Polished concrete floors give off a posh and elegant vibe, and they are increasingly popular in both residential and commercial design. Its adaptability and aesthetic appeal significantly aid in its popularity. Polished concrete can be moulded into a variety of shapes and colours, from vivid colour schemes to subdued tones. Thus, they are a great option for your bathroom remodelling project or backyard flooring! The best part is, that you can also experiment with unique and varied design patterns to enhance your home decor. Although there are countless customization options, you should first understand the different types of polished concrete floors.
Here is a short guide for everything you need to know about polished concrete floors. So let’s get started right away!
What is a polished concrete floor?
Before we dig into the many varieties of polished concrete flooring, it is important to have a basic understanding of what concrete polishing includes. The concrete is polished with the aid of bonded abrasives after being ground and honed in a multi-step mechanical process.
The floor’s surface is aggressively scraped, and any flaws are removed using grinding equipment. This process, sometimes known as “cutting,” aims to homogenise the surface. To further reduce the floor’s surface to the appropriate level of smoothness or reflectivity, less powerful grinding instruments are used. We call this procedure “polishing.”
The surface is then treated with a penetrating chemical substance called a hardener to harden and make the floor dust-proof.
Polished concrete flooring is quite durable, and you can customise the sheen to your liking. After being polished, the concrete surface can be stained or dyed, allowing for a variety of design possibilities. For the best-polished concrete floors, opt for Hychem engineered products and solutions for flooring for your home or office!
Types of Polished Concrete Floors
Cream Polished Concrete
This is one of the most basic varieties of concrete flooring, also known as the “Bronze” finish. Here, the concrete’s surface is merely polished using diamond pads to bring out the floor’s natural colour rather than being ground or honed.
The natural variegation and texture of the freshly poured concrete will be apparent due to there being no concrete removal from the floor surface. This gives the floors an attractive appearance.
Exposed Aggregate Finish
In the construction process, aggregates are coarse-or fine-grained particles like sand and crushed stone. The concrete surface is extensively grounded in the exposed aggregate finish in order to expose the concrete mix’s aggregates.
To reveal the larger, irregular aggregate in the concrete slab, the outer layer of the cement paste is ground off during this procedure. The exposed aggregate surface is skid-resistant and closely resembles a granite block. Additionally, it can survive harsh weather and is suitable for areas with heavy foot traffic.
Salt And Pepper Finish
In this style of finishing, the concrete surface is softly ground to reveal the tiny particles beneath the surface paste, sometimes known as “gold” concrete. As the name implies, the surface has a speckled or salt-and-pepper appearance when the finer aggregate grains are exposed.
In contrast to the exposed aggregate finish, which gives the surface a matte appearance, the floor in this type of concrete is polished to offer a high-gloss finish. Also, you can alter the appearance to suit your favourite colour and gloss level.
To sum up, the above-mentioned types of polished concrete floors are the most popular ones. While all three of them have their own pros and cons, nonetheless, these are cost-effective and versatile home and office flooring solutions.