Polished Concrete Floors: As Maintenance-Free As It Gets
Wednesday, October 28th, 2009That glisten of the concrete flooring that looks like marble or terrazzo or tile might not be that at all. Polished concrete is becoming the flooring of choice, not only in commercial buildings, but in private homes as well. People have discovered the glossy no-maintenance benefits of polished concrete are a great alternative to other more expensive types of flooring. Not only can concrete be polished to a high gloss, but it may be stained or dyed to look like other materials; Venetian marble, assorted types of tile, terrazzo or a variety of other much more expensive products.
Polished concrete floors may also be etched or stenciled with a plethora of designs, limited only by the designer’s imagination. They may be emblazoned with company logos, crests or a coat-of-arms in a permanent display of company or family fealty.
The polishing of concrete is accomplished with varying grits of abrasives until the desired gloss is achieved. The polishing process leaves a very dense, stable and durable floor that is very attractive. This flooring will stand up to forklift traffic in a warehouse and heavy foot traffic in office building entries and corridors. It leaves a stain free floor in residences, warehouses and offices. Another plus is that a polished concrete floor is very sanitary and will not harbor any molds, mildews or other biological or insect infestation.
Polished concrete floors may be the ultimate no-wax flooring. Once polished, the sheen will remain for a long time. Maintenance is relatively simple; just a dusting with a dry dust mop or wet mopping with a mild solvent followed by clean water is usually all that is required to clean the floor. Commercial floor cleaning machines may also be used. Any dulling of the sheen is usually from contaminants, not wear, and there are a variety of cleansers that may be used to restore the gloss. These are easily applied with a mop, buffer or commercial cleaning machine.
Eventually, the gloss may begin to fade in high traffic areas, but this may be successfully reversed by buffing with a commercial buffer using a polishing compound. When some wear does begin to show, the floor may be polished anew by using a very fine grit material on a commercial buffer. Polished concrete floors may never need replacement, unlike other types of flooring; carpeting, hardwood, tile, linoleum, natural stone, laminates and other materials that all may stain and wear out.
Even so, there may come a time or circumstance when you need to repair cracks in your polished concrete, and that process is not as hard as it may sound.
