WHEN IS POLISHED CONCRETE NOT POLISHED CONCRETE?

When it’s just power floated and sealed with a topical coating!

Although a cheap and effective option for some situations topical coating isn’t a mechanically polished and refined concrete floor. Rough and ready are the words that spring to mind! In this blog we take a look at why ‘cheaper’ polished concrete solutions can end up costing you dearly, further down the line.

WHAT IS A TOPICAL COATING?

Topical coatings provide a ‘decorative’ rather than an authentic polished concrete surface. In place of a grinding and polishing process, a coating is applied to the floated concrete. This adheres in much the same way that paint adheres to a wall. The finished product can look ‘sticky’ and it stains easily. A topical coating is no substitute for properly polished concrete flooring.

DIRECTSTONE POLISHING AND RESTORATION SPECIALISTS

Our flooring specialists are called out to numerous floors that have been floated and sealed. Clients tend to be hugely disappointed by their flooring finish, and want us to carry out restorative work. This means that they are paying twice to get the flooring finish they desire, and have gone through a distressing and frustrating experience in the process.

CASE STUDY – A NEW BUILD IN CAMBRIDGE

The DirectStone team were called out to take a look at a 150m² concrete floor in a Cambridge new build. The ‘polished concrete flooring’ attracted dirt, looked sticky, and was constantly staining. In order to restore the flooring to a usable, good-looking state, we:

Removed the Topical Coating. This was cut back to reveal the floated concrete beneath it.

Honed and Polished. Using HTC Superfloor™ grinding machines we diamond honed the surface concrete. Then we polished it to a gleaming finish.

Applied Sealant. Concrete floors require sealant to protect the porous surface from stains. We used Ameripolish architectural concrete products for this task.

Our clients were delighted to finally have the concrete floor they had always envisaged.

ABOUT DIRECTSTONE

We provide polished concrete to residential extensions and new builds, commercial spaces and offices, showrooms and galleries. Our flooring specialists work throughout the UK mainly in London, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk.

For more information on WHEN IS POLISHED CONCRETE NOT POLISHED CONCRETE? talk to DirectStone Ltd