Preparing Floors Before Concrete Staining

Enhancing the beauty of the concrete rather than covering it up with carpet is fast becoming the standard in floor treatments, with benefits that extend beyond aesthetics. Exposed concrete can almost be compared to a piece of granite or marble transformed by staining. In this process, a plain surface is uncovered to reveal the exceptional beauty lying beneath. In the case of concrete, that beauty is in the form of decorative aggregate, either natural or manufactured. An exposed aggregate finish offers numerous advantages. And many of today's contractors are finding creative ways to take exposed aggregate to the next level.

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Eco-friendly buildings and concrete floors can complement each other

Sustainable development, eco-friendly buildings and improved manufacturing techniques may be the “buzz” words of today and indeed, an absolute necessity in the modern day but it is as equally important that our heritage is preserved.
That is one of the reasons why organisations such as the National Trust exist and there are specialist rules and regulations surrounding Grade II listed buildings which developers and businesses alike need to adhere to.
Green is most definitely gold, but there is still plenty of room for both the past and the present to live together in the same building.
Even in today’s economic climate where funding is tight for restoration projects, more and more companies are realising that professional floor preparation through concrete grinding and finishing can actually not only enhance a building, but preserve our heritage and assure efficient use of finances.
When plans are put together, companies look to preserve a building’s integrity and character and the current economic climate demands careful consideration to available funding, practicality, and ensure value for money tests are passed with flying colours.
Thanks to improvements in concrete polishing processes, we at Westcoast Resources now use systems such as the revolutionary HTC Superfloor™.
The system involves simple yet ingenious techniques which uses a concrete grinder process, and with careful floor preparation techniques takes an average concrete floor and quite literally transforms it into a floor surface which is even stronger and more durable than it was previously.
Further preservation or enhancement can be achieved through attractive finishes in a variety of colours if preferred.

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Renovating floors with epoxy concrete floor coating

Epoxy is a resin based flooring material that can be applied over the concrete floors and it gives them a shiny and elegant look. This line is just enough to describe the fact that epoxy floor paint can be the best alternative to concrete flooring. With the epoxy floor paint you can alter your concrete floors the any way you like. This is one of the best alternatives to the traditional floor covering options and now a days is being widely adopted as the most vibrant floor covering alternative.

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My Garage Is A Showcase Thanks To Polished Concrete Floors

When we had our home renovated, my wife insisted on a concrete countertop in the kitchen. At first I thought she was joking. I was expecting Corian or marble or polished granite, but she completely caught me off guard. Then again, the kitchen designer caught me off guard too. When I finally decided that my wife was serious about going with concrete countertops, I was ecstatic. I figured you slap up a quick form, buy a few bags of concrete mix from the hardware store, add some water, pour and voila! Something that drop dead simple should be cheaper than laminate. Then the designer comes in and starts going through the options and costs. By the time all was said and done, I wished she would have settled for the granite instead -I’m sure it would have been cheaper. I have to admit, the kitchen looks good, though. The concrete has been polished to a high shine and it looks very unique.

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Floor Paint Makes a World of Difference on Concrete Floors

Numerous people who own homes that have floors of concrete in them usually realize that they need to add floor paint to the older concrete flooring, so the floors will look nicer, like they are brand new. By adding paint to flooring, the entire surface changes in appearance, even by changing the color of a floor, you would be amazed at what happens to the surface with just that change. Besides looks, the concrete becomes long lasting, scratches disappear, and the paint helps to resist further scratching, fragmenting, or other things that happen with wear-n-tear. If someone is thinking about upgrading his or her home, one might want to think about the following aspects prior to making changes.

Before you buy floor paint, make sure the product guarantees an epoxy-type coating, or one that has synthetic material in it for laminating. By purchasing this type of paint, you are sure to have a shiny floor, and the surface will remain safeguarded from future scuff marks or other effects from wear and tear, as mentioned previously. Although these forms of defense do not last eternally, they will still serve the purpose for quite some time after the primary and final coats are applied. Every kind of coating product like paint consists of a vast array of directions, which include how many coats to apply. It is wise to apply at least two to three coats of floor paint. The extra coats assure you that the floor will remain scuff free and will shine for many years. If you only apply one coat of paint to the concrete, it will wear off a lot faster and will not shine as well either. You want the greatest outcome when you are done with your home improvements, ones that will last for years.

If it is a garage, patio/porch or basement you are thinking about painting, you will not need much for gear to accomplish this goal. Nonetheless, it is wise to make sure each room you paint has enough air circulation. You can leave a couple of windows opened up a little and run a fan or two while you paint. This process helps keep the air cleaner, so you and/or the family are not exposed to paint fumes, and the fans and circulating air will help to add dryness to the air, and the paint will not remain wet too long. Paint will dry faster than normal with proper airflow. If you are working on a painting project outside, one that is not sheltered from inclement weather, schedule your project according to weather reports. Even if it is only going to sprinkle outside, this weather will affect paint drying. Even for indoor painting projects, humidity might affect the paint drying process as days with less humid air are best for painting.

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How Concrete Floors Contribute to LEED Points

Architects, Interior Designers, Property Managers or Owners usually ask this question - How decorative concrete floors contribute to LEED points. How can a concrete floor be considered environmentally friendly? Please find information below that will substantiate that specifying concrete floors is a smart choice.

Thermal mass: concrete takes a while to heat up - and also a while to cool down. That's because it has what's called thermal mass - heat storage capacity. A concrete floor has lots of thermal mass, which allows concrete to dampen out the highs and lows of temperature fluctuations in a room, reducing the overall heating of cooling load. That saves energy and also allows a size reduction in heating or cooling systems. Properly designed, concrete floors can also contribute to passive solar heating and cooling. Energy performance in LEED for Homes is worth as much as 34 points (Credit EA 1), so this is potentially a huge contribution. In the NAHB Guidelines, this would qualify for points under Section 3.2.1.

Radiant heating: Concrete floors, whether elevated floors or slabs on grade, are the perfect medium for radiant heating. Utilizing embedding plastic tubing in the concrete, radiant floors provide quiet and comfortable heating and cooling that can result in energy savings of 10 percent to 30 percent, according to the Portland Cement Association. Another advantage of radiant heat is that it easily integrates into solar heating systems. Again, the added energy efficiency contributes to credit EA 1 in LEED or Section 3.2.1 in NAHB.

Recycled content: Both LEED and NAHB encourage the use of recycled content and award points for doing so. Concrete can easily incorporate fly ash and slag as supplementary cementitious materials. Using fly ash and locally produced aggregates yields LEED credits for environmentally preferable products (Credit MR2.2). NAHB Section 2.4 provides points for using recycled materials without being specific about what that means.

Indoor air quality: Concrete floors make a huge contribution to indoor environmental quality, simply because of the fact that cured concrete is completely inert and implies the absence of carpeting or vinyl that can release volatile chemicals into the air. In LEED, points can be claimed under Credit EQ 1 by complying with the Environmental Protection Agency's Energy Star Indoor Air Package. In the NAHB Guidelines, claiming this credit is more difficult, although a case can be made under Section 5.4, Innovative Options for Indoor Environmental Quality.

Credit could be claimed for a durable structure that requires little maintenance; termite and mold resistance and waste reduction. Concrete floors are no longer dull and boring. With the advent of latest polymer technology in Concrete and various methods of coloring concrete, they exhibit modern, contemporary and artistic.

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