Characteristics of a Polished Concrete Floor

If you are looking for a unique flooring option that is beautiful, long lasting and easy to maintain, polished concrete is the right choice for your flooring needs. If you are looking for a completely uniform appearance, polished concrete may not be the best choice.

Level of Shine: A simple polish can create an overall clean, gray, smooth functional surface. If a higher level of shine is desired, it can be accomplished with additional product usage.  Although this increases the product and labor costs, it will result in better light reflection and be easier to clean and maintain. It is tough to beat a highly polished concrete surface that creates a mirror-like shine that looks incredible.

Design Element: Keep your floor options open by adding creative and colorful floor designs to your polished concrete floor. Additional design treatments can include, border or logos, decorative saw cuts or score lines.

Color: The color choices are many, from Raw Sienna to Midnight Black. Every concrete slab is unique and will affect the appearance of the dye. Color results cannot be guaranteed.  Actual colors may vary.

Is it slippery? Just because it looks so shiny doesn’t mean it is slippery. Polished concrete, with rare exceptions, meets ADA and OSHA slip resistance standards. As with any wet floor, precautions still need to be taken with water on concrete.

Highs and Lows: We have no control over how the concrete was poured. Highs and lows in the floor may cause areas to vary in color and shine and can lead to a variation in aggregate exposure and finish. We cannot guarantee uniformity in finish or aggregate exposure.

Cracking: Whether the concrete is new or old it is subject to random cracking. Small cracks in both old and new concrete can be filled to help with “dirt traps”. Filled cracks are a patch and will not match with the remainder of the floor. They will still be noticeable upon completion of polishing.

Edges: Aggregate and color exposure at edges may not be consistent with the majority of the floor. Equipment limits grinding and polishing to within ½” of the edge.         

Spills and Stains: Consolideck™ LS, which is a densifier/hardener is applied and helps strengthen the concrete. LS Guard, a glossy sealer, hardener/densifier, is applied   to help resist spills and stains and improve gloss and reflectance.  Both products together buy time to clean a spill. If spills are not cleaned in a timely manner the product will not prevent stains. Some acidic products may stain or “etch” the surface instantly depending on the level of acid in a product.

Scratching and Chip-Outs: A polished concrete surface is a dense surface but may scratch if a heavy or sharp object is pulled across the floor. If an object is dropped on the floor the surface may chip, leaving behind a void in the concrete. For staining, scratches and chip-outs there are ways to help mask the problem. Stains may be reground and polished.  But if the stain penetrated deep into the concrete, it will remain after re-polishing. Depending on the size, scratches and chip-outs may be filled, but will still be noticeable after completion.

Environmental: Polished concrete is considered a GREEN process.  The product used during the process has been certified by SCS Indoor Advantage™ Gold Consumer Group.

About the concrete:  For existing concrete:  The concrete should be solid, dense, and somewhat level and overall smooth. If the floor is uneven, there may be extreme variation in aggregate exposure. Cracks, chips and stains that are currently in the concrete may still be visible upon completion of polishing. Some concrete may be damaged to a point that polishing would not be the best choice.

For new construction: We can work with and advise the contractor that will pour the concrete to help achieve the proper conditions for polishing. This helps the finished product achieve the best possible results.