Environmentally Friendly Polished Concrete

Look downwards at the feet, its linoleum, or its tile, no but its polished concrete. One of the eco-friendly flooring choices of the century! Most of the businesses and retail shops are looking out for ‘green’ solutions which are cost effective and hence are discovering the advantages and attractiveness of polished concrete floorings.

Next time if you visit any of your local vendor shop, restaurant, or hospital have a look at the flooring. You might think at first that it is stone, granite, linoleum, or tile but take a closer look and you may be surprised. Concrete flooring can also be customized as well as colored in a range of different shades and colors. Polished concrete floors have many benefits over various other popular floors. They are less expensive and easy to maintain then wood, tile or carpets. Concrete floors can be cleaned just with water and soap, no expensive cleaners are required.

If we are using environmentally friendly terminology, these polished concrete is one the best and sustainable options as it uses materials that is already the part of the structure or the building. Today many buildings are built on the concrete foundation or slab. The unpolished concrete is usually porous, gets chips and cracks easily, and also it is quiet difficult to keep them clean. While once they are polished there surface becomes even, dense, smooth and hard as well. Top layers of polyurea or epoxy can also be added to enhance the floor quality and also add extra colors to decorate the concrete.

Usually the polishing process starts with the repairing of the cracks and the imperfections in the concrete than after that the floor is levelled up. Then the concrete floor is treated with some chemical densifier, and then it is ground with number of grinding wheels as well as polishing pads. Each of the polishing rounds utilizes progressively fine grinding pads that begins typically with 400- 800 grit and ends with 1500-3000 grit pads.

Various design patterns also can be added, giving it a unique look and style. Grids and scoring can even be carved into the floorings giving it a tile affect. Borders and bands can also be created by adding different colors and dyes. Company brands and logos could be affixed to floors and it can be covered with a coat and then get polished.

Besides all these benefits, there are many other advantages that can be attributed to the polished style of a polished concrete floor. Thus concrete flooring is the best choice for flooring today.

Ecological Benefits of Polished Concrete

Are you one of those who esteem the ‘green’ world? Do you prefer to do things, which are in line with environmental sustainability? Well, in recent years, people have become more conscious about environment. Most manufacturers are striving hard to stay within boundaries of the ‘green’ revolution. People are seeking for different eco-friendly alternatives to get this ‘green’ revolution well in process.

When it comes to green revolution and flooring, polished concrete is the eco friendly option. This is a decorative non-wax flooring system, in which it is not essential to have a specific group of raw materials. There are several environmental advantages of polished concrete flooring. Let us have a look at some of those.

Saves energy

In polished concrete flooring, the concrete is left uncovered by consequent layers of flooring. It augments its thermal mass, which means its capability to absorb and maintain heat. Due o this feature flooring remains cool in the hot weather while retaining heat in the cold weather. Thus, it contributes major role to reduce energy use for cooling and heating as well. When used with radiant heat, polished concrete floors provide clean even heat with lower water temperatures. When it comes to the potential environmental and economic benefits of options like geo-thermal heating, this can prove to be important feature. These flooring systems also offer increased reflectivity, which lowers the amount of lighting needed, particularly in areas, which lack natural light. Due to this feature, electrical usage is reduced at great extent.

Saves raw materials

A polished concrete floor transforms the concrete slab into finished flooring. Thus, it saves raw materials while transforming a structural element of your building. Conventionally, the slab was utilized as a sub floor, which needs the additional costs for purchasing and installing tile, carpet, stone or wood.

Reduces chemical use and improves indoor air quality

Eco-Floors can be manufactured with non-toxic dyes and stains, removing harmful off-gassing related with other regularly implemented flooring materials. These floorings never harbor bacteria and dust or support the growth of mold. By using neutral non-toxic ph cleaners, one can clean these floors very easily. The elimination of rewaxing as well as chemical stripping used sometimes while floor maintenance can help improve quality of your indoor air. In addition to this, it keeps unhealthy chemicals out of the waste flow.

Polished stone creates a resilient flooring surface. After all, sustainability is green! After all, investing in a floor, which lasts long can help you save your wallet while keeping our environment clean and healthy.

Choosing Your Polished Concrete Contractor

It takes lot of time and caution to choose the right polished concrete contractor, but if done rightly then the efforts taken will certainly find it worth. The very first step is some research and looking out for a list of contractors available, this can be done with the help of internet. One must take enough time to understand and enhance one’s own knowledge about the whole business while choosing the contractor, so that you can ask the contractor right questions and find a solution.

It is very essential to know some important factors and answers to some questions related to the contractors. They are:-

What experience they have?

Normally, a contractor with at least an experience of 5 years in that business shows reliability and solidity, which is compulsorily required in this work. Do not hire someone who does not stay strong to their words or does not satisfy you or fails to complete the job. Plus, an experienced and intelligent contractor will be always helpful in providing you with important insights on your project.

What precise insurance policies or coverage do they provide?

It is crucial to select a contractor which has sufficient insurance coverage to protect you, and your property from any possible liabilities resulting in the case of malfunctions and accidents on your site. A concrete contractor who is professional should at least have a compensation of workman and general liability in coverage factor.

Evaluation quotes:When you are comparing the quotes, it should be taken into account that you don’t make the choice completely based on price. You should be alert about low rates as bidders as low rates often take a lot of shortcuts in their work and use low quality based materials. Never hesitate in asking the contractor any materials or items prevailing in the quote that you are not known to. You have full right to know everything for what you are paying. Also keep in mind the project time frame. As far as there is a reasonable time frame, it creates sense for the person employed who can then complete the job earlier to take more charges.

Go through their earlier work: You can do a formal visit on their previous sites. The plus point of this is that there is no possible way of hiding the contractor’s previous work as it is present in front of all! You can easily compare the previous work by your requirements and you will have an idea about the workmanship of the contractors.

So if you are looking for great concrete flooring for your home, choose a good contractor who can do his job perfectly.

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