Concrete floor

7 years ago

I'm looking at flooring for our self build which should start later this year. As we are having UFH downstairs and as will be laying concrete is it possible to polish and seal this or are there other processes to go through?
I have seen posts saying it costs over £100 per metre is this still the case if the concrete has been newly laid? My partner says he'll hire a machine and polish the top screed but I'm sure there's much more to it!

Comments (4)

PRO
McCann Moore Architects
7 years ago
Polished concrete floors are becoming increasingly popular in
homes, and we have installed a few recently. They are stunning but I would
stress that it is unwise to attempt polishing of a concrete floor on a DIY
basis — the skills, equipment and the experience required make this a
specialist job.

A specialised screed needs to be poured and levelled using a
laser, rakes, vibratory screeding machines and bull floats. Over the course of
the day, the concrete surface is refined and flattened using hand floats and
power floats.

The final surface is “closed off” by power trowel machines which
brings the cement paste to the surface, smoothing and hardening it until it
develops a sheen. Its only after this process that the concrete can to be
polished and sealed — it generally needs to sit for at least a month after
pouring.

The screed is then diamond ground and treated with a chemical
densifier – its then polished with diamond-polishing tools, using polishing
pads specifically for using on concrete.

It is expensive, and this is largely down to the labour involved
– but the price does include the screed itself. You also need to consider
movement (both shrinkage and expansion) so you need to be careful with how its
placed around the perimeter of a room.

I stress again – it’s a specialist job and very unforgiving, please
get the right firm into do it!

Paul
User
7 years ago
We recently installed it in a new build about 3 months ago. It was an absolute disaster....even though we used a professional company. We have ended up having to tile over the whole lot....ending up costing £1000's more than originally intended. If you are really keen for it...make sure you use a professional company and ensure that they will take all responsibility for any undulations in the floor. Not only did it cost more....it delayed the project by about 3 months.
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PRO
Oasys Property Solutions
7 years ago
The advice from McCann Moore is spot on. At some point almost every one of our clients raises the idea of a polished concrete floor. The for a properly laid floor tends to be closer to £200/sqm. Every client so far has opted for concrete effect tiles instead which can be just as effective and considerably cheaper.

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acew1234
Original Author
7 years ago
Thank you so much for your responses, my partner isn't going to do this now!!
It will either be stone or porcelain tiles.

Concrete floor

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Concrete floor

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McCann Moore Architects

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acew1234
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