Polished concrete

Carpets are bigger!

I really have to watch what I say......CARPETS still the only option for bedrooms!!!!!!!!!!!!

I find that amazing I have 9 floors on the books over the next few weeks
And heaps of benchtops to boot

...Gez I though we had grown out of carpet, being it is such a dirt trap.

Sounds good to me
The thermal qualities of bare concrete is waay better than covering it.
Having had polished concrete for years I can vouch for that.
Easy clean and low/no VOC's...

Hi Michelle,

I have to disagree there. The call for Polished Concrete in both housing and commercial properties is certinally on the increase. People are starting to move more and more to greener building standards and polished concrete (when done correctly), certinally ticks all the boxes. We have seen a dramatic increase in polished concrete (at least in Victoria and NSW) over the last 2 years especially. We are certinally seeing a lot more projects where specifications have changed from tiles/carpets/timber to polished concrete (not always in bedrooms though!!!).

Polished Concrete is also starting to be the builders choice, because again, when done correctly the entire floor can be finished before framing without the fear of damaging the floor. This can save weeks on building time frames, and also makes post lockup fitout a lot easier when there is no (or limited) tiling etc to be done.

Polished Concrete also has to no maintenance factor going for it (again when done correctly without surfac coatings), which means the floors will look brand new for years. Tiles, Carpets and Timber cannot offer this as tiles have grout lines that will always attract dirt or pluck and timber and carpets are prone to tracking.

Now I also know that I am biased, but having said that, our business has continued to grow at unprecedented levels over the last few years in both domestic and commercial settings (and we've been doing this for over 20!!) and I believe we are just seeing the tip of the ice berg. More and more concrete suppliers are now turning to decorative mixes for internal where they had only previously focused on external mixes. One of the largest concrete suppliers in Australia is about to convert one of the entire plants over to purely decorative concrete mixes, where another has been told by its parent company that they have to increase their decorative mix market share by 300% over the next 24 months. They see the residential internal polished concrete market as a large driver for this.

Again, done correctly and I think you would be suprised. There are many decorative mix designs for internal polished concrete these days, with a large range of aggregates and colours. Using coatings such as epoxy or polymer based products certinally cheapens the value of having polished concrete. Polishing it in a manner where no surface coatings are used really adds vibrance to a room and creates a beautiful seamless high gloss look.

On a side note, polished concrete without the use of surface coatings is generally more expensive to do (upwards of $110 per sqm), than most other floor coverings.

Have a look at our site here: http://www.progrind.com.au/Sub/Products ... loors.aspx

This will give you a good indication of how good it can look. The first photo is of a 5 level house owned by one of the largest volume builders in Australia.

As for walking on it being cold, yes it will be colder than carpet, but remember it is also a thermal mass. It holds heat and releases it slowly. The majority of installations we do have some sort of hydronic heating which provides a constant warmth through the slab (very nice to woalk on!).

Look above KILEM!

I actually don't mind the polished concrete if it's done properly,
but LOVE, LOVE, LOVE carpet, it gives a warm, homely feel.

Nothing worse when you walk into someone house and it
doesn't feel homely and cold, because they were to tight
to put carpet in...

http://aldingahome.blogspot.com/2009/01/aldinga-is-beautiful.html

This is a picture of one of the cottages, but not mine of the polished concrete. I think it will look very homely with a rug in the lounge room and I also think it will be easy to clean. I actually am really looking forward to it... At the moment I have a combination of tiles, carpet and lino in a small space which makes it harder to clean the floors.

I agree with Ben polished concrete looks awesome, in the states they mainly started doing this in commercial areas for easier maintenance than moved into domestic homes for garage floors due to oil spills etc which wipe straight off.

I am unsure what it would look like in a home but the pics on Bens website look great I would love to know the square metre price I also understand it takes a while to do.

Craig