8 Questions to ask before you hire someone to stain or coat your concrete floor

January 5, 2018

Cementitious Overlays

Concrete Stain

Concrete Staining

Epoxy Coatings

Polyaspartic Coatings

Polyurethane Coatings

Before you hire someone to upgrade your concrete floor, you need to ask your potential contractor a few questions to ensure you are making the right choice with who you hire to stain or coat your concrete floors. Here are 8 questions you can ask before you get started with your next project.

1) Are they experienced applicators?

Have they received product training, and do they test all products in their shop before using those products in the field? Caution! Some applicators dabble in floor coatings. You should use a vendor that applies floor coatings every day.

2) Do they test the floor for hydrostatic vapor and moisture?

Concrete is a fairly solid material when dry, but it isn’t impermeable to moisture. Hydrostatic vapor can tell us what state your concrete is in before placing any coatings or stains over it.

3) Do they grind the floor to open the surface cap for better adhesion?

If done properly, this minimizes delamination. Caution! Some applicators will just acid etch the floor. This only cleans the surface and does not open the concrete cap.

4) Do they fill all expansion/saw joints with Polyurea?

Doing this will help eliminate any ledges where delamination can occur down the road.

5) Do they grind all edges and corners during the floor preparation?

Make sure they are not cutting corners (literally) by not getting every edge of your concrete prepared properly.

6) How do they clean the floor before the coating is applied?

It is important to vacuum and use a walk behind or riding scrubber to ensure the surface is completely prepared before coating.

7) Are they using a coating system?

Using a primer, base then top coat is designed to work together. Caution! Some applicators may not use a primer or top coat and rely solely on the base coat. Most epoxy coating systems require primer/base/top coats. You should also check if they are using a primer, base coat and top coat that is designed by the same manufacturer. It is not advisable to use multiple manufactures when applying a coating system.

8) Is the product they are suggesting appropriate for your floor?

Good applicators should have several coating systems to best fit your needs and the floor in question. Caution! If they are pushing a particular product without listening to you and your needs first, they may not have the experience you deserve in a concrete stain or coating project.If you have any further questions that come to mind, we are more than happy to answer any questions you may have in preparation for your next concrete staining or concrete coating project.

Thanks for reading!

‍

McKinley Schilling

President

Performance Concrete Polishing

515-202-6706

8 Ways to Upgrade Your Concrete Floor

There are so many ways to upgrade your concrete floor from polishing to coating to engraving or staining. We love helping our clients pick out the right fit for what they are looking to accomplish. Sometimes it’s a bit overwhelming to choose what to do with your concrete flooring. Here are 8 ways you can upgrade your concrete to protect and/or enhance it with a little explanation about each technique. We hope this helps when deciding what to do with your next project!

Mechanical Polishing

Mechanical polished concrete is a process that takes abrasives (diamonds) and mechanically places scratches in the concrete. This scratching process uses finer grit abrasives to remove and replace the scratches with smaller and smaller micro scratches.

The objective is to refine the floor and take away the small scratches so that you see a reflection in the floor. This process can be achieved with older concrete, new concrete and/or coated concrete.

This process is considered to be the maximum refinement method, and can be considered the best long-term solution for polished concrete.

Topical Polishing

Topical polishing is similar to the mechanically polished floor, but the course of action is shorter, and it leaves the floor at less than maximum refinement.

Most of the time the topically processed progression ends at a 200- or 400- grit step. These grits leave peaks on the top of the scratches that have zero lateral support. A topical sealer is then added and is placed into the gaps left by the scratching process. As the sealer settles and dries, it gives the appearance of being completely polished and is referred to as “polished concrete.”

This process is a much cheaper alternative to the mechanical process. The “topical polish” is exactly the same thing as putting on a coating. This method can be done with a burnisher, a floor scrubber and even a swing machine.

Decorative Epoxy Coatings

Epoxy floor coatings are hard wearing and durable solutions for both commercial and residential flooring. These floor coatings can be applied over concrete floors to provide a high performance and an attractive surface.

New technology now offers you the ability to choose almost any color. Metallic additives create a gorgeous surface and multiple colors can be randomly applied together revealing a swirling effect that is very unique and attractive.

Decorative Overlays

Overlays are a great option for concrete floors that are damaged or distressed. They are extremely durable and attractive. Overlays typically consist of a cementitious product, but some may be a combination of polyurethane and cement. They can be stained, mechanically polished, coated or stamped with any pattern you can imagine. Overlays are a great way to make an old concrete floor look brand new.

Dyes and Stains

The skies the limit when it comes to colorants. Multiple colors and patterns add to the beauty of your polished floor. There are a multitude of application techniques to add interesting effects when applying dyes and stains.

Engraving

We can incorporate engraving into your polishing process to provide borders and logos. Engraving can turn ordinary concrete surfaces into slate, tile, stone, brick and much more.

Hardeners and Sealers

Hardeners/densifiers are products that penetrate into the concrete surface and react with the Portland cement and fills the micro-pores. This reaction creates a very dense surface that helps with ease of cleaning, abrasion, dusting, staining, and overall wear of your concrete surface. These products do not change the appearance of the surface but can generate a sheen after burnishing and actually becomes harder the more you use the surface.

Sealers are an option for some floors. Depending on your needs it may provide a shiny surface that is easy to clean. All sealers will need to be reapplied at some point depending on wear and tear.

Final Notes

Performance Concrete Polishing is focused on providing services that are related to concrete surfaces. These services are appropriate for new and existing concrete. The majority of services we offer are oriented to improving the aesthetic appearance of these surfaces. Decorative concrete services are the hallmark of this company, and we’d love to help you out with your next project!