Commercial Polished Concrete Flooring

What is polished concrete flooring?

Essentially, polished concrete flooring is made from a basic combination of cement, gravel, sand, and water. Unlike a concrete floor, however, this is then stripped back and honed to create a polished finish with either a glossy or matte appearance – depending on your preferred aesthetic.

Not only does this type of flooring deliver a seamless look and increased sleekness, but it’s also a highly economical option as the durable surface is guaranteed to last for a very long time.

Most polished concrete floors are therefore an ideal floor finish for a wide range of settings, including shop floors, commercial environments, kitchen installations, and residential projects to name but a few.

Industrial concrete flooring that has been highly polished is increasingly popular because of the associated benefits:

It’s environmentally friendly concrete flooring

Many products that are used to build homes contain a large group of chemicals known as Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs). Polished concrete flooring is a low VOC flooring type and when compared to others, is an exceptionally low contributor to greenhouse gas emissions.

Also, when they are installed correctly and properly maintained, polished concrete floors should never need to be replaced, making them a very sustainable flooring option.

If you have any questions about the environmental impacts of polished concrete floors, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our knowledgeable team.

Non-slip concrete flooring is safer

Whilst a new polished concrete floor is shiny, it is not at all slippery.

In fact, compared to ordinary concrete floor, the friction is increased due to the process of mechanically grinding and flattening the floor.  This makes polished concrete flooring a much safer option than some other flooring types.

Stain-resistant polished concrete flooring is easier to keep clean

The sealing process transforms porous concrete into a surface that is extremely dense.

Because of this, anything spilt onto a polished concrete floor won’t be able to penetrate the surface, thereby preventing stains.

Similarly, given the continuous, seamless surface dirt has nowhere to hide or get trapped – giving customers a significant advantage over other flooring options, such as tiles or laminate, which can be grooved and therefore harder to keep truly clean, without aggressive scrubbing.

It’s the best type of flooring to install with underfloor heating

As concrete is an excellent conductor of heat, polished concrete flooring is the perfect choice to be installed over an underfloor heating system.

Even without underfloor heating, a concrete floor is a warmer solution than most other flooring types.  This is because a concrete floor will absorb and hold the heat from the sun, saving you money on your heating bill per square foot.

They have a striking appearance

Polished concrete floors give a contemporary yet industrial style that is both visually striking and practical.

Moreover, it can be personalised to achieve your desired finish – giving your site personality and even corporate branding.

How is a polished concrete floor installed?

There are 3 key stages to the install of most polished concrete floors, including:

1. Preparing the site

Before we can start, we will inspect the subfloor, the substrate, and the site to determine if there will be any issues with the existing floor structure or installation.

This can include removing small sections in discreet areas to ensure we know what is below before we start excavating completely.

Then, we’ll excavate, levelling the floor to the desired level with two sand layers before covering it with a steel mesh.

2. Pouring the concrete flooring

The concrete pour will then be started, taking the level of the concrete slab up to the preferred height – usually around 10cm thick if we aren’t replacing the whole surface.

Depending on the size of your site, the freshly poured concrete can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days to set.

The following day, we make expansion cuts in the floor, which allows the cracks caused by shrinkage to form in neat lines. We then fill these lines with a colour-matched, expandable sealant, to ensure every inch is laid perfectly smooth and keep the seamless link customers prefer.

3. Polishing the concrete slab

Once the final surface is solid, it can then be cleaned, polished, and sealed.

As part of our treatment process, we use diamond polishing tools to finish the polished concrete floor to a grit level of either 800, 1,500, or 3,000 – as the higher the grit level used with diamond polishing tools, the shinier the floor will be.

QUEST – Specialists in HTC SUPERFLOOR™

As one of the best polished concrete suppliers in the country, we’re skilled and experienced in HTC SUPERFLOOR™ – an alternative to untouched concrete floors.

This is a revolutionary option gives a broad range of advantages, such as:

• Increased usability – it can be used with existing or newly cast concrete
• Indoor and outdoor suitability
• Improved finishes – choose from a seamless glossy finish or matte finished look
• A super-strong finish – capable of withstanding the toughest treatment
• Easy to clean and maintain finished floors
• Excellent non-slip safety – great for constant foot and light vehicular traffic
• Environmentally friendliness
• A more affordable and economical option for customers to consider

Get in touch for your personalised polished concrete flooring cost

How much will your polished concrete floor cost? Ultimately this depends on the project itself.

If you would like to find out more about professional polished concrete floors or would like to discuss upgrading your existing concrete floor, please feel free to get in touch.

We currently offer this service across the UK, from Scotland and Newcastle to Bristol and London – and everywhere in between.

For a personalised finished floor quote, simply give us a call on 01925 737 369 or fill out our online enquiry form and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.