concrete surface (concrete is brittle when thin); and

· Ground salts that had entered the building, carried by water vapor moving up through the floor.

Once inside, the water evaporated, leaving the dissolved salt as a dusty floor deposit. The floor needed to be sealed to halt the intrusion of salt dust, and the concrete needed to be polished to remove the jagged brittle peaks that were breaking off to form the concrete dust.

Good news! By sealing or reinforcing the concrete floor, it can be polished to a mirror finish. In effect, the polished shine was a side effect rather than a planned benefit. Today, the floor signals when it needs to be maintained, as it loses its gloss, signaling a roughening due to foot traffic. So, polished concrete reduces salt dust and concrete dust, improves interior air quality, is less expensive to install, and is beautiful.

Builders love it because it is the cheapest floor solution. Any other floor system is going to be placed over a concrete floor, adding to the cost. Polishing the concrete is a fraction of the cost of installing a carpet or tile floor. In fact, the concrete polishing process is often cheaper than just the labor costs associated with installing a tile floor.

From a health standpoint, a building with a polished concrete floor will generally have better indoor air quality, as a major source of chemicals and plasticizers is removed by eliminating carpet adhesive, carpet underlayment, and carpet itself. It is easier to care for and maintain, and as a flat floor, it lacks the grout lines of a tile floor that trap dirty water during the cleaning process. A carpet can hold so much residual dirt that it is often more than three times the weight of what it was when installed. Imagine how much dirt that is! There are good reasons for polished concrete to become the popular choice it has become. We are happy to work with our clients to convert an existing floor to a polished concrete floor.

Not all “shiny” concrete floors are equal. A gloss finish on concrete can be obtained in three different ways, only one of which delivers the full benefit of a polished concrete floor:

1. Wax Coating

2. Guard-Assisted Polishing

3. Natural Polishing

Wax is the worst offender. This is a coating that is so soft it has to be rebuffed occasionally, and because it traps dirt, it will need to be stripped off completely and re-applied periodically, creating a lot of unnecessary waste. This is a very labor-intensive process. The good news is that one can eliminate this wasteful treatment and convert easily to polished concrete. Coatings can be applied to enhance gloss, but when damaged or worn, they typically require the entire coating to be removed and reapplied, or you will see a difference in sheen between the newly applied coating and the older areas.

There are some anti-graffiti, anti-mold coatings that MARBLELIFE will install when appropriate, but polished concrete is generally the lower-cost alternative. Guard-assisted polishing is when the floor is honed flat to a 200-grit finish, and an acrylic coating is applied that replicates the gloss of a 1500 or 1800 grit finish, providing good clarity and shine. While inexpensive, this finish only lasts a few years, at which point it must be either

reapplied or the floor needs to be properly ground up mechanically to achieve the long-term, low-cost benefits of a polished concrete floor. If specified in a project, MARBLELIFE will deliver a beautiful result, but the best approach for long-term maintenance cost of the building is generally a naturally polished concrete floor (unassisted).

A naturally polished floor has a mechanical shine that derives from the fact that the floor is so flat it reflects light accurately. This requires the concrete to be densified to reinforce it, as untreated concrete can otherwise be porous and brittle. A liquid, glass-like material is applied that allows the concrete to be ground up to a mirror finish. A coating, being softer than concrete, cannot provide the wear resistance of a properly polished concrete floor. When it comes to wear resistance and low-cost building maintenance, this is the best option.