Concrete Mix Design For Polished Floors

It might sound simple but we can t understate the amount of thought and science that goes into creating the perfect polished concrete flooring mix.

Concrete mix design for polished floors.

Well now it s time for a new lesson the polished concrete triangle. Concrete mix design for polished concrete. Polished cream with waviness due to not finishing flat. And from the ready mix side tony allison glacier northwest s head of.

That is a polished concrete floor that works its way to a higher finish over 400 grit for example is. Concrete photos articles info design ideas plus local concrete contractors for colored stamped and textured concrete patios driveways pool decks interior stained floors concrete countertops and many more decorative concrete applications. Do not add air to the concrete if at all possible. Fred herbold css csi with sera architects in portland ore says he sees polished concrete as part of the placement criteria and feels that the opportunity for bidders to miss the specification is too easy if placed in division 9.

Use a minimum 3 500 psi mix. Concrete mixture shall be 3000 psi or higher non air entrained. Polished concrete flooring is simply a concrete floor that has been treated with a chemical densifier to fill in the holes pores and ground down similar to sanding wood with progressively finer grinding tools. Photo courtesy of retroplate.

When polished the natural gray color of concrete is often chosen for its simplistic and somewhat industrial feel. Its method nfsi 101 a standard for evaluating high traction flooring materials. Polished concrete floors are becoming a popular design element in retail stores corporate office buildings schools and leed certified buildings. Between 3 500 and 5 000 is preferred for polished concrete.

In some instances a plain uncolored polished concrete floor is preferred. If you feel the need to have air entrained concrete try not to exceed 3. The national floor safety institute nfsi is an independent tester of floors including polished concrete. Sand concrete and aggregate.

In the image above a vintage car collector preferred simply polished concrete that would shine and show the beauty of his cars. Concrete mix design 1. Any admixtures plasticizers or anything taking the place of portland based cement shall be kept to a minimum. 3 000 psi is normal for concrete driveways concrete sidewalks and patios.

Confirm there is no slag or fly ash in the mix as these materials will affect the polishing process. A columnist for conncrete surfaces sister publication the concrete producer explains why concrete that will be ground and polished benefits from having a larger coarse aggregate content than conventional structural concrete. In our last project we needed to polish some concrete there was a varied appearance to the surface after it was ground smooth. All polished concrete surfaces are made up of three key elements.