The Common Pros and Cons of Polished Concrete Floors

Polished concrete was earlier limited to basements and commercial floors but it has now made a grand entry in residential properties as well. Due to its aesthetic appeal, it can compete with traditional flooring options like granite, marble and wood, at an unbelievable cost. If you are considering this flooring option for your home, read on to get some insights on its pros and cons:

Pros

1. Durability

In the construction world, concrete is considered as one of the most durable materials. If it is laid and installed correctly, it is scratch resistant and this makes it ideal for home flooring. If you maintain polished concrete properly, you won’t need to ever replace them.

2. Allergy-Free

For those who are highly allergic to dust or have asthma troubles, this is a great flooring option. The flooring prevents the build-up of dust, animal dander and mites as it can be swept and mopped whenever required. Compared to carpets, which is a home to allergens, concrete is highly beneficial to avoid allergies.

3. Environment-Friendly

If sustainability is on your mind, concrete should be on your floors. This is an environment-friendly solution as trees aren’t cut to make concrete and less energy is produced compared to other floor types. These floors also produce less waste products and don’t contain harmful compounds which may be found in carpets.

4. Value for Money

Polished concrete floors are a highly cost-effective solution in the long-run. The returns on investment are great as these floors rarely need a replacement. Plus, they offer a great visual appeal, at a much lower cost than natural stone floorings.

5. Low Maintenance

You might need to reseal your polished floors once in two or three years depending on the traffic on the flooring. Resealing increases the life of your floor at a minimal cost. Cleaning polished concrete flooring is also extremely easy and inexpensive.

Cons

1. Tough Installation

The installation of these floors should be done by expert professionals only as extra care needs to be taken of your furniture and walls.

2. Hard & Cold

Some home owners feel that the flooring is cold, especially in winters. So you might need to place a rug on it or use these floors outdoors where you always wear your shoes to prevent the cold. Also, the flooring is hard and tough so you might get tired if you stand on it for too long.

3. Resealing in Case of Higher Traffic

If you place these floors in high traffic commercial areas, you might need resealing every six months.

When thoughtfully placed, you can combat these cons and enjoy the pros of polished concrete floors in your homes as well as commercial spaces.

The author is a consultant with a major polished concrete floors service company. If you are looking for a modern and quality finish for your concrete floors, we specialise in polished concrete for residential and commercial properties. Visit us for further details and call us for a free quote!

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Choose Polished Concrete Floors for Your Business

Polished concrete floors are increasingly becoming popular in commercial and residential properties. Due to their easy maintenance and affordability, they are an excellent option for flooring in workplaces. The concrete polishing techniques and equipment has evolved over the years and now, there are excellent options for flooring that can style spaces and add value to business areas.

How Businesses Can Benefit With Polished Concrete Floors

Polished concrete does not need re-waxing or coating once it has been completely installed. Due to the high durability factor, it is the perfect solution for areas where the footfall is high. Plus, it can be used to style new and old spaces and give it a customized look as per business needs. A number of offices, retail spaces and warehouses are now choosing polished floors for their workplaces. These are extremely affordable compared to tiles, granite or marble floors and give a similar finish that enhances the look of any place.

A Beautiful Transformation

A number of contractors can assist businesses in transforming their floors into clean and smooth surfaces. If you own a store and want to portray a beautiful image of your company, these floors can truly resemble a work of art and with the right professional, you will be stunned at the quality of output. Since the floors are low maintenance, they do not require any special attention or extra cleaning materials. They can be easily cleaned with dust cloths on an everyday basis and they will be sparkling as new! Due to the increased reflectivity of the surface, it is an ideal choice for almost any application!

Long-Lasting Effects

Another benefit of polished floors is that it can become harder with time. After cleaning, you can polish the floor with a concrete densifier to make the surface dense and protect it from stains and spills. Once you do this, there is no need for additional coating or sealers for the flooring. This way, once you install the polished floors, you do not need to replace it or re-coat it for years together!

Types of Polishing

Grinding and Staining are two common ways to polish floors. With the grinding technique, one can achieve an outstanding finish and get various patterns and designs on the floor. Stained concrete adds color and occasionally designs in an existing concrete floor and transforms the surface into beautiful and smooth flooring.

It is best to hire professionals to help you with the polishing for your flooring in commercial spaces due to the expanse and the precision required in the job. They will assure an ultimate finish and long-lasting results for your flooring investment!

The author of this article is a well experienced writer and here he explains the benefits of polished concrete floors. Be in touch for more articles.

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Concrete Coating The Best For Old And New Floors

Concrete coating is essential when an individual desires a new look of old floors. The process of changing the look of a floor ensures a lasting surface without wear and tear due to adverse weather. Beauty is enhanced after the process while spending considerable small amount of time and money.

People can choose coatings from assorted colors and designs provided by many companies. Customers can also enjoy a vast number of designs and application methods when using the system. It is advisable to inquire such services from well known corporations with high professional experience in the field.

Before starting the procedure, contractors inspect the area to determine the best type of concrete to use. This is necessary to ensure compatibility of the existing concrete and the new ones to be applied. A clear finish always ensures beauty and a natural look of the areas without having to add other materials on top.

People use concrete coating on garages and basements because it is durable and often withstands heavy loads and abrasion. Other places where this process can be used include food and manufacturing plants, warehouses, individual homes and many more. Chemical plants can use this technology to avoid strong moisture that is always attributed to these areas. Coating helps to eliminate extreme pressure from vehicles harsh salts and chemicals. Wear and tear is minimized when introducing extra layers on top of surfaces that encounter heavy loads.

Companies need to advise parents to ensure minimal soap on such surfaces in their homes to avoid accidents. Water and other chemicals on such surfaces need to be cleaned regularly to avoid cracking. In the event of accidents, individuals need to contact their contractors to include rough surfaces. Commercial buildings with slippery coated floors need to have signs that indicate that their floors are slippery.

A higher level of education is required for all contractors who desire success in this field. Company staff members need to have degrees to ensure competence when providing these services to people. One year field experience is provided to new graduates who later become ready to provide services to people in any part of the world.

Companies usually provide such services to individuals at a fee. Registration by the government is required for such corporations for purposes of licensing. With the increase in technological advancements in the world, all processes involved in repairing and making new floors have become easy and cheap. Corporations are able to blend different materials to their customers without difficulties.

Such repairs make use of latex resins and acrylic, which assists in strengthening the cement used. All contractors are advised to use a penetrating sealer which makes the surfaces durable. Decorations are enhanced easily in the course of applying the concrete.

Commercial and residential areas are ideal for concrete coating when individuals desire to have a change of their existing or new floors. After finishing the job customers are given literature on cleaning and maintenance. This is crucial as it assists the individuals learn how to maintain their surfaces effectively.

I am Giles Hirry and I am a professional article writer since 5 years. Concrete coatingg is essential when an individual desires a new look of old floors. Here I shared information about concrete coating.

Buying New Flooring: Which Floors Work Best?

If you’re confused by the dazzling array of flooring terms, and don’t know your resilient from your red oak – don’t worry. This quick guide will take the guesswork out of finding the perfect flooring for any room. Whether you’re redecorating a bedroom or renovating a bathroom, you’ll be able to choose the right floors for any project – large or small.

For the Busiest Rooms in the Home – Choose Laminate or Carpet
It’s understandable that certain areas of your home get more foot traffic than others. Stairways, hallways and entryways can all see their share of spills, slips and stains. Laminate, a durable alternative to hardwood, is an excellent choice for your busiest rooms because of its reliability and easy maintenance. Laminate never needs to be re-sanded or re-finished and won’t bend, bow or fade over time like cheaper flooring can.

If you need flooring with a softer step, carpet is the perfect solution. It’s ideally suited for any room in your home that isn’t prone to moisture or humidity. Plus, with new advances in carpeting technology, you can buy carpets that are highly stain-resistant, or carpets that are eco-friendly.

For Moisture-Prone Areas – It Doesn’t Get Any Better than Tile
Ceramic tile is one of the most popular choices for moisture prone areas of a home – including the kitchen, bathrooms or entryways. Not only does tile flooring make clean-up a breeze, it’s also easy to design a creative look that matches your kitchen or bath décor. It’s best to have tile professionally installed to ensure that it continues to look and perform at its best for years to come. With proper care and maintenance, tile floors can remain nearly impervious to moisture and humidity.

Create a Look that’s the Centerpiece of Any Room with Hardwood
When you want only the very best, it’s hard to been the authentic appeal of hardwood flooring. From popular homegrown favorites like maple and oak, to exotic species like Brazilian cherry, nothing captures attention and creates lasting appeal like hardwood floors. Few other types of flooring can outlast the durability and charm of hardwood. And if you want an investment that will continue to pay you back year after year – hardwood is hard to beat. The fact is, traditional hardwood floors are versatile enough to complete any room – from rustic to modern and every style in between. What’s more, real hardwood floors can increase the selling value of any home by hundreds or even thousands of dollars. And hardwood continues to grow in character year after year, showing its unique, natural beauty as it ages.

These are just a few of the many types of flooring available for your home. To get more detailed information, as well as warranties and guarantees and installation help, it’s a good idea to consult with a flooring specialty store. Here, you’ll be able to browse carpet swatches and flooring samples as well as get flooring care tips on how to make your investment last even longer.

Janine Green writes about different home improvement ideas with flooring out of Toronto. Always looking for the highest quality materials at the best prices, she tends to end up shopping at http://www.carpetone.ca more often than not.
 

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New timber floors Sydney

Timber Floors Pty Ltd are the family friendly choice for supply and installation of timber flooring in Sydney.

Modernising your home renovation can be difficult and stressful but choosing a wooden floor provides a hassle free and stylish way to put your worries behind you.

John Bruker with over 51 years experience and director of Timber Floors Pty Ltd has the enviable reputation of being at the helm of the leading company that supplies and installs timber flooring in and around Sydney. The first choice of many of Sydney’s leading designer builders for one reason Timber Floors does not compromise on quality and workmanship.

The demand for Wood floors has risen dramatically over the past few years, for a few simple reasons; it’s more affordable, durable and it is not restricted to fashion trends as it never goes out of style. The nature of hardwood floors means that it’s simply the best way to showcase your home.

Young families and professionals “time poor” are behind this stylish trend as the ease with which it is to maintain a wood floor means it suits the hustle and bustle of a hectic lifestyle. If you spill something or walk in with dirty shoes wooden floors are easily cleaned and being a natural material are a lot more durable.

With dirt, animal hair, illness and allergies, bacteria and germs can fester amongst the dirt and become a potential health risk in other flooring options. More and more people are deciding on timber flooring due the fact it doesn’t harbour allergens, micro-organisms or harmful pesticides. If small children in particular are in the house this can be a problem. Timber flooring does not have these worries due its hypo-allergic qualities.

Timber Floors Pty Ltd have especially developed their own unique system of preparation and installation over concrete slabs especially for the Asthma and allergy sufferer initially in mind, but it is now common place in all our floors over concrete. This system has been developed over the last 18 years to a tried and tested format that literally hundreds of satisfied customers are testament to in their flooring reviews.

Bearers and Joists construction methods in the early years meant that timber floors were common place, however most were always meant to be covered with either carpet or linoleum as was the fashion. If you had a polished timber floor most weekends meant the tiresome waxing of the floors a task no one looked forward to. Thankfully with the modern finishes now available; those days are gone. Additionally the modern method of kiln drying timber means new floors with all their variations of colours and grain are a bonus decorating feature.

Timber floors can offer a contemporary feel to a home, something we all strive for, and what started out as a trend that was restricted to the more affluent end of town has now filtered down as the stylish way to go about home improvement.

If you are environmentally conscious and do not wish to have a large carbon footprint, then wood flooring is a brilliant step forward. The large majority of timber flooring is sourced from renewable forests to ensure that for every tree used, another will be planted in its place. At Timber Floors Pty Ltd we strongly support Australian Mills that follow Sustainably Managed Forest Programs.

John Bruker is the oldest timber flooring specialist in Sydney having worked with Australian Hardwoods for over 51 years and the founder of Timber Floors Pty Ltd, still active in overseeing the day to day runnings of arguably one of Sydney’s most innovative installers of hardwood flooring.

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