Polishing your own concrete Flooring Waldorf Md is possible for most handyman types, you can hire the machinery necessary to do so and search the internet on the right way to do it, but like many do it yourself jobs it is a good idea to think seriously about having a specialist to do the job for you to avoid being disappointed with the finished job. A polished concrete floor is a large investment and also a focal point of your home or building and once done it will become a permanent fixture. Polished concrete floors with normal use are expected to last for 100 years or more. There is a lot of work involved in making and then polishing a concrete floor and although they are not cheap to do, they are very cost effective especially compared to other flooring options that have a very limited lifespan.
If you are starting with an old existing cement floor that was not originally poured with the intention of being polished, it may not be so suitable without modifications. For this reason it is advisable to first get some expert advice on the condition of the floor and any necessary modifications or repairs that may be needed to be done before the polishing work can begin.
Most quality concrete polishing companies are more than happy to give you a quote on the cost and time it would take to do the job, as with most things it is worth trying to get a few quotes and find out what guarantees they offer.
Sometimes, if you have an old floor it is a good idea to pour a new concrete overlay, especially if you want a particular color or design on the floor as the finished color and overall look of the floor will be determined by the color of the cement and aggregates that were used in the original mixture.
This means, although you have no control over the color and the design of the floor you would probably be able to save money and have a very durable and original floor.
When building a new building, whether it will be your home, workspace or any other type of area a lot of thought normally goes into all the areas of construction, sadly most people do not really think of the floor as an area that needs consideration at the conception stage apart from its structural importance. If you involve a professional floor specialist right from the start you can be assured of the best finished results.
With many modern building techniques, the main contractor will install the structural subfloor with the necessary insulation reinforcing and then if needed the heating contractor will install any heating, wiring or solar heating pipe work to have everything ready for the specialist polished cement flooring contractor to install the right type and mixture of concrete floor necessary for polishing to give you the best finish.
The average cement floor uses a high ratio of water to cement and aggregate, so that it will flow and then settle, the problem with this is that it is likely to have very small cracks when the water evaporates while the cement is curing. Most people are under the impression that cement dries, but this is in fact wrong. Concrete needs to set or cure, it is a chemical reaction between all parts of the mixture that gives it strength. The best cement and strongest is kept damp after the initial curing so that it does not dry out and become brittle, but cures over time. Full curing takes between 2 weeks and 4 weeks depending on the temperature.
Pourable, cementitious flooring that is pumped into the floor are and then left to settle, contains no aggregate and is not concrete and definitely not suitable for polishing.
When a polished flooring contractor pours the correct concrete floor, they do this using a dry mixture that requires power floating (smoothing and leveling using a powered device) to ensure that a smooth level surface especially at the sides and corners.
The more care taken doing the concreting, the smoother and better the surface will, so there will be less grinding and polishing required. This will result in a better finish.
Grinding and then polishing a concrete floor can be a real challenge to the novice home handyman. It is very different to sanding a wooden or composer floor.
The process of concrete polishing is very similar whether you are starting on a new or existing floor. It is done by grinding the floor using a diamond tipped polishing machine to cut through the concrete. There are machines that do this dry and others that use water depending on the type of building and the conditions. Many people prefer the dry method because it is less messy as all the dust is removed with high powered suction devices on the machine. The wet method produces no dust, but it does produce a wet slurry that is hard to get rid of in many situations.
