|
|
 |
Polished Concrete – A New Flooring Option
Concrete is often thought of as a utilitarian option, great for the garage but not for the home. However, in recent years, concrete has gone up-market with polished concrete flooring becoming more popular in the home. It can create styles that are classic, or contemporary or sophisticated. It also has surprising versatility when it comes to decorating options.
Benefits of Polished Concrete as Flooring
But polished concrete doesn’t just look great. It is affordable, energy efficient, low-maintenance and dust is easily controlled. If you suffer from allergies or asthma, then polished concrete may be the solution for you. And laying the flooring is as simply as pouring the concrete, letting it set and then polishing it. Think that concrete would be too cold for the home? Think again. Concrete absorbs moisture from the ground to keep it cooler in summer and, in winter, the light entering the home from the windows helps to warm it up. Of course, in winter, you also have the option of laying down a few stylish rugs.
How Polished Concrete Flooring is Created
But how does polishing concrete actually work? The polished finishes are created using a variety of techniques such as steel trowelling, burnishing, or honing the surface of the concrete. And the concrete doesn’t have to be grey! Different colours and patterns are available so you can create something that uniquely suits your home. Introduce colours by colouring the concrete itself or by using special aggregates.
Create Design Features in Polished Concrete Flooring
You can also lay items into the floor to create design features. What you put in there is limited only by your imagination! You can use shells, stone, marble aggregates or even personal mementoes such as horseshoes, or jewellery. If a unique pattern is more your thing, professionals can use an outlay (that looks similar to the lead lighting in stained glass windows) into which different coloured concrete is poured into different sections, and then polishing it once set in order to reveal the unique pattern.
Printer Friendly Version
References
Related Categories
Concreting