Is polished concrete flooring a good investment for your home? That’s the common question many homeowners ask. You might not be fully aware of it, but floors can also impact our lives. Your home needs flooring that isn’t just beautiful but a surface underfoot that is comfortable.
It also impacts our home’s overall appeal since it covers relatively the biggest surface in a room. It impacts the colour, pattern, and style of our home.
However, beyond its aesthetics and curbside appeal, a polished concrete floor adds value to your home, especially if you’re planning to put it on sale in the future.
If you’re planning to give your home its much-deserved facelift, here is our guide to the four most popular polished floors that might fit perfectly in your home.
Bronze Polished Concrete
Also known as “Cream” finish. It is best identified for the concrete slab’s very natural colouration due to its distinct polishing process. Instead of the typical grinding, the concrete floor’s topmost layer is polished finely with diamond pads. The result will give you a creamy gloss that enhances the texture and colour of the floor.
The concrete slab or the flooring needs to be durable to achieve this type of concrete flooring finish. A bumpy concrete slab needs to remediate the surface to expose the aggregate. Otherwise, a smooth concrete floor requires minimal grinding to achieve and expose the aggregate.
Full Aggregate or Silver Finish
This type of concrete flooring polish needs a heavier grinding process. It is to produce the sturdiest concrete polished flooring. The grinding should reach a depth of 3-millimeters maximum from the surface paste. It’s completely different from the cream or bronze finish as this polishing aims to achieve a matte surface finish wherein the larger stones of the concrete floor are exposed.
Some apply densifiers, professional sealants, or grouts to protect the floor’s surface and make it long-lasting.
Salt & Pepper Polished Concrete or Gold Finish
This type of concrete flooring polish has a unique patterned surface by exposing the aggregate way beneath the surface paste. It is done by removing 1-millimetre of the surface to reveal the flooring’s aggregates and sands. Next, it’s polished using a twister machine to achieve a very glossy finish. Some even apply grout on the surface to maintain the glossy finish and fill the flooring’s aeration holes. Since concrete is a porous material, applying a professional sealant must protect the surface from damages and stains.
Platinum Finish
This type of polished floor is very similar to the silver finish. It requires the same grinding depth to reveal the aggregates and ballast of the concrete slab. The result is a patterned surface that, when it’s polished, produces a very vibrant and glossy appeal likened to platinum. This finish is also considered the most durable and most popular among the polished floors you can choose from.
Final Thoughts
The polish mainly depends on the diamond grit the technician uses. There are more than the abovementioned concrete flooring polishes you can choose from. There are different ranges of gloss, sheen, and matte you can achieve.
There are also different amounts of exposing the aggregate. Polishing your concrete floor is more of your personal preference. On the other hand, this post will serve as your guide and overview to give you an idea and set your expectations straight on how to enhance your home’s flooring.