Browse Forums Owner Builder Forum 1 Apr 08, 2015 12:05 pm We are looking to build with a volume builder in Geelong, Victoria and have our hearts set on polished concrete in the downstairs living, kitchen, dining area. The company we are leaning towards is ok with us doing this and will prep the slab so that we can engage a concrete polisher after the builder has handed over to us, i.e. once the house has been fitted out. In an ideal world I would imagine the polishing would occur prior to installation of kitchen, skirts etc so I'm just wondering if anyone has experience doing it this way and if so what the end result was like? Any advice, pitfalls to avoid, recommendations and/or correct terminology to use when speaking with builder and concrete polisher would be greatly appreciated. As much as we want this finish from a thermal and aesthetic point of view, I don't want to compromise on the quality and look of the house by choosing the wrong/sub standard flooring. Alternatively, has anyone used concrete-look tiles instead of going down the polished concrete route? Re: Polished concrete with a volume builder 2Apr 14, 2015 1:08 pm Hi Eslat, We wanted polished concrete but the price was just way to unreasonable.. We are going with a concrete look like called Cementina light grey from RAK ceramics.. They look fantastic and give that industrial feel without the large cost.. I think they are about $55 per sq metre.. http://www.rakceramics.com/rdc/cementin ... rettyPhoto Re: Polished concrete with a volume builder 3Apr 15, 2015 10:33 am Thanks so much for your feedback on the cement look tiles stephaniek88 . I really like the look of the tile you linked to and as you said much cheaper per m2 than polished concreter and more certainty as to the end result. Thanks again. Re: Polished concrete with a volume builder 4Apr 15, 2015 10:51 am Eslat Thanks so much for your feedback on the cement look tiles stephaniek88 . I really like the look of the tile you linked to and as you said much cheaper per m2 than polished concreter and more certainty as to the end result. Thanks again. Your welcome... When we enquired about polished concrete we were told its about $80 per sq m if we can do it when the slab is laid.. If it has to be done post handover it goes up to anywhere between $100-$120sq m.. They said post handover it gets harder to polish corners and it sometimes has to be done by hand as they can't get the machine close enough to the walls/corners. Our builder Eden Brae will not allow you to have external trades during the construction period.. BUT there are builders who will allow you to, I know All Castle Homes will allow external trades but during that period they sign the property over to you for liability etc.. When you are done you sign it back over to them. You can't beat the look as its so seamless but we found these tiles the closest we could get and looked really good.. We have seen them laid in a display home aswell and it looked awesome.. Every tiler will have a copy version so you can get it even cheaper =) Re: Polished concrete with a volume builder 5Apr 15, 2015 1:28 pm I am using polished concrete look tiles but as an owner builder I watched my tile store for a year and waited until they had a 40% off sale. I then jumped in and bought my tiles at the discounted price. Re: Polished concrete with a volume builder 6Apr 15, 2015 2:58 pm We are doing burnished concrete (the name may vary state to state). The slab has been poured with dye added to the mix. Then after the build is finished, the concreter will come back and polish it to a shine. It's very much cheaper than the agg mix concrete and will save us thousands on purchase of tiles and labour costs. It looks great too. Re: Polished concrete with a volume builder 7Apr 25, 2015 1:20 pm Hi Eslat, Polished concrete is a great option and I have it in my home. Looks and feels great. The cost is around that $100/sqm for both options below. And both have been in the Geelong region. However the method you decide upon will determine when you should complete the work. There are 2 methods I have used: the first at my home was burnish the slab when poured and then coat and polish the slab prior to joinery install. You would have to protect the concrete surface so other trades can come in. Not ideal and shows scratches. The second option is to polish the slab with no coating i.e. grind it back so it is more like terrazzo finish. The benefit of this is that you don't really see any scratches on the floor, whereas a coated and polished floor shows these. This can be done just after plaster is hung and before fix. Looks great too. The volume builder is protecting himself by saying do it after handover as he does not want responsibility for fixing any damage his trades may cause to your floor. But this is not ideal as the work to polish the floor could damage the skirtings, joinery etc meaning you will need to pay for fix up. The grinders are huge and it is near impossible for the operator to not hit walls etc. You may need to negotiate extra time to accommodate your needs. Don't forget that you will see hairline cracks in the slab. Hope this helps! Chris Re: Polished concrete with a volume builder 9Aug 23, 2015 10:47 pm We had our standard slab polished after handover. Looks great. Only issue is a somewhat inconsistent look around the base of metal door frames because the round grinding plates needed to be pointy really to get into the door frame curves. Anyway it's a small thing to live with got the lovely look and thermal mass properties. This was the look we got from our standard pour. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: Polished concrete with a volume builder 10Aug 24, 2015 12:20 pm Beazley77 We had our standard slab polished after handover. Looks great. Only issue is a somewhat inconsistent look around the base of metal door frames because the round grinding plates needed to be pointy really to get into the door frame curves. Anyway it's a small thing to live with got the lovely look and thermal mass properties. This was the look we got from our standard pour. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Looks great Beazley! Blog: https://houseamour.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/houseamour/ Our build thread with Ben Trager Homes: viewtopic.php?f=31&t=77796 Re: Polished concrete with a volume builder 11May 02, 2016 1:32 pm Sorry to bring up an old thread but is it possible to just have a normal slab and just get it polished and it turn out looking like the above? I thought there had to be some aggregate thrown in? Re: Polished concrete with a volume builder 12May 15, 2016 10:57 am All concrete has aggregate in it, that's just part of its make up - when people generally speak of adding aggregate it's adding something out of the ordinary for cosmetics when exposed - coloured glass, sea shells, different coloured stone or quartz etc. i did click it, still couldnt make it out rofl. in any case, doesnt look like too extreme a slope, you may be in luck. Just shoot out some emails to volume builders in… 3 18562 go upvc window frames ensure insulation under colorbond. not just sarking, lighter color roof also not sure if you have seen this viewtopic.php?t=5823 last couple of pages… 4 110559 Hi, Seeking volume or semi-custom builder in victoria(east), which have existing double story wide floor plans. Seeking 18-20m wide homes with depth of 12-15m long. Or… 0 25162 |