polished concrete flooring

Selfbuilder14

Has anybody any experience of this? I have seen it on grand designs and like the look but on asking builders I have been told not financially viable in Ireland as there is little demand. can it be done on a budget?

scwazrh

Polished concrete can be cheaper when compared to fitting a high quality floor covering over the floor.It can be very cold if not used with underfloor heating though.There is 4 / 5 companies working in the dublin area that I know of , I'm sure they will work nationwide as well.

"Can it be done on a budget ?" - Depends on the size of the budget!!

Selfbuilder14

Thanks
Would it be any colder than tiles? We are not putting in underfloor heating.

timod

Currently having it done in my refurb. Lads should be done in a few days time. See attached for a photo from last night. Another few layers to go, and then needs sealing, so not quite shiny yet! You can start to see the stone coming though. Having the hall, kitchen/dining, downstairs toilet & utility done.

Important to plan for expansion, & possible cracking, so my architect drew some funky expansion joints coming from each of the steel supports.

I do have underfloor though - to be honest I probably wouldn't probably consider polished concrete without it.

Cost wise, I'm not totally sure, I've a fixed price contract with my contractor, but I think it's around €70 per sqm, so when you consider tile costs, grout, adhesive, fitting costs, it's probably in the ballpark of good quality tile. I'll try to remember to update this thread when I'm done. If you want any more info, PM me.

timod

Updated photo. Polishing and sealing complete, expansion joints yet to be filled. -snip-

I had the option to go as far as platinum, but we stopped grinding before that, think it was 800 Grit
-snip-

BryanF

timod wrote: »

Updated photo. Polishing and sealing complete, expansion joints yet to be filled. It's the

I had the option to go as far as platinum, but we stopped grinding before that, think it was 800 Grit
]

you links dont seem to work?

what was the process of deciding on the lines in the concrete. would like to see a photo taken further back

timod

Hi Bryan,

Sorry - there were parenthesis in the URLs. Try again:
-snip-

Attached pic before polishing. The floor was power floated etc, so was very smooth ever before polishing started.

Regarding the lines, there are 4 large steel beams in the structure, so there is one emanating from each of those - as that would typically be the start of cracking. The divided slabs should be approximately the same area, so the expansion is similar. Originally we were going to go with straight lines from steel to steel, but would have ended up looking kind of weird, cutting not-exactly half way through the room, and a few cm off centre in the future kitchen island. We decided to go with random lines. I really like it.

Lines cut also separating the different under floor heating <snip>

declan52

So roughly how long did the whole polishing process take and approx how much did it run you in the end. Was your price of 70 sqm near enough

amdublin

These guys use it a lot, search through their pictures
<snip>

master of all

How did you manage the little holes left from some of the aggregate?

master of all

Selfbuilder14 wrote: »

Thanks
Would it be any colder than tiles? We are not putting in underfloor heating.

its as cold as tiles really
also, you have to have the interior to suit it ...

bmm

I'm confused. Was the pouring and power floating a part of the job or are you only talking about polishing for €70 sq.m ?

stickybookmark

timod wrote: »

Updated photo. Polishing and sealing complete, expansion joints yet to be filled. -snip-

I had the option to go as far as platinum, but we stopped grinding before that, think it was 800 Grit
-snip-

Old thread i know but...that looks great. We have to decide between blue or brown aggregate for our polished concrete (new build) any advice, do you know which one your was?