A Builder’s Guide to Polished Concrete Floors

Levels of Gloss in a Polished Concrete Floor

Polish refers to a floor that is honed to be smooth, not the level of reflectivity. The level of reflectivity is achieved by using different grades of abrasives during the polishing process. The more abrasive steps used, the higher the gloss level achieved. The three levels of gloss are: satin (lowest level of reflectivity), semi-gloss (medium level of reflectivity), and high-gloss (highest level of reflectivity).

Gloss can be specified from satin to high gloss and has a low impact on pricing. While there’s no hard and fast rule, matte floors are often used in modern construction designs, while higher levels of reflectivity are used to increase light and openness in dark or cramped spaces. Regardless of the level of reflectivity you choose, all of the floors we install offer the same quality and performance.

Options for Integrating Color in Concrete Polishing.

• Integrating color into polished concrete flooring is a popular choice for custom home builders because it allows them to better incorporate the floor into their overall interior design. Remember, most concrete slabs have tan undertones not grey. To achieve a cool toned, gray floor, it may be necessary to pigment the concrete.
• There are two primary ways to integrate color into polished concrete floors:
  Integral Color — Color added to the concrete mix before it is poured.
  Topical Color — Color to the surface after it is polished.
• Because of its lower cost, topical color is the most common way of pigmenting a polished concrete floor. However, topical color is less permanent than integral color and will require reapplication approximately every five years.
• Integral color is preferred if it fits the budget, due to its more natural appearance and increased longevity. An integrally colored slab will never fade or discolor.

When to Install Polished Concrete

The ideal time to install residential polished concrete floors is when the house is in the early stages of construction. This allows the floor the best pricing as the floor is polished before obstacles such as walls and millwork are installed.

TYPICALLY INSTALLED IN 3 MOBILIZATIONS

For most new residential construction projects, our installation process is divided into 3 main steps. Each of them is equally important, and having the right concrete flooring company is essential in making this process as efficient as possible.

First Mobilization

• When: Approximately one week after a slab is poured but before framing begins
• How: The slab is densified, and the first polishing steps are installed. Densifiers are introduced into the slab and left to react, hardening the slab. After densification is complete, the floor is cleaned, and the most aggressive polishing steps are run.
• Key Takeaway: Complete the heavy polishing work before the walls are framed to create a better-looking and more cost-effective floor.
• Note: Densifier increases the durability of the floor to reduce staining and abrasion risks during the construction process.

Second Mobilization

• When: As soon as the project is dried in
• How: The floor is cleaned, and any construction surface contaminants are removed. The next steps of polishing are run until the desired level of reflectivity. The slab is covered with a protective paper product such as a Ram Board.
• Why: This allows subsequent finishing subs to work directly on the floor without covering it every time.
• Key Takeaway: Insulation, drywall, tape/bed, texture, and paint can utilize the floor covering to save time. Trades that may create a mess, such as texture, should use drop cloths on top of the ram board to increase job site cleanliness.
• Note: Painters can apply painter’s paper directly to the ram board to eliminate contaminants being blown onto the wall when spraying paint. Since Ram Board is only tacked to the framing, the trim can be installed directly on top of the Ram Board. Ram board can then be pulled, and the trim caulked to the floor.

Third Mobilization

These are the final steps to complete the installation.

• When: ‘Pre-move-in’ or during final site cleaning
• How: One final polishing pass is performed on the floor to remove any contaminants on the floor from the construction process. The floor is then cleaned, and a penetrating stain protector is applied. Stain protectors increase a floor’s resistance to liquid spills and are friction cured with a high-speed burnisher.
• Key Takeaway: Work and foot traffic can be resumed on the site the next day

Concrete Pour and Troweling Technique

One of the most common questions we get from home builders is about best practices for concrete pours. While nearly any concrete pour, no matter the quality, can be polished, the finished appearance of a concrete floor is very dependent on the quality of the concrete pour.

Some best practices include:

Install anchor bolts after the pour to allow a power trowel to run the edge of the concrete slab. Hand-troweled areas will always have a less consistent appearance than power-troweled areas.

Overworking the concrete will create a dark floor, which cannot be reversed in the polishing process. It’s ideal to limit the amount of friction a slab is exposed to, to keep the cement on the surface from burning. For this reason, we suggest running plastic float pans under the power trowel before using steel blades. Plastic blades may also be substituted to keep concrete slabs as light in color as possible. Remember, it’s possible to darken a slab later with pigment, but its not possible to lighten a slab that has been burned.

Never leave building materials sitting on a freshly poured slab. Anything sitting on the slab will impact curing, and may leave ghost marks that will be visible after the concrete is polished.

Never use ‘cure and seal’ compounds. These offer no benefits for concrete that will be polished, and will increase the cost of your installation.

Stained Vs. Polished Concrete Floors

While the terms stained and polished concrete are often mixed up, polished concrete is a better-suited installation for residential construction. Polished concrete floors depend on penetrating liquids to increase durability and stain resistance, while stained concrete floors use a film-forming plastic coating over the surface of the concrete. In use, this means that the wear surface of a polished concrete floor is the concrete itself–a very durable material. The wear surface of a stained concrete floor is a soft plastic coating, which will show scratching and wear very easily.