Polished Concrete Floors: Pros, Cons, Costing & Maintenance

Polished Concrete Floors: Pros, Cons, Costing & Maintenance

Prologue

Concrete is a mixture of gravel, cement, water and sand. The polished concrete floors serve as one of the best and most durable alternatives to natural stone. You can find the polished concrete floors in a variety of textures, designs and colours. Hence, the polished concrete floors serve as an ideal stylish choice that requires low maintenance by the users. At the same time, the polished concrete floors also have several disadvantages. But the pros are likely to outweigh the cons.

Polished Concrete Floors: Pros

Long-Lasting

If you have properly installed and maintained polished concrete floor, then it is likely to last more than 100 years.  A polished concrete floor requires low maintenance, even in harsh or bothersome circumstances. So, it is expected to last more than other floor coverings like wood, carpet or vinyl tiles.

Highly Durable

Polished concrete floors are quite strong and highly durable.  They can withstand high pressure and may not get damaged even through scratching.

Affordable

Concrete floors are quite cost-effective. The cost of the floor depends upon the complexity of its different types. You can get a concrete floor for as low as $2 per square foot or even as high as $30 per square foot. The price becomes more affordable if you already own a concrete slab that requires polishing, staining, and other applications. Another price saving aspect of polished concrete flooring is that it helps you to save up on maintenance costs.

Creative Options

Polished concrete comes in a plethora of creative options. You can get a variety of colours, textures and designs to enhance the look of your polished concrete flooring. The flooring can also come with stencilled graphics and engravings.

Water-Resistant and Slip-Resistant

Properly finished concrete floorings are waterproof. The coatings provide waterproof barriers that prevent any contaminants from getting inside the flooring. Besides this, some of the polished concrete floorings also have antimicrobial protection.

The polished concrete flooring can be slippery. To avoid this, you can get a non-slippery epoxy coating on your polished concrete floor. This will help prevent injuries and falls.

No VOC

Polished concrete floors do not have harmful volatile organic compounds (VOC). These compounds are present in other types of floors like vinyl carpets, synthetic carpets or even hardwood floors.

Polished Concrete floors: Cons

Polished Concrete - Danek Flooring Inc.  Flooring Contractor Western MA

Hard

As mentioned earlier, the polished concrete floors are durable, strong and hard. But this can also prove to be a disadvantage for the polished concrete floors. Since the surface is hard, it becomes uncomfortable for the users standing on it for a longer duration.

Cold

The polished concrete floors do not retain heat in them. Due to this, the flooring may become quite chilled in the winters. But the users can reduce heat loss by embedding radiant heat cables in their concrete floors.

Loud

Generally, the polished concrete floors are quite loud, like the bamboo floors or the ceramic tiles. So you need to reduce the noise by using rugs or heavy drapes.

Polished Concrete Floors: Maintenance

Though the polished concrete floors require low maintenance, you need to be regular to maintain them. Maintaining your polished concrete floor regularly will help it to be as shiny as before. Moreover, regular maintenance helps to enhance the long-lasting nature of your polished concrete floors.

The primary method to maintain your polished concrete floors is to immediately address the spills and stains. You can purchase guards from a variety of brands to address the spills and stains on your polished concrete floors.

Another method for maintaining your polished concrete floors is to chalk out a daily cleaning programme. This cleaning programme should include daily dusting and mopping of your floors along with weekly wet cleaning. Frequently mopping the floor will help to remove the dust particles that would otherwise remain grounded on the floor.

Polished Concrete Floors: Costing

The cost of installation of a polished concrete floor depends upon the type of polished concrete floors that you want. Generally, the installation charges can range anywhere from $1.5 to $4. Apart from the installation charges, the users also need to spend annual maintenance charges on their polished concrete flooring. The annual maintenance charges range between 0.25 dollars to 0.5 dollars. Moreover, the polished concrete floors have a life expectancy of around 10 years. So the total cost of your polished concrete flooring can range from $4 to $6.5 for 10 years.

Alison Lurie

Alison Lurie