Polished concrete flooring-pros and cons

[Fleur]

Tossing up between polished concrete flooring or high grade polished porcelain tiles. I really love the aesthetic look of the polished concrete floors but am concerned about the cracking. Any feedback appreciated.

[Bloss]

A properly laid concrete floor should have no cracks. That said, few are properly laid. Cracks occur mainly because the mix was too wet, overworked or incorrectly cured.

But - most cracks are barely visible in real life use. Like many minor flaws the owners see them and think they are a big negative feature. Fact is they can be filled (but still be visible) and once the floor is finished and furniture etc is in place the regular occupants get used to them and visitors will simply not notice. :cool:

If they do and say something then a) you have rude visitors and b) why are you caring so much about what others think when they are commenting on minor flaws rather than the great overall look . . . just shows they are insensitive pissants. :) :wink:

So it's your aesthetic view that matters - I like the concrete. If you don't after a while you can always tile!

[an3_bolt]

Make sure the top is carefully screeded and finished. My brother in law has a spot in his lounge room where someone parked the "helicopter" and left helicopter pad marks with no aggregate to be seen in them ...... Sticks out pretty badly.

[Sherman]

If you havent poured the slab yet, you can add colour pigment, stones and various other objects to achieve a specific look. If already done and dried, you can achieve a really great look depending on how high they grind the surface.....and ten the coating you put on it. It will be highly unlikely to have a surface without any minor cracking, but often they are very fine hair line fractures.
Older slabs have a lot of cracking but that is due to the contents of the slab as they were not made to be 'polished', but then again you can call it charecter. We've stained part of the office floor of a 30 year old factory in a white oil. Looks good and easy to take care off.

[Dusty]

These following photos show one of the finest polished concrete floors I've ever seen. Might just be enough inspiration here to sway you do doing the concrete rather than the tiles.

[Bloss]

Dusty - that is a stunning! Love those trombe walls and the glass and eaves - someone knows about solar design! :2tsup: I'll see if I can get some pics of one done fro friends of mine.

[Connollys]

When And if you deside to go with polished concrete there are a few thing to consider. First are you going for true polished concrete? many people believe that concrete that has been ground and the a coating put on top is polished concrete, it absolutely isn't, this is what is commonly called a grind and seal. Polished concrete has no coatings, it is ground, honed and polished just like you would a gem stone and the shine comes from the surface not a coating, also polished concrete is hardwearing and will give many years of service and doesnt mark or scratch easily, coated concrete will mark without much effort at all. Now that I have posited out the difference in the two finishes, if you haven't poured yet, make sure you use 32mpa concrete and not 20 or 25mpa, the concrete must be hard for it to be polished. When you engage a contractor to do the polishing make sure they use a densifier as part of the polishing process this will harden the surface further and produce a better finish and increase the life of the floor. I hope this is of some help. Cheers Craig.:2tsup:

auConnollys Timber Flooring and Wood Flooring Specialist (http://Www.connollys.com.au). Decorative Concrete - Global Concrete Solutions (http://Www.globalconcretesolutions.com.au)

[Bloss]

:whs: that's good advice - most 'polished concrete' floors I have seen are in fact ground and coated. They can be fine so long as done well and will cost less than polishing generally - but like any coated floor will need re-coating especially in high traffic wear areas.