Polished Concrete Floors
We install beautiful, durable polished concrete floors in warehouses, factories, offices, and other institutions.
VOC free and environmentally friendly.
Epoxy Floors
We install epoxy, polyurethane and polyaspartic floors in industrial, commercial, and institutional environments.
Antimicrobial coatings available for food and pharma.
Concrete Grinding
We can restore almost any concrete floor to a clean, like-new surface. Our concrete grinding service can remove VCT and carpet adhesives, paint, and other materials.
What Makes Our Polished Concrete Floors Special
A wealth of knowledge from 20+ years in the industry that informs our standards and procedures. We maintain the highest standards in the industry and continuously improve our quality and cost.
We utilize the most advanced diamond tools because they deliver fast grinding and better surface finishes. This means lower costs and better quality polished concrete floors.
We only use diamond polishing systems that mechanically polish the concrete surface and don’t use resin transfer to create the finish. This results in better quality, longer lasting floors.
We use advanced, planetary floor grinders paired with the heavy duty vacuums. This means flat floors and an almost dust free job site.
We use best in class sealers/densifiers to maximize the durability of our polished concrete floors. High quality densifiers, joint fillers and repair materials are important parts of the process.
We Offer Four Levels of Polished Concrete
- 400 Grit: Low sheen polished concrete. Excellent for industrial floors like factories and warehouses. Also, used in retail and offices preferring low sheen floors.
- 800 Grit: Mid level polished concrete with good shine, clarity and gloss. Commonly used in manufacturing and logistics when appearance is important or offices and retail when a mid level shine is desirable.
- 1500 Grit: High shine, clarity and gloss. When you want a high-end appearance for commercial, institutional or retail spaces.
- 3000 Grit: Best of the best. Highest shine, clarity and gloss. Suitable for high-end and luxury environments.
Here are the specifications for our floors:
800 Grit Polish (6 Grind)
Rossi Abrasives
35 grit
80 grit
100 grit
200 grit
Densifier
400 grit
800 grit
1500 Grit Polish (7 Grind)
Rossi Abrasives
35 grit
80 grit
100 grit
200 grit
Densifier
400 grit
800 grit
1500 grit
3000 Grit Polish (8 Grinds+)
Rossi Abrasives
35 grit
80 grit
100 grit
200 grit
Densifier
400 grit
800 grit
1500 grit
3000 grit
How to Choose the Right Polished Concrete Floor
The key to choosing the right polished concrete floor is understanding the difference between the 4 levels.
All the levels will perform similar in terms of life and durability, the primary difference is the aesthetic appearance.
If the floor is being used for utility purposes, the 400 or 800 grit polished concrete levels are sufficient. The low to medium sheen and clean appearance are great for commercial and industrial spaces that value utility without sacrificing aesthetics.
The 1500 grit provides an improvement in gloss, clarity and shine over the 800 grit providing a high gloss finish. It is excellent for environments where an upscale, refined appearance is required. High light reflectivity will also noticeably brighten the space.
A 3000 grit polish provides the highest level of shine, clarity and gloss with substantial light reflectivity that improves ambient light by up to 30%. It elevates concrete flooring to a sophisticated level for luxury or high-end environments.
The terrazzo look can be used with all levels of polished concrete, it is a great alternative when you want a more organic appearance.
Terrazzo Look Polished Concrete
Terrazzo look, also known as aggregate exposed polished concrete, is an additional feature that may be added to any level of polished concrete. This process uses very aggressive grinding tools to remove approximate 1/4” of surface concrete to expose the stones below the surface. The floor is typically ground 6-8 times in perpendicular directions. Then a standard polishing process is used to polish the concrete floor.
A homogenous exposure of aggregate is not typical with this type of polished concrete but you can expect about 90% consistency.
When a concrete slab is poured, multiple factors like mix design, finishing techniques etc. may affect where the large aggregate settles. Some aggregate may settle well below the 1/4” depth level which will result in patches with no exposed aggregate. A customer must be comfortable with this possibility before going ahead with a terrazzo look polished concrete floor.
Any existing concrete floor can have the terrazzo look, providing it meets the requirements outlined in the “Can Any Concrete Floor be Polished section”.
How Long Do Polished Concrete Floors Last?
A polished concrete floor should last between 3-10 years depending on these primary four factors:
-
- hardness of concrete (MPa)
- type of traffic
- traffic volume
- exposure to substances.
High strength concrete (35, 40, 45MPa) will have the longest lasting polished concrete. It’s more difficult and expensive to polish these floors but it is worth the effort due to their extreme durability. These floors are suitable for high volume environments.
Low to moderate strength concrete (25-30MPa) is suitable for low volume traffic.
The type of traffic will affect the life of the floor as well. Light pedestrian traffic has little wear on a floor while high pedestrian volume arriving from outside the building can cause high wear.
Forklifts and vehicles are moderate to heavy traffic depending on the type. They will demand more from the floor.
Volume is often overlooked when specifying flooring. A low traffic area poses few problems but a shopping mall or high volume industrial space requires a highly durable floor. Traffic volume is a critical consideration.
Exposure to substances is the wildcard. Certain chemicals or substances can damage polished concrete on contact and need to be limited. Exposed concrete floors are particularly susceptible to acidic liquids.
Other substances like deicing salts can also damage the surface. Salt-proof densifiers can minimize salt damage if applied during the installation. Oils and solvents should be kept away from the surface.
Stained Concrete Floor
Polished concrete floors may be stained a wide range of colours and patterns to achieve a specific look. Concrete is a porous material and liquid stains can be applied to alter the colour of the surface.
To achieve a vibrant coloured floor, a stained concrete floor will need to be coated with a clear polyaspartic coating. To create a concrete floor with muted colours, it can simply be polished once the concrete surface has been stained. Whether the floor is coated or polished, stains add another design option to polished concrete flooring.
Call us for a free concrete polishing quote, (647) 544-4143.
Polished Concrete 1 Inc. is a concrete polishing and epoxy flooring contractor serving the greater Toronto area and Mississauga, Brampton, Vaughan, Oakville, Burlington and more.