What if we told you that concrete can be fashionable, stylish and sophisticated?

You may not be convinced it’s possible, but concrete can give your home or business a modern and chic interior. 

But how? Isn’t concrete just the boring grey material that buildings are made from?

Well yes, that is one element, however when concrete is put through a polishing process it can be transformed into a thing of beauty.

If you’re looking for a new floor surface for your home or business, concrete isn’t perhaps the first choice that comes to mind from the variety of surfaces available.

Concrete can have an image of being cold, stark and industrial. Fine for a prison cell, but not the image you want to convey for your business, or the atmosphere you would like in your home.

Polished concrete – available in a range of designs and colours …

But the good news is that it doesn’t have to be grey. It can really make your environment look clean and bright, due to its high light reflectivity.

Polished concrete floors can be found in hotels, restaurants, offices and other areas where a professional but contemporary image is needed.

And it’s not only concrete floors that can be polished, but walls, wet rooms and kitchen surfaces too.

On a basic level, polishing concrete is similar to sanding wood. A polishing machine grinds down the surface until the required level of smoothness and shine is achieved. It is possible to produce a remarkable level of gloss and shine if desired. A sealer applied during the polishing process protects and hardens the concrete.

The great thing about polished concrete floors is that they’re durable and easy to look after.  

All they require is regular mopping with a pH neutral cleaner to ensure the high gloss finish is maintained. It’s vital to wipe up any spills as soon as soon as possible to prevent surface stains. From time to time, the floors may need resealing to retain the glossy finish.

In spite of their gorgeous shiny surfaces, concrete floors are not at all slippery and are perfectly safe to walk on.

Sound appealing? Maxi have the ideal concrete mix for polishing …

We’re able to provide a number of options for ready mix concrete ideally suited for commercial and domestic floor surfaces that will be polished. Read our Case Study on this for more information.

Once a floor surface has been poured and prepared, you’ll need to wait at least a month before the polishing process can start. No matter how much of a DIY enthusiast you are though, you will need to find a professional to do the polishing.

This is definitely a job for the experts!

 

If you’re making the move to polished concrete there are a few things worth considering:

It’s an extremely hard surface and will be unforgiving to any items dropped upon it, or yourself should you trip and fall over! 

This is especially important to bear in mind with children and elderly people.

Concrete floors are cold as they are poor at retaining heat, but they lend themselves well to underfloor heating.

 

Polished concrete adds a beautiful modern feel to all interiors meaning concrete really has never looked so good.

 

If you’d like to talk to us about whether polished concrete would work in your building or project, contact us today.