Polished concrete is ideal for any environment seeking a floor that requires a green and healthy building, it is durable enough for forklift traffic, manufacturing and even aircraft hangars, it is dust free, and also provides a beautiful and reflective finish.
10-Year Old Polished Warehouse Floor
Polished Concrete has a long life cycle cost and offers the lower maintenance costs compared to other types of flooring. It does not require harsh chemicals or waxes and is environmentally safe. Here we detail the benefits of polished concrete including information about cost savings, life-cycle costs, maintenance, and other advantages of polished concrete.
Concrete Floor Polishing Benefits:
Cost effective
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Lower Replacement Cost
Compared to its alternatives like VCT and Carpet the installation cost are relatively equal (depending on many factors outlined here), but the replacement cost so significantly different with polished concrete than any other flooring, because it it’s maintained properly, it can virtually last forever.
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Lower Maintenance Cost
By simply using water and a dust-mop (or larger sweepers and scrubbers), polished concrete can be adequately maintained. No expensive cleaning agents are required to keep it lasting long and looking great. Polishing concrete floors can lower the cost of your maintenance program while keeping you floor looking great. See our 5-year maintenance schedule for more information on how to take care of your polished concrete floor.
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Energy Saver
Polishing concrete will reduce energy and other costs significantly through reflectivity and ambient lighting. Increased ambient lighting can lower energy bills as well as look beautiful. Studies have shown that better lighted work places are more productive work places.
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Tire wear reduction
Polishing concrete floors also reduces the wear on forklift and pallet jack tires due to the smoother surface that is more suitable for heavy traffic.
Breathable Flooring Choice
Polished concrete is as healthy as it is a beautiful concrete flooring solution. It is a LOW/NO VOC alternative to other hard surface flooring. Stripping and waxing processes have made other hard surface floors toxic from the harsh chemicals being put back into the environment. Polishing concrete floors works like water repellent fabrics. The substrate remains breathable but the top portion of the slab is denser and moisture vapor is greatly reduced and passes through it at a slower rate. Treated and polished concrete eliminates the moldy, mildew smell associated with other floor finishes in damp areas. When you choose treated and polished concrete there is no coating or other hard surface flooring to fail. Many who have asthma or other respiratory illnesses also prefer polished concrete floors to other hard surface flooring as they are easier to clean and keep dust free. Find out more on this green flooring solution.
Green Building – Sustainable Architecture
Because polished concrete utilizes the existing material (the concrete slab), additional materials are not needed, thus reducing the carbon footprint on the environment. Additionally, we only use Low/No VOC products for chemical densification and stain protection. Theses non-hazardous chemicals do not pose a threat to the environment or those around them like toxic glues used for VCT or harsh epoxies. Finally, as we have already mentioned, the energy efficiencies and low maintenance cost add to the Eco-friendly properties of polished concrete floors. Read more about our green building and how schools and other facilities are considering the low and environmentally friendly properties of polished concrete floors in our blog post here.
Durability
Durability of polished concrete makes it an excellent alternate choice to vinyl tile, epoxy coatings or other surface flooring.
Our lithium densifier strengthens the concrete making it durable enough for forklift traffic, manufacturing, and other industrial facilities.
Vinyl tile (VCT) must be maintained by wax, stripping and re-waxing. Polished concrete never requires stripping or waxing. In addition, polished concrete never flakes or peels at the surface.
Slip Resistance
The only standard that currently exists for measuring the SCOF (Standard Coefficient of Friction) of walkway surfaces in the field is Standard B101.1 ANSI/NFSI. This is a standard for measuring the wet SCOF of hard surface flooring in the field using a properly calibrated and approved tribometer. OSHA does not have a standard to measure floor slip resistance, nor does the ADA (Americans with Disability Act). The NFSI is the ONLY publisher of a standard for floor traction in the U.S. The NFSI has a list of certified polished concrete products .Titus Restoration is the only Company that has TWO certified polished concrete floor finishes in the country.
See our blog posts on slip resistant flooring.
Other Relevant Topics:
- What is Polished Concrete?
- How to Polish Concrete
- Polished Concrete Maintenance
- Expectations and Possibilities of Polished Concrete
- Tips for the GC
- Polished Concrete Cost