Browse Forums Flooring & Floor Covering Re: Polished concrete 61May 28, 2009 10:24 pm ... sorry got side tracked. I don't remember seeing a polished concrete floor 'develop' hairline cracks I don't see how it is possible. Now a 'live crack' that is something else. Cold concrete...Hmmm well I guess it is, but we have polished concrete and slate and carpet. In the house I don't wear shoes, the feel of the concrete is so good that any cold is ignored Is it just me I like the idea, the thermal mass and flow on benifits, of concrete that can be made with many aggregates, glass, graded rubble etc. ...or just refurb the old You guys are going to be blown away by what you see in the next few months Where you are coming from is where you are going to... Re: Polished concrete 63Jun 09, 2009 10:28 pm Hi Ben, Sent you an email, get back to me when you get a chance! Custom Design, Private Builder Floors Sealed, Ready To Move In! https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?t=19196 Re: Polished concrete 64Jun 11, 2009 9:02 am While this is a little off topic, I just wanted to show that can be done with concrete. This is some of the worst concrete pouring I have seen in my life, and thankfully it was not in our country! Here is a before picture of what we started with. There were foot prints (deep), and dog paw prints in the concrete aswell: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ and 5 hours later it looked like this: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Regards, Ben Vander Veen PROGRIND AUSTRALIA Maintenance Free Polished Concrete, without coatings! www.progrind.com.au Re: Polished concrete 65Jun 11, 2009 10:16 am Ben, Thanks for the information you sent through and for getting me in touch with Daniel. So as I see it there are three options when it comes to concrete floors; 1. The Pre-Frame Grinding Option offered by your company (http://www.progrind.com.au) which actually polishes the concrete but needs to be done prior to the construction of the frame, and completed later in the build stage. This option allows the aggrogate to be exposed and gives a long lasting finish which won't flake or discolour. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ 2. The Lacquer option, which is offered by many companies or can be done yourself, can be done after the build for a much lower cost but will flake and discolour and need to be re-done every 5yrs or so. As I understand it this option will show up any imperfections in the slab and will not allow the aggrogate to be exposed. 3. The Pandomo or similar levelling cement option offered by Concrete Aritisans http://www.concreteartisans.com.au which puts down a layer of levelling cement on top of an existing slab or tiles/floorboards etc which can be coloured and textured to suit the client. This option can be done after the build for around the same price as the grinding option and will provide a flat uniform surface free of imperfections but again won't allow the aggrogate to be exposed. Not sure on how long lasting this method is. Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Does that sound like a resonable summary Ben? Feel free to correct me or add anything you feel is important, I've only been looking into concrete floors for the past few days and this is the sum of my knowledge! Custom Design, Private Builder Floors Sealed, Ready To Move In! https://forum.homeone.com.au/viewtopic.php?t=19196 Re: Polished concrete 66Jun 11, 2009 10:27 am That is a fairly good summary, but I would not expect a coating to last 5 years. You would be re-coating high traffic areas closer to very 2 years. We have not had good experiences with pandoma, we have had customers (more in the retail side of things), try it and have issues with cracking and flatness. Pandoma has to be put down by someone very very talented, and its harder to do in houses than large retail areas due to smaller confined areas and tricky areas like kitchens etc. Any leveling type product (and I believe that Pandoma is a derivative of K-15 or something similar), requires space in order to work the product into a level (even "self" leveling products). This gets very tricky when you are talking about intricate kitchen designs etc. Regards, Ben Vander Veen PROGRIND AUSTRALIA Maintenance Free Polished Concrete, without coatings! www.progrind.com.au Re: Polished concrete 67Jul 03, 2009 10:13 pm Ben, My husband and I have been very interested in polished concrete floors, but as we a re about to start building next week we understand that we have probably left it too late to do the polished slab. Is there something that can be done later in the building process, say after handover, that will give us the seamless polished look to our floor, which is what drew us the to the polished option in the first place. I have looked at the boralstone product on Borals website and love the look of that, but I don't know if you actually have to lay your slab out of that and then polish it, or if its like a concrete veneer that goes over your slab that then gets polished. I'm so confused! Built with Bentley homes in Doreen All moved in Dec 2009 Now for the garden! Our stuff so far viewtopic.php?f=31&t=16532 Re: Polished concrete 68Jul 04, 2009 11:53 am Lostris Ben, My husband and I have been very interested in polished concrete floors, but as we a re about to start building next week we understand that we have probably left it too late to do the polished slab. Is there something that can be done later in the building process, say after handover, that will give us the seamless polished look to our floor, which is what drew us the to the polished option in the first place. I have looked at the boralstone product on Borals website and love the look of that, but I don't know if you actually have to lay your slab out of that and then polish it, or if its like a concrete veneer that goes over your slab that then gets polished. I'm so confused! Lostris, It is something that can be done during construction, usually before the plaster goes in. This time of year, we don't do a lot of open slabs due to the weather, we wait until the roof is on and its generally sealed. You can do it right at the end, but you will need to touch up plastering / paint as well as skirting boards (best to leave them off if possible). Regards, Ben Vander Veen PROGRIND AUSTRALIA Maintenance Free Polished Concrete, without coatings! www.progrind.com.au Re: Polished concrete 70Jul 05, 2009 11:03 am Dan, There is no problem polishing a shower base, I think there is a thread on here where it was being discussed. Regards, Ben Vander Veen PROGRIND AUSTRALIA Maintenance Free Polished Concrete, without coatings! www.progrind.com.au Re: Polished concrete 71Jul 08, 2009 11:22 am Hi Ben I have recieved back my quote from Daniel and I must say I was happy. With the extra costs associated with the bigger format tile (we were going with a 600x600) laying costs it seems a no brainer to me. I just need the reassurance I suppose with the stuff ups that could happen with the slabpour. Now I only have to choose a high gloss exposed agg look. Have you any finished shots you could possibly send my way to help decide also. Many thanks Michael He wants a dream home theatre - she wants a dream kitchen! Re: Polished concrete 72Aug 29, 2009 8:45 am Hi guys Hoping to get some advice on options as an alternative to large format tiles. I love the look of polished concrete, along with the associated benefits, however early on in our project I lost that argument with the missus and now we're probably too far down the track! We're effectively not too far away from "lock-up" (i'm owner building) with the bricklayers scheduled to finish next week, two sections of roof already on and only a couple of internal frames to be erected (after scaffolding has been removed). At the moment, the slab is completely clear and we were lucky to have a very good concreter so no cracking and nice and flat. Our kitchen/family/dining areas are all open and joinery won't be put in until the flooring has been done. So, I've managed to bring the missus around and convinced her that some sort of seamless, polished/honed concrete finish could work - now I'm just trying to find out what options, if any, i have! I am looking into Ardex Pandomo...mainly since I'm assuming it's too late to go any other way? If any can give me some advice or recommendations for alternatives, Id really appreciate it. Cheers Adam Re: Polished concrete 73Aug 29, 2009 10:05 am Why not hone what you have... or for that matter grind and hone. Grey polished concrete can also be stained to a variety of colours Onc_artisan Where you are coming from is where you are going to... Re: Polished concrete 74Aug 29, 2009 10:18 am onc_artisan Why not hone what you have... or for that matter grind and hone. Grey polished concrete can also be stained to a variety of colours Onc_artisan Hmm...any issues with grinding/honing a slab which wasn't intended to be grinded..? I *think* it's only 28MPa... Also, if it was stained, is it going to need to be re-stained in the near future? Approximate cost?? Thanks for the reply! Re: Polished concrete 75Aug 29, 2009 10:35 am Well yes there are some things to understand about a polished standard concrete floor... The randomness of the aggregate, the colour of the aggregate etc. It wouldn't suit some installs... but it looks good though.IMHO and of a few friends. Cost at about $110 sq mtr. onc_artisan Where you are coming from is where you are going to... Re: Polished concrete 76Aug 29, 2009 2:01 pm Grey concrete can only be stained if using a coating. You cannot stain propper polished concrete no matter what you do. There are some very large considerations in terms of the mix design that needs to be taken into account. You need to know how much fly ash / dust is in the mix. Pretty much over 20% and there is no point polishing it because it may not polish correctly. You may also discover that when you start the grinding process cracks will start to show up because of the type of mix aswell. You also really want 32mpa rather than 20-25. It is always best to plan for a finished surface at the start or the project no matter what the surface is. If you can get your batch report from your concrete supplier I'd be more than happy to have a look. We have also recently put a document togeather that outlines what you need to look for in a concrete mix design for the people who are looking at using polished concrete in a home. If anyone would like a copy please feel free to PM me. Regards, Ben Vander Veen PROGRIND AUSTRALIA Maintenance Free Polished Concrete, without coatings! www.progrind.com.au Re: Polished concrete 77Aug 30, 2009 10:42 am Well, looks like i have convinced my better half that polished/honed concrete is a good option! So now, I just need to make sure that it's a viable option with our standard "grey concrete" slab. I'm not sure if I'll be able to get a batch report on the concrete we used, but is there anything else I should be looking at or checking for to work out if the end product is going to be any good?? I spoke to one company who can do the job here and they mentioned that grey concrete can have a tendency to end up looking a bit brown after being grinded - i definitely don't want a brown floor, but be more than happy if it retains the grey, concrete look - but obviously a much nice finish hopefully!! Re: Polished concrete 78Aug 30, 2009 12:23 pm BuildingACT Well, looks like i have convinced my better half that polished/honed concrete is a good option! So now, I just need to make sure that it's a viable option with our standard "grey concrete" slab. I'm not sure if I'll be able to get a batch report on the concrete we used, but is there anything else I should be looking at or checking for to work out if the end product is going to be any good?? I spoke to one company who can do the job here and they mentioned that grey concrete can have a tendency to end up looking a bit brown after being grinded - i definitely don't want a brown floor, but be more than happy if it retains the grey, concrete look - but obviously a much nice finish hopefully!! The concrete should not turn brown at all. It should if anything come up on the lighter side of things. You should be able to get your batch report of the concrete, as all concrete jobs are logged. Regards, Ben Vander Veen PROGRIND AUSTRALIA Maintenance Free Polished Concrete, without coatings! www.progrind.com.au Re: Polished concrete 79Aug 30, 2009 1:01 pm I would have loved to have had polished concrete as our flooring instead of tiles but it wasn’t in our budget. I too thought it would be a cheaper option but it certainly isn’t. Maybe the next house, lol Re: Polished concrete 80Aug 30, 2009 5:30 pm Ben Vander Veen The concrete should not turn brown at all. It should if anything come up on the lighter side of things. You should be able to get your batch report of the concrete, as all concrete jobs are logged. Ok, so I've managed to establish that my slab is in fact 32MPa and that the concrete was supplied by Cemex (Readymix) with a standard 'bluestone' aggregate used. I'm going to try and contact them to get a batch report as well...but on just this basic information, do you think there's a reasonably good chance that the slab would be suitable for grinding/honing?? Also Ben, why is it that your process requires no coating? Thanks again, Adam P.S. Loulabelle - based on the quotes we're getting for laying large format rectified porcelain tiles (~$70m2) and the likely cost of the actual tiles (i'd guess at least ~$50-60/m2), this should hopefully be more cost effective for us! To my understanding early saw cuts are to control shrinkage cracks, so doing them now would be pointless. Control joints may reduce ugly cracking during periods of soil… 3 9861 Hi all I need a guidance on how far I need to space expansion joints in the concrete driveway and its type (keyway/foam.) Contraction joints are at 3m max for a 125 slab. Thanks 0 10939 |