Polished concrete floors are quickly becoming more popular in the building and renovating of commercial, industrial and domestic buildings. Australian builders, building owners and designers are looking for new and innovative ways to meet their client’s demands for greener buildings using sustainable building materials.
More and more, sustainable concrete floor finishes including concrete coatings and polished concrete are being specified on building projects throughout Australia, this demand is being pushed by designers and their environmentally sensitive clients. This is being achieved through such building codes as the “Green Star” building code which over the past few years has gained acceptance as a high quality sustainable building code. ANS Coatings expect the trend for greener building to continue into the future as greener governments, councils, building owners and home owners become the rule rather than the exception.
There are a range of green solutions available for use in polished concrete, the most environmentally advanced polished concrete flooring system in Australia is available through ANS Coatings, This system is the CONPELL Ultra Shield WB polished concrete flooring system, which includes the dry or mechanical grinding method of installation, the floor is then finished with a high performance water based, stained resistant penetrating sealer. Polished concrete flooring systems have huge potential for inclusion in green buildings, especially compared to other flooring options, due to new advances in chemicals and in grinding machinery, the ‘dry-grind’ application method for polished concrete floors are a cost-effective alternative to terrazzo, vinyl, carpet, tile and other floor surface finishes.
The Ultra Shield WB polished concrete flooring system begins by grinding and smoothing a concrete floor with diamond-impregnated abrasive discs fitted to a heavy floor grinder, progressing through a series of steps using progressively finer diamond pads that increase the smoothness of the floor. A concrete densifier is used to ensure that that concrete surface is hardened and dust proofed. The final step requires the application of two coats of water based impregnating sealer to render the surface stain proof.
As the use of more sustainable building products are fast becoming a requirement in new and renovated buildings, polished concrete flooring systems can provide especially good opportunities, as there are no extra building materials required, such as carpet, vinyl’s, tiles, glues or gouts. The existing concrete floor is used, with the removal of the first couple of millimeters to expose a rich stone finish. Some care needs to be taken when exposing old concrete surfaces as the concrete will not have been placed specifically for this finish. There needs to be some acceptance from all parties concerned that is the finish may not be as consistent as concrete floors that are specifically placed for polished concrete. There is also a case that polished concrete can help to increase a building’s energy efficiency. A polished concrete floor allows for a reduction in interior lighting fixtures because of the floor’s high gloss and resulting reflectivity. These floors also reduce the ongoing maintenance of the floor, reducing the use of strong cleaning chemicals.