Commercial Concrete Polishing
Commercially used buildings, whether they are retail outlets, hotels, restaurants or other public spaces, face heavy traffic on a daily basis. Like the rest of your business, your floor needs to stand up to this traffic.
More than that, it should harmonize with the design of your interior. Commercial concrete polishing does all this and more. It can be tailored to provide a beautiful floor, which will stand up to the heaviest traffic. While some maintenance may be required, this should almost be a floor for life. Unlike tiles, carpet or laminate, polished concrete is a structural element that should last for the lifetime of a building.
The needs of a business can be reflected in the style of floor chosen. A concrete floor can have an industrial style finish, creating an understated but modern look. Alternatively, an exposed aggregate finish can be offered, reflecting more light to brighten the surrounding space. A polished concrete floor can be a worthy flooring choice for a boutique, restaurant, car showroom, museum. In fact, it can be an option for practically any commercial space. For a great example of how a commercial concrete polishing can add value to a space, see the award-winning floor we polished at Hencote Winery.
Our teams can create new floors, or polish existing floors, of any size and design. We have been involved in many projects ranging from small walkways in mixed element floors to large warehouse sized spaces. There is always an option to fit any commercial project, and we are committed to helping you make the right choices.
Existing Floors
If the premises has an existing concrete floor it’s likely it can be polished. We can offer a range of finishes, although these options can be limited by the condition of the floor.
There may be the need for floor repairs if it has suffered damaged, but these can be factored into the polishing process. The colour of the concrete and aggregate will also affect the final look of the floor. Where colour is an preference, we can use a concrete dye to alter the final tone. Commercial floors can also have logos, brand names or other decorative designs stained into the floor. This creates a long-lasting effect that is not subject to flaking such as alternative topical coatings.
- Hygienic and easy to clean
- Extremely high quality and durability
- Minimal lifetime cost
- Reflective and decorative finish
New Floors
If you are planning for new commercial premises, or an extensive rebuild, we can help install the new polished concrete floor.
We can also take on the project at the concrete polishing stage only, but we can liaise with architects, building contractors and the end user to help design and place the floor to suit the specification. Alternatively, we can design, mix and place the floor ourselves. To ensure that the project management stays within your allotted timescale, it is important that we have input into the build as early as possible. A new concrete floor must be placed and left to cure before it can be mechanically concrete polished.
- Choice of colours, branding and design options
- Easy to clean and maintain
- Matt, Satin or Gloss finishes
- Withstands the toughest use
Concrete Overlays
In some cases, it is not possible to achieve a polished concrete floor with the existing concrete available.
The condition of the floor or the lack of suitable depth prevent mechanical polishing or achieving the design specified. There are also cases where work on premises cannot afford the time needed for new concrete to be placed and cured. In these instances, we advise the use of a concrete overlay. The overlay can be placed at as little as 10mm in depth, and cure rapidly. They can be mechanically ground and polished within as little as 24 hours. A choice of colour, aggregate exposure and gloss level can all be controlled. If there are concerns about the viability of incorporating polished concrete into the project, this may be the answer!
- From 10mm in depth
- Can be ground and polished after just 24 hours
- A range of colours and finishes available
- High strength suitable for schools, airports, warehouses, retail, restaurants, lobbies, and more.
Benefits of polished concrete
Energy saving
Reflective and
decorative finish
Low maintenance
Hygienic and easy to
clean and maintain
Durable
High-quality durability and
withstands the toughest use
Finish Options & Colours
Rustic Style Finish
Aimed at the residential sector. An attractive, characteristic style without the need for the initial surface grinding. Achievable with either a new concrete floor, or an existing floor that has a surface in excellent condition. Requires a high standard, power trowel finish to achieve this option.
Variable Finish
Offered where functionality is a priority. It is carried out with an initial light grind of the concrete surface, before mechanically concrete polishing. The amount of fines sands and aggregates visible will be regulated by how much of a grind is required to prepare the surface for concrete polishing.
Exposed Aggregate Finish
Created by a heavy initial grind of the concrete to expose the aggregate. Multiple grinding & mechanical concrete polishing stages are then required to finish the process. This option has the most amount of refinement stages to the concrete surface to offer a high quality and extremely durable floor.
FAQS
How deep should the concrete be?
On a typical non structural floor we would recommend an average 100mm depth.
Can it be used with Under Floor Heating?
Concrete is a good conductor of heat and the majority of our projects have wet under floor heating installed.
Will it crack?
We take many actions to try and reduce the risk of random cracking such as requesting reinforcement mesh, sufficient depth, solid sub-base, concrete fibres, quality mix design, cutting of control joints, curing procedures, admixtures and under floor heating commissioning advice. With that said its not possible to guarantee a cementitious concrete floor not to crack but we feel we have minimised the risk as much as possible. If a crack does appear it can always be repaired with a subtle appearance.
How long does it take from start to finish?
Based on a typical residential concrete placement and polishing of a large kitchen/diner (80m2) then It would generally take the following time in the construction program. 2-3 days for concrete installation. 21 days curing in which other trades will be able to proceed with works above the floor whilst under cure such as plaster boarding, plastering, painting etc. Once the 21 days has passed (it can be left longer) we would require an additional 3-4 days for the polishing process.
Do I need to have control joints?
If you want to reduce the risk of random cracking then control joints should be cut into the floor. We will advise the boundaries of when/where these should be placed as per industry standard. We will also incorporate where we feel stress points are whilst being mindful of symmetry and aesthetics. The joints will be cut with a straight edge and filled with a decorative joint filler to keep them clean, sharp and subtle.
Is it slippery?
Although some of our projects appear slippy they are actually deemed as a low-moderate slip rating. This is due to a high coefficient of friction. Many of our projects are in industrial factories where they have had to pass a strict health and safety report.