polished concrete floors, has anyone done this?

[canadian_hustla]

I recently ripped up the carpet and my basement and now I am left with concrete floors. I was planning on putting some cheap laminate flooring however the concrete look is growing on me. I have a friend who has a condo downtown and he has polished concrete floors and it is absolutely beautiful. Has anyone ever done this before? If so, how much did it cost you?

Thanks,

[HondaKid]

My uncle has a basement that must be 2,500 sq. ft., he says it is really hard to keep the floor in a state of shine. Something about the floor cleaning solution, most leave streaks and some a cloudy film. I don't think he has it sorted yet, and it is a pet peeve of his. So, I would ask around about the cleaning process, my aunt says it is a real pain, she wants to cover the floor.

IMO the floor looks great, heated as well, I think there is a solution and would do my entire place in polished concrete (heated).

Stay away from the cheap flooring, really it is garbage, wears badly and feels like crap underfoot. I have been in a few houses with cheap laminate flooring and it shows. Having said that, do not go cheap on the foam layer under the floor, it makes a difference if you need to go with the laminate floor. Polished concrete with a coating ought to be far cheaper, but rather cold if not heated.

[frozenrice]

You can get the stuff and do it yourself.
Northland Construction carries a product called Wetlook Sealer. A 5gallon pail is around $105.00 and you just roll it on with a paint roller. IIRC a pail will cover about 800-900 sq.ft.

If you end up going there, just to make sure the sealer that I'm recommending is the right stuff, you can ask them for more information to make sure that it'll give you the desired result.

http://www.northlandconstruction.com...t.php?pid=2691

They have a large line of product that may suit your needs better depending on what kind of look you are going for.

[Kritafo]

watching this thread because I have wanted them for years. love them, they look fantastic.

[Wrinkly]

For cleaning try a steam cleaner/mop, maybe?

[G-Suede]

Originally posted by frozenrice
You can get the stuff and do it yourself.
Northland Construction carries a product called Wetlook Sealer. A 5gallon pail is around $105.00 and you just roll it on with a paint roller. IIRC a pail will cover about 800-900 sq.ft.

If you end up going there, just to make sure the sealer that I'm recommending is the right stuff, you can ask them for more information to make sure that it'll give you the desired result.

http://www.northlandconstruction.com...t.php?pid=2691

They have a large line of product that may suit your needs better depending on what kind of look you are going for.

Applying a sealer is not the same as actual concrete polishing which uses a series of finer grit to achieve the polished finish. A floor with sealer will wear down and become dull, whereas a floor that has been polished will be durable and remain polished without applying anything to the surface.

[frozenrice]

How exactly do you polish concrete without applying something? Just like wood or fiberglass or even metal you can't just polish it without some sort of finishing product (ie rubbing/polishing compound). I'm interested in knowing how it can be done as I'm working on a project that could benefit from such a process. Let me know. Thanks.

[HondaKid]

Plenty of videos on youtube.

It is a PITA (Pain in the ass) project, now I know why so few homes have polished concrete floors:

Still worth it though!

[JordanLotoski]

Hope you have in-floor heat cause your gonna have one chilly basement.

[HondaKid]

Here is all we need to know about concrete floors:

http://www.concretenetwork.com/concrete/polishing/

You can stain concrete floors as well, this is the treatment I have seen before, it has a great WOW factor:

http://www.concretenetwork.com/staining-concrete/

There is a section on the website regarding ceiling treatment as well, pulls together that loft feel:

http://www.concretenetwork.com/stain...s/ceiling.html

[Choice]

sorry for the semi-hijack...but Northland Construction might have what I'm looking for - A industrial strength garage concrete coating. Any suggestions? I'm weary of the home depot stuff and there's online, but I'm looking locally for now.

[canadian_hustla]

there is some good info in this thread. i am looking to polish about 500 sqft - the problem is that there are cracks that have been filled, stains, etc so i wonder if you can paint the concrete and then polish it.

the deciding factor for me is cost. I am trying to stick to a really small budget of $1k

Originally posted by JordanLotoski
Hope you have in-floor heat cause your gonna have one chilly basement.

no, but with our furnace + electric fireplace we should be able to make it work

[Ukyo8]

Originally posted by canadian_hustla
there is some good info in this thread. i am looking to polish about 500 sqft - the problem is that there are cracks that have been filled, stains, etc so i wonder if you can paint the concrete and then polish it.

the deciding factor for me is cost. I am trying to stick to a really small budget of $1k



no, but with our furnace + electric fireplace we should be able to make it work

I actually really like the look of the cracks in the floor AFTER they have been polished, it gives the room character imo

[prae]

I'd never do it without in floor heating. Half my basement is currently concrete w/ an epoxy finish and it is cold as hell on bare feet.

[G-Suede]

Originally posted by canadian_hustla
no, but with our furnace + electric fireplace we should be able to make it work

That is not going to happen.

[Tik-Tok]

Originally posted by canadian_hustla

no, but with our furnace + electric fireplace we should be able to make it work

Nope. It'll be chilly down there no matter how many heaters you put in. Concrete sucks the heat right out.

Before I refinished mine, it was just carpet/flimsy underlay on concrete, it was FREEZING down there, even with the main floor heat cranked to 23*C. The temp. difference was 7-8*. When I ripped the carpet out, over the winter it was 10* diff, then after installing the subfloor (real subfloor, with 2x4's and foam insulation), it's now a 4*C difference.

[Zero102]

Originally posted by G-Suede


That is not going to happen.

^^^
This


I have lived in a couple places with exposed concrete floors in the basement and without heat in the slab they are NOT comfortable. Okay, that isn't 100% true, in the summer when it is 30*C outside and you come inside and lay on the concrete floors because you are too hot, then they are comfortable, but for the rest of the year they suck.