Polished Concrete

In these days of environmental awareness, the sustainability aspect is just one of most obvious advantages that this sort of flooring delivers. Although you might not initially think so, polished concrete has a minimal effect on the environment when compared to some other flooring techniques. In homes which are built upon a concrete base (as most are), there isn't any need for additional flooring materials, just the sanding down, sealing and buffing of the existing concrete floor. The internal air quality and the exterior environment isn't impaired by the procedure, because hardly any chemical vapours given off by the products used in polished concrete floors. An added benefit is that there is no permanent smell released by the concrete polishing and sealing compounds and products.

Polished concrete flooring offers amazing value for your money. Concrete has been the most cost effective flooring alternative out there for a long time. In most cases the flooring foundation is already in place, because many houses in the UK are in reality constructed onto the top of large slabs of concrete. More traditional flooring materials like carpet, wood, tiling and vinyl have been installed over it for comfort and variety. With an existing floor surface which only needs treating, little else could be undertaken at less cost. Polished concrete remains cool through the summer time minimizing the requirement for expensive air-conditioning. Additionally, the reflective properties of polished concrete helps to reduce a home's interior lighting costs.

A considerable plus side to polished concrete flooring is that it's very easy to clean and maintain. The recurrent cleaning needed for traditional floor materials is a definite inconvenience. For instance hardwood floor boards need polishing and waxing, carpets need to be regularly vacuumed and marble floors are susceptible to scuffing and need chemical cleansing agents. In marked contrast polished concrete is exceptionally resistant to scratching and discoloration, and mostly only needs a swift mopping. In addition to the practicalities of this, that might also save you considerable time and cash.

Durability and sturdiness are certainly among the key attributes of concrete floors. Certainly some of UK's toughest floors are composed of treated concrete. As reported by preliminary research concrete floors that are treated correctly are more likely to endure for at least a hundred years. Because of this, those individuals with that knowledge in the UK have long made use of this type of flooring for high-footfall areas like council buildings, gyms, factories, bars, community centres and retail outlets. There are hardly ever any troubles with decay and moisture damage because a concrete floor can "breathe". Costly replacements and repairs can arise because of trapped moisture with various other kinds of flooring like vinyl or tile.

One of the less recognised benefits of concrete flooring, is the health element. It's been well known for a while that dust can contribute to problems with breathing and allergies. Tiles and wooden floorboards with their joins and cut-outs and carpets with their long fibres are prime locations for contaminants, mildew and bugs. Given that the final finished surface of polished concrete flooring is smooth and seamless, there is no place for those unwanted visitors to accumulate. If you're aiming to finish up with an allergy-free environment then polished concrete flooring is definitely the best option.

In truth concrete is an exceedingly adaptive material, offering plenty of potentialities. The different treatments which are readily available mean that you are able to achieve pretty much any appearance that you want. For instance, home owners who would like the classic "wet" look, can achieve this by using penetrating silicon based sealers. A widely used style for concrete flooring is the faux tile appearance, making it look like a tiled floor. If it is a wooden plank effect that is wanted, concrete can be stamped to imitate floor boards. A mind-blowing appearance can be accomplished by unveiling a cross section of the aggregate stones by means of diamond grinding.

A concrete floor is a feature of pretty much every residential property in the UK. When it has been sealed and polished this is an adaptable and environmentally friendly finished surface. In terms of strength and durability practically nothing comes close to concrete. It is additionally among the cheapest available flooring materials. Taking everything into account polished concrete has so many advantages over most of the other forms of floor. Knowledgeable UK builders and home restorers have for some time favoured this extremely versatile flooring alternative.

Granolithic Concrete UK

A flooring option that is made out of a mix of concrete and a gritty aggregate, such as marble chips, granite or some comparable hard rock, is often referred to as granolithic concrete. The resultant floor has got a much more attractive look than if normal concrete was applied, and once set hard it can be buffed up to to a mirror-like finish, and given a final coat of durable sealant to complete the process.

For flooring that endures excessive stress and usage, as is the case with industrial settings, pavements and factories in the UK, this is particularly suitable. Pouring and finishing granolithic concrete calls for a considerable amount of expertise in order to avoid the sort of cracking and curling that can easily arise. (Tags: Granolithic Paving UK, Granolithic Concrete UK, Granolithic Concrete Flooring UK, Granolithic Screed UK)

Polished Concrete Tiles UK

Polished concrete tiles give the appearance of understated luxury and are perfect for a minimalist look for modern, trendy flats in the UK. Polished concrete tiles can be used for floors and walls where their appearance and durability are perfect for kitchens, bathrooms and other hard wearing environments. When coordinated with appropriate lighting a wall of polished concrete can make a design statement all of its own.

Whichever decor and design scheme you might have, there are polished concrete tiles to match; from brilliant white or dark granite natural finishes, to attractive colours to show off your individuality. The versatility of the material means that they can be fashioned to pretty much any desired shape and size for your particular design; embedded decorative features, different textures and bold cut-outs are all feasible with polished concrete tiles.

Concrete Polishing Equipment UK

The polishing of concrete requires special machines, including planetary grinders and diamond based abrasives to get the perfect, high-gloss finish. It is highly recommended to use an experienced concrete polishing firm for your polishing project, because of the considerable cost of the machinery and the specialized knowledge needed to utilise it properly. To give you an inkling of exactly what is required, here is the essential gear and work steps for a fairly simple polishing project;

Diamond Segmented Abrasives - Various grades of grit from 16 to 3,000 are required to smooth your concrete floor and then buff it up to a high-gloss shine. The lower the grade, the coarser the abrasive. Work begins on the bare concrete with the coarser grit to remove and smooth out any imperfections; finer abrasives are then employed to polish in the shine required.

Concrete Filler - Before any polishing work takes place you will have to repair any cracks and indents, and level off the surface of the concrete as much as possible. If the floor is deeply pitted or rough it may be easier to apply a coat of screed instead of attempting to fill by hand.

Chemical Hardeners - This is applied after the initial grinding. This guarantees the concrete is fit for polishing.

Floor Polisher - The floor polishing machine is the crucial item that's used along with the abrasive elements to bring the concrete up to your polished expectations. A lot of companies employ more than one solitary polisher for a room; a larger device to cover the major areas rapidly, and a more compact one for hard to reach spots, edges and corners.

Searching On the Internet

When looking to search for services in the UK, almost all property owners nowadays tend to head for the internet. I would have thought that you're viewing this webpage at this immediate after you found your way to it by searching on Ask, Google, Bing or Yahoo and it sprang up on the first page. Browsing through such listings can be somewhat tricky and all may not be what it appears at first glance. The majority of people in the UK, when searching for polished concrete specialists will head to a search engine like Google and type "polished concrete UK", "polished concrete near me", "polished concrete in the UK" or "UK polished concrete".

All the same, the majority of the first page of results on those search engines, as you'll quickly realise, are either going to be PPC results or listings for multi-million pound companies like Quotatis, Rated People, Checkatrade, My Hammer, Local Heroes or TrustaTrader or business directories such as ThreeBestRated, Yell, Hotfrog or Yelp. Odd job men in the UK don't normally have big budgets to advance their websites to the uppermost rankings, therefore you're likely to discover these largely unseen further down in the search engine results maybe on the second or third pages. There is nothing of course wrong with using trader vetting portals such as Rated People or My Hammer, because many polished concrete specialists in the UK haven't got their own individual web sites.

Related Tasks

Local UK concrete polishers should be able to help with diamond grinding, domestic polished flooring in the UK, concrete finishing, concreting, concrete polishing, anti-static flooring in the UK, imprinted concrete floors in the UK, gym floors, external brush concrete, factory floors, concrete flooring, shop floors, concrete repairs, granolithic screed, restaurant floors, floor replacements, warehouse floors, exposed aggregate flooring, dry shake toppings, coloured concrete floors, and many other concrete related tasks in the UK. Local UK concrete polishers will probably have the postcode UK and the telephone dialling code 044.

Information and Advice

For additional info regarding working with concrete head to the BRMCA site. To see pictures and read articles about polished concrete floors click here. To see what's happening polished concrete floors on social websites check this out. For additional info about the concrete polishing methods, grind-and-seal polished concrete, the history of concrete polishing, "hybrid" concrete polish, diamond-polishing concrete and retrofit flooring, visit Wikipedia