You would be surprised of all the new ways we are fixing up old cracked or damaged concrete today. It’s amazing what can be done.
The Standard
Mechanically polished concrete is what we do the most of right now. We fill in all the flaws and voids in the older concrete with a cementitious material. Then we polish it from there. You are able to dye the floor, put artwork onto the floor through dyes or sandblasting, and it will have a beautiful polished look. One downside: It will have an industrial look because it will show all the old flaws that were fixed up.
If you want a brand new looking floor, here some of the most popular ways to do it:
Cementitious Overlays
By applying a cementitious material over the entire floor, it will self level and will provide a look of a brand new concrete floor. From there we have some options of what we can do to that overlay:
The Standard Look – flat and smooth
The Wood Look – textured stamp
The Tile Look – custom tile stamp
The Field Stone Look – custom stone stamp
Epoxy Coatings
With any epoxy coating, you need to first fill in any cracks or flaws in the old concrete. Then we can apply an epoxy coating that will self level to become completely smooth. With epoxy we have several options we can use to give you the right look for the environment you’re in.
Dispersing Metallics – swirling look
Metallic flakes and sparkles – reflection look
Solids – virtually any color you can think of
Side note:
Sometimes contractors can use a micro-overlay – be careful! They don’t hold up as well here in Central Iowa with the temperature changes.
Summary
With all these options it’s important to note that every situation is different. There are many factors when choosing your concrete coatings like temperature, how it’s used, and what look you want to have. The best thing you can do is consult with a professional to ensure you will pick the appropriate concrete coating or polishing for you!
Thanks for reading.