Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Polished Concrete is Practical

By Rick Amorey

When people are talking about concrete, odds are they're not talking about the floors in their home. This is understandable: Up to now, tiling and carpeting are the most popular types of floor design. That concrete invokes a mental image of a dirty highway does not help; concrete is for roads and pavements, not for the home.

But is decorative concrete really that impossible? Let's take a look at the material. One of the first things that you will note about concrete in general is it's toughness. Why else would they use concrete for roads? They're one of the few materials that can withstand trucks, bad weather, and dirt of all kinds on a daily basis. The only other requirement now is to make it look a lot less mundane somehow.

But that is just what polished concrete is. Concrete, which is most likely the material used in your home's foundation, is put through a process called diamond tooling. Basically, that means your concrete is subjected to progressively higher grits of diamond grinding. The intent is to peel away the first fractions of an inch to expose the aggregate, and then going with higher grits to achieve that polished look.

If you do get to take a look at polished concrete yourself, you will notice that it turns out sleek and elegant. Some people would still want to experiment with the results, however. If you are one of these people, then I suggest asking your contractor about adding dye to the floor. This will help in achieving an entirely new look for your concrete; the materials marries well with the color, and the process of polishing itself will trap the dye in to make it last.

So think about polished, concrete floors for your home. You will notice how much more inviting the place will be, as attested by your friends coming more often. But, if that's not enough for you, then consider the cost. For what it takes to add fragile ceramic tiles in on your floor, you can have a quality concrete polish. - 15359

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