Polished concrete provides a stylish surface texture to both residential and commercial spaces, adding a hint of industrial sophistication. It features smooth surfaces with highly reflective properties and can even be enhanced through staining or dyeing processes. Best way to find the Polished Concrete Atlanta.
A new standard has been created to assist the industry in measuring concrete micro-surface texture. The CSDA Polishing Committee published its inaugural document for quantifying polished concrete surfaces using texture meters.
Exposed Aggregate
Expose aggregate is a decorative concrete finish that exposes aggregate in the cement mix for use outdoors, offering slip resistance that makes it safe for foot traffic – perfect for pool areas, sidewalks, and paths. You can add further texture by staining your floor surface to match its decorative aggregate, creating an eye-catching floor surface. The benefits of exposed aggregate include its durability and strength as reinforced concrete – as well as low maintenance costs!
Under this type of flooring, the concrete surface is heavily ground to expose larger aggregates and give it a rough and rugged appearance with natural stone, gravel, or pebble textures that appeal to people seeking rustic or natural formations. It can be used both commercially and residentially.
Attractive aesthetics aside, exposed aggregate floors have one major drawback that deters many residents and business owners from opting for them: constant cleaning is required to keep them looking pristine. Dirt can quickly accumulate on its surface, leading to unhygienic conditions that necessitate daily sweeping or mopping for cleanliness. Sealers may provide some level of protection from dirt accumulation but cannot permanently reduce the frequency of cleaning required. Sweeping or mopping is still recommended as a maintenance tool.
At its core, concrete grinding remains an appealing choice for many individuals and contractors alike despite this one disadvantage. You may be able to reduce maintenance burden by choosing less aggressive grinding methods; cream polishes only remove the top layer of concrete surface concrete, leaving little aggregate exposure; salt and pepper grinding exposes more surface concrete for an attractive speckled aggregate finish.
Although these techniques require extra care and maintenance, they offer the look of an exposed aggregate floor without all of its associated maintenance hassles. A quality concrete contractor may even apply a protective and hygienic water-based coating to ensure maximum benefits with less hassle and cleaning requirements.
Seeded Aggregate
For an elaborate yet more tailored effect than exposed aggregate, some designers choose to hand-seed decorative aggregates into concrete surfaces after pouring. While this method requires more time and expense than running them directly, it offers greater control of aggregate placement and size, thereby making it suitable for smaller projects with limited material usage.
Hand-seeding concrete requires many considerations that can significantly influence its result, from choosing an aggregate with uniform colors and shapes to how heavy or light hand-seeding should take place – these decisions at this stage have an enormous effect on how successful the final project will be.
Hand-seeding concrete requires careful attention in order to disperse aggregates throughout its mix evenly. This can be accomplished either by spreading aggregates on top of the wet concrete mix during batching or mixing them directly into it before batching begins. Experienced concreters should only attempt this finish as it requires high levels of skill and artistic flair.
No matter if aggregates are added directly into or spread on top of concrete, an effective concrete surface retarder must be applied after pouring and striking off. This will slow the drying process down so the surface of the concrete can be set slightly before its aggregates are exposed.
Concrete surface retarders help protect concrete from water and ice damage in harsh environments while giving aggregates time to settle naturally into their new home. Some ready-mix manufacturers even include surface retarders as part of their product offering, saving valuable time on job sites.
One of the most sought-after aggregate colors is a natural stone, from delicate pastel hues like pink or rose quartz to rich earthy tones like dark blue granite and red basalt. Many homeowners also appreciate its rustic charm by choosing sandy brown river stones, grey limestone, or black basalt for more rustic designs.
Seeded Seeding
Concrete polishing transforms porous concrete into an impervious surface that will protect it against water, oil, and other contaminants from infiltrating its pores. It allows for coloring or seeded aggregate options that add visual interest and polish heat to any floor, as well as coloring options like seeded aggregate. Polished sheen looks lovely and professional in commercial office buildings, retail spaces, warehouses, and fleet/auto shops, and it is becoming an increasingly popular alternative to marble, granite, tile VCT, and wood flooring.
Polished concrete can produce various textures depending on its grinding process and tools used, from rough wood float textures to aluminum and steel trowel finishes. Agitation level also has an effect – concrete that has been exposed less frequently can result in coarser textures, while those ground very fine will achieve smoother finishes.
Reviving the look and feel of concrete floors requires only adding colored stain prior to grinding and polishing; staining with different hues before polishing will change its hue without changing its sheen. Davis Colors and Interstar are two manufacturers that offer a wide selection of stock colors for stained floors.
Another way to add color to a concrete floor is through polishing, by applying chemical dyes that have been specially developed for use on this material. Such stains penetrate deep into its pores, providing extra protection with densifiers to keep their hue intact over time.
Changes to aggregate exposure, clarity of reflection, and dyed colors all impact the visual appearance and physical characteristics of concrete floors, so when designing your polished concrete specification, these details must be considered carefully.
It is also crucial to remember that a polished concrete floor must be cured for at least 28 days before it can be ground and polished – this can present challenges on projects where construction is underway, and polishing needs to happen quickly. Some projects can use fast-cure products that allow slabs to be ground and polished before interior framing has been installed and expedite the progress of projects significantly. This saves both time and money while speeding up project progression significantly.
Textured Aggregate
Popular decorative aggregates for concrete floors include brightly-hued natural stones like basalts, granites, and quartz; recycled glass, seashells, or small metal bits can also be added for aesthetic effect. Once set up and allowed to cure, concrete will be textured using either a machine trowel or hand trowel, resulting in non-slippery flooring that doesn’t need waxing for maintenance purposes – ideal for both homes and commercial spaces needing durable floors that don’t require much upkeep!
Your polished concrete flooring’s final appearance depends heavily upon the texture you choose for it, if any. In general, more exposed aggregate means darker concrete due to iron oxide pigment in its structure; different textures exhibit differing amounts of this pigment: precision texture is typically visible, while shot blasts and ground face textures tend not to show it at all.
Other than the physical and mineralogical properties of aggregates that must be taken into account to create an ideal mix, other factors must also be taken into account when developing a perfect concrete mix, including factors like grading (size distribution), moisture content, specific gravity, reactivity and soundness of aggregate. Grading (size distribution), moisture content, typical gravity reactivity, and stability have a significant effect on the strength, workability, and durability of concrete. Aggregate surface smoothness/roughness also influences adhesion between cement paste and aggregates – smooth surfaced particles can easily lubricated in a thin layer of paste for better adhesion than rough surfaced particles of equal volume.
Before applying textured aggregate, however, you will first need to grind the concrete slab. This step removes the top layer of concrete and cement mortar so as to reveal coarse decorative aggregate. Ideally, this step should take place shortly after pouring and should not take more than three days to complete.
Once grinding has been completed, a sealer will be applied to the concrete. The type of sealer used depends on your desired outcome – high gloss shine or more matte or honed appearance are both options available to you – before being ready for foot traffic.
Polished Concrete Atlanta
4380 Stacks Rd. Atlanta, GA 30349
404 689 4552
polishedconcreteatl.com
