Browse Forums Building A New House Re: Moving in without a floor... 2Apr 11, 2009 11:34 pm Blog http://wherethehearthis.blogspot.com/ Build https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?t=6634: Yard https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=27687&p=378401#p378401 Re: Moving in without a floor... 4Apr 12, 2009 1:36 am Metricon Riva 33 - http://herlihy-riva.blogspot.com Site start 15/03/2010 - Handover 23/12/2010 9 months and 8 days (284 calendar days) from site start to handover Re: Moving in without a floor... 14Apr 15, 2009 1:25 pm Hi All, I've been looking into this long and hard for the last year or so. My advice is to make your mind up 100% that is what you're going to do and stick to it. It's a hassle for the tradies to get their head around and I think this is where I've come unstuck because I didn't communicate it clearly. So, I'm in the position now where my door frames are sitting off the slab to accommodate tiles, and my skirting boards are flush with the slab to accommodate the polished floor I decided yesterday we'd just tile, then went home and cried so obvioulsy I had my heart set on it more than I thought. I need to let them know now that I've changed my mind AGAIN, and we'll have to work around painted skirting boards now too. You really need to let your chippy know well in advance that is what you're planning on doing. They'll probably roll their eyes at you because it isn't something they see every day, but stick with it. I'll have photos up on my thread (viewtopic.php?f=31&t=9424) and blog (http://www.lot83.blogspot.com) when I get there. Shouldn't be too far away at this rate!! OK, $$$$$: For PROPER polished concrete, you need to make arrangements with your builder well before they start, and don't expect anyone you're working with to like you very much. The concrete needs to be improved to about 30MPA, your builder will proabaly use 20-25MPA as standard. You can get really fussy and opt to change the colour of your concrete, and chose specifically coloured stones to mix through or scatter over - I don't know how much more this would cost though. You will then need to wait 2 weeks at a minimum for the slab to cure, but ideally 28 days is recommended. So, your SS will need to know this WELL before he does the project planning to allow for this down time. Then your polisher will spray the slab with a denisfier thingie (technical chick language) and will spend the next week polishing, polishing, polishing until they reach 1800-3000 grit finish. THEN your tradies will hate you while they work around a finished floor and try not to damage it. Some polishers will do 1/2 the job before frames stage, then 1/2 after so they can repair the damage done by the tradies. It's inevitable: the slab will get messy. Expect to pay about $60/sqm for polished concrete before frame and >$100/sqm afterwards. Still, cheaper than a lot of tiles on the market when you consider laying them and sealing them, and very eco friendly. If we ever build again, I'll do it this way for sure. Proper polished concrete: http://i470.photobucket.com/albums/rr64/JellyLegs01/PolishedConcrete6.jpg For an alternative as you've just discussed - grinding and sealing is the way to go. The concrete grinder will start with a grit of about 70 and finish at about 1200. They'll use a hand grinder to get around your skirting and kitchen, then a machine to do the rest. They have to dry grind and although they use a vacuum, there's still about 5% dust escapage which is a health hazard and you'll be cleaning it off everything you own for a long time to come if you do it after you move in. After they grind it, they'll either use a polyurethane or waterbased sealer. The polyurethane gives a really nice glossy finish, but it also has a browny/yellow tinge to it. So, if you weren't thinking of brown tiles, you probably wouldn't be interested in that option unless you tint it as has been suggested. The water based sealer has a lower VOC content, gives a satin sheen and brings out the more 'natural' colour of concrete, but is twice the price - $500 for 15Litres (or was it 20L? Sorry, can't remember off the top of my head) which will cover about 40-50sqm. The best quote I've received for grinding and sealing with Polyurethane after handover is $55/sqm and I was told to allow 4 days. MUCH cheaper than tiles, no grout, retains the slab's thermal properties and with the speckly look of the aggregate, hopefully my kids mess will be well hidden too! Yellowy/browny polyurethane: http://i470.photobucket.com/albums/rr64/JellyLegs01/PolishedConcrete3.jpg Google concrete grinding, polished concrete, concrete sealer, concrete polyurethane and see what you come up with. Check out Concreters in your local paper and go and see their work. The guy I will have do ours only advertises in the local paper but let me come to his home and see what he had done there. Hope that's been some help - as I say, I've spent waaaayyyy too long learning about all this and I really hope its all been worth it! Love this look: http://i470.photobucket.com/albums/rr64/JellyLegs01/PolishedConcrete.jpg This certainly doesn't look good. I would be engaging with an independent inspector to have a look at this. As for the unscheduled site visits, most builders are quite… 1 28285 Elvis has left the building... The site supervisor quit after 2 month on the project. 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