The beauty of polished concrete countertops and floors
Richmond Concrete Pros - We have a staff of highly specialized polished concrete experts who work with existing as well as new concrete to create a stunning finished product. We serve all of Maryland, DC, Virginia, and North Carolina. Call us at 804-552-0590 for a free quote.
Additionally, we understand the importance of good communication, which sadly is lacking in the contractor industry. We will return your calls promptly, carefully coordinate scheduling, and follow up. We are confident you will be very satisfied with our service.
Additionally, we understand the importance of good communication, which sadly is lacking in the contractor industry. We will return your calls promptly, carefully coordinate scheduling, and follow up. We are confident you will be very satisfied with our service.
Richmond Concrete Pros - Polished Concrete |
Polished Concrete Floors
We are all familiar with the use of concrete outside, but there are also some less well known uses for it inside. One of the more striking uses is polished concrete. Polishing creates a very sophisticated, modern look and the polishing process improves the utility of the concrete. A properly done floor is sleek, shiny, and easy to maintain. These floors were originally only found in offices or malls, but now they are common in homes as well. Richmond Concrete Pros is well versed in both polished concrete counter tops and concrete floors. We will discuss the floor process first. The process for polishing concrete floors is fairly straightforward though very labor intensive. The machinery for doing this heavy duty and bulky, but it is a must if you are going to get the floors properly smoothed and shined. Surprisingly, there are a vast number of design options, including colors, embedding aggregates, creating patterns, or even placing objects into the flooring before polishing. The process is similar to sanding wood floors, though concrete requires a lot more passes with the grinder than wood does with the sander. But before the grinding process starts, the floor must be checked for hardness as well as chips or cracks and all blemishes must be addressed. We address chips and cracks by using a special filler or vinyl concrete patch material for larger cracks. The filler material must be troweled perfectly smooth before moving on. At this point the floor needs to be tested for hardness. We use a series of hardness picks, scratching the floor with each one until one is found that does not leave a scratch.. This is to determine exactly how hard the concrete is before moving on with the grinding process. The choice of grinding discs is determined by the hardness level. |
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An experienced concrete worker can determine which grinding discs and polishing pads are proper for a given floor depending on a number of environmental and floor conditions. In addition to grinding, we use a hardener (also called a densifier) between passes with the grinder to prevent any destabilization. As this process winds down, we switch to a burnishing pad, and before the last burnishing pass we apply a coat of concrete sealer over the entire floor. We then check the floor after a couple hours to see if it is tacky to the touch. Once it is completely dry, another coat of sealer is applied in the opposite direction that the first coat was applied with. Both of the sealer coats must be applied very thinly.
Finally, after all this, another pass is made with the burnishing pad going in a direction perpendicular to the last burnishing pass. This insures a nice even shine. We recommend the floor be left unused for a day or two to insure the floor is completely dry.
The finished product will be a stone-like floor that shines brightly and without needing any future application of oils or waxes.
Finally, after all this, another pass is made with the burnishing pad going in a direction perpendicular to the last burnishing pass. This insures a nice even shine. We recommend the floor be left unused for a day or two to insure the floor is completely dry.
The finished product will be a stone-like floor that shines brightly and without needing any future application of oils or waxes.
Concrete Countertops
This process is less involved than floor polishing but still must be done correctly to get the best results. The way this works depends on the texture and look you want to achieve. You can aim for an exposed aggregate look, salt and pepper, or smooth to name a few.
In any case, the frame is built and the concrete poured and allowed to dry. This could take anywhere from a day to a week. The drier and harder the countertop is, the more effective the following techniques will be.
For an exposed aggregate look, enough of the surface must be removed to expose the underlying aggregate in the countertop mix. There are a couple options for introducing the aggregate into the concrete. It can be mixed into the concrete while blending or it can be seeded into the surface after screeding but before floating. A combination of these two techniques is also an option.
A special hand polisher is needed to achieve this look once the concrete is properly prepared.
This process is less involved than floor polishing but still must be done correctly to get the best results. The way this works depends on the texture and look you want to achieve. You can aim for an exposed aggregate look, salt and pepper, or smooth to name a few.
In any case, the frame is built and the concrete poured and allowed to dry. This could take anywhere from a day to a week. The drier and harder the countertop is, the more effective the following techniques will be.
For an exposed aggregate look, enough of the surface must be removed to expose the underlying aggregate in the countertop mix. There are a couple options for introducing the aggregate into the concrete. It can be mixed into the concrete while blending or it can be seeded into the surface after screeding but before floating. A combination of these two techniques is also an option.
A special hand polisher is needed to achieve this look once the concrete is properly prepared.
For a smooth surface (like pictured above), the countertop is smoothed using an orbital sander with a polishing pad. The countertop must be wet while sanding. The sander must have only light pressure applied or you risk stripping the surface of the concrete down to a sand or aggregate level. Then the surface is cleaned the with water and a squeegee. As long as there are no small pin holes or scratches, it is done.
For a salt and pepper look, we start by wetting the whole surface and then sanding with a 50 grit polishing pad. We remove just enough of the surface go get within striking distance of the final look. We then switch to a 100 grit pad and keep the surface wet while polishing. Next a 200 grit pad is used after wiping the dirty water from the surface and applying clean. Finally a 400 grit pad is used repeating the last process.
Once this is done we set about finding and addressing the pin holes, which are almost always there. This is done by mixing up a batch of slurry from the concrete mix. We cover the entire surface with the slurry, troweling it in carefully to fill every hole. The extra slurry can then be scraped off. The countertop will be left with a fine film at this point. This should be allowed to dry for a day. The next day we go over the whole countertop with a high grit pad and water one final time. This will remove the slurry and all the pinholes should be gone.
If you are happy with the finish at this point, the job is done. However if a brighter shine is desired, we continue polishing with higher and higher grit pads until the desired look is achieved.
Since polished concrete is such a specialty item, our polished concrete specialists travel all over the state of Virginia and also to Maryland, Washington DC, North Carolina, and South Carolina. We do smaller projects like those mentioned above but also large commercial building floors and other big projects. Within Virginia, we serve the entire state including but not limited to:
Alexandria
Arlington
Fairfax
Loudoun
Falls Church
Reston
Virginia Beach
Richmond
We would be happy to look at your project and give you a free estimate.
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For a salt and pepper look, we start by wetting the whole surface and then sanding with a 50 grit polishing pad. We remove just enough of the surface go get within striking distance of the final look. We then switch to a 100 grit pad and keep the surface wet while polishing. Next a 200 grit pad is used after wiping the dirty water from the surface and applying clean. Finally a 400 grit pad is used repeating the last process.
Once this is done we set about finding and addressing the pin holes, which are almost always there. This is done by mixing up a batch of slurry from the concrete mix. We cover the entire surface with the slurry, troweling it in carefully to fill every hole. The extra slurry can then be scraped off. The countertop will be left with a fine film at this point. This should be allowed to dry for a day. The next day we go over the whole countertop with a high grit pad and water one final time. This will remove the slurry and all the pinholes should be gone.
If you are happy with the finish at this point, the job is done. However if a brighter shine is desired, we continue polishing with higher and higher grit pads until the desired look is achieved.
Since polished concrete is such a specialty item, our polished concrete specialists travel all over the state of Virginia and also to Maryland, Washington DC, North Carolina, and South Carolina. We do smaller projects like those mentioned above but also large commercial building floors and other big projects. Within Virginia, we serve the entire state including but not limited to:
Alexandria
Arlington
Fairfax
Loudoun
Falls Church
Reston
Virginia Beach
Richmond
We would be happy to look at your project and give you a free estimate.
Home