Diamond Polished Concrete; What is it?
The term polish concrete incompases a few different ways to finish a concrete floor. Dimond polished ocnrete refers to the method used to polish the floor, that is diamonds and diamond impregnated resins and used to progressively polish the floor/concrete like you would a marble floor. This method is a green approach to polished concrete and is ideal for a variety of situations ;
Why concrete placement is so important
Why is placement so important? You can just grind it out and fix it right .....?
You can see in this picture marks left behind by the screed being left/pushed on the concrete slab. Is this a big problem? Your going to helicopter over the top right it will end up all smooth and even so its not a problem right?
WRONG !
WHY COATINGS FAIL
Did you know that in over 73% of cases, coatings fail because of poor surface preperation/insufficient bond profile?
Requirements for polished concrete floors
For every type of polished concrete there are sublte differences on what is required to achieve a polished finish. Have a look at our Buyers Guide to Polished Concrete here.
The main three finishes where this is important is for a cream polish (aka burnished concrete), partial aggregate exposure (aka hit n miss or salt n pepper) or full aggregate exposure.
For Cream Polish or Burnished Concrete the following special requirements apply for concrete surfaces;
CASTING
For the floor to have a uniform appearance, the casting is of the greatest importance. (A poorly cast floor will be costly to grind, and even if the function of a polished floor can be achieved, the finish will be affected by uneven aggregate, cracks, etc.) The appearance of the finish is totally dependent on the concrete's appearance. Colour differences in the surface are to be expected. It is important to protect the slab during the building process from spills and staining as these cannot be removed.
MAINTENANCE OF POLISHED CONCRETE
Maintenance of polished concrete
Just like your car polished concrete requires regular maintenance to keep it looking clean and fresh and shinny. There are different types of polished concrete so different methods are needed.
