Concrete Polishing Company | The Floor Company

UV Stability and Resistance in Concrete Coatings

Posted on December 15, 2015 by Greg Bell in Concrete with Comments Disabled

Exposure to sunlight and the UV rays are often a grave concern with reference to concrete coatings. Some coatings can fade or yellow over time because of the exposure to the sun. This significantly shortens the lifespan of the coatings, and forces you to change them regularly.

There are some coatings that are more resistant to wear and tear than others. If you want a longer life for your concrete floor coatings, we at The Floor Company, recommend that you consider your options carefully.

Epoxy Coatings

Epoxy has several advantages. It’s more affordable than other options available to you in the market. It’s also easier to handle and apply than other common concrete coatings. Unfortunately, for all its conveniences, epoxy coatings are actually very susceptible to the harsh outdoor weather and UV rays. Within a few years, you may see a distinct yellow or amber tinge to the epoxy coating that can turn your beautiful, polished finish into something not so perfect.

While there are some UV resistant epoxy coatings available in the market, they don’t stand up against the other products available in the market. If you want to use a coating on the floor that might be exposed to sun, it’s a good idea to avoid epoxy when sealing outdoor work.

Urethane Coatings

This is a more expensive coating but it certainly delivers in terms of performance. This coating is a little more time consuming to apply. However, it is highly UV resistant and doesn’t yellow easily. You can expect 5 to 8 years of durability from this coating.

This coating is great for floors with high traffic and is also chemical and stain resistant. This concrete floor coating isn’t as hard as epoxy so it’s a little more resistant to stains. As its UV stable, it doesn’t fade, and it’s also more resistant to temperature variations.

Other surfaces like latex and vinyl aren’t as resistant to UV rays and temperature variations. They shouldn’t be used in outdoor applications if you want a durable surface that looks good as well.

For more information on coated, UV resistant concrete or to get an estimate, you can contact us at The Floor Company. If you’re calling from Ottawa and surrounding areas, dial 1800 461 3121. If you’re calling from Kingston, Peterborough,Belleville and Durham, simply dial 1877 277 9877. You can also email us at info@thefloorcompany.com or fill in this contact us form.

The Floor Company

Address: 1117 Newmarket Street, Unit B, Ottawa, ON K1B 4N4

Phone:(613) 706-6664

What Are The Different Types of Garage Floor Coverings?

Posted on October 27, 2015 by Greg Bell in Concrete with Comments Disabled

Concrete is very resilient and can stand up to all kinds of abuse if it provides the right protection. The garage floor has to endure traffic, oil spills, heavy objects falling on it, and other such problems. To maintain its looks, it’s essential to apply a good, resilient coating to it. There are three ways to go about this. You can apply a latex paint on the floor, add an epoxy coating, or apply polyurethane.

At The Floor Company, we recommend our clients to consider their needs and requirements carefully before choosing a garage floor coating. Let’s consider the options:

Latex- This is the most affordable coating available to you. Latex is very easy to apply. It’s essentially like paint and you need to do nothing but use regular rollers and brushes to apply a coat onto the floor. Unfortunately, if you want something this affordable, you’ll need to compromise on the quality.

Latex coatings are susceptible to peeling and chipping. You’ll also need to apply several coats of it to get an even finish. In essence, it’s great for a quick, cost-effective application, but not so great for resilience and durability.

Epoxy – While this coating is slightly more expensive than latex, it’s still quite affordable. This material is resilient and will last for several years. You’re essentially coating your garage floor in plastic when you apply this material. The finish is very glossy, sleek, and smooth, giving your garage a clean look.

This material won’t lift, is very durable, looks great and has many colour and finish options. However, the application process is complicated and should only be done by a professional concrete floor coating team.

Polyurethane –This is the coating to choose for the professional garage. It has a very high level of durability and can resist chemical and oil spills very well. It’s also available in a variety of colours and finishes for an attractive garage. However, this coating is more expensive and might not be for the regular home garage. The application process is very complicated as well and you’ll need to hire a professional concrete floor coating team.

For more information on polished concrete, or to get an estimate, you can contact us at The Floor Company. If you’re calling from Ottawa and surrounding areas, dial 1800 461 3121. If you’re calling from Kingston, Belleville, Peterborough and Durham, dial 1877 277 9877. You can also email us at info@thefloorcompany.com or fill in this contact us form.

The Floor Company

Address: 1117 Newmarket Street, Unit B, Ottawa, ON K1B 4N4

Phone:(613) 706-6664

Epoxy Flooring Over Concrete vs. VCT Tiles

Posted on September 28, 2015 by Greg Bell in Concrete with Comments Disabled

Epoxy Flooring Over Concrete vs. VCT Tiles There are several flooring treatments you can place on a concrete substrate. Some of the more popular applications, especially for commercial, high traffic floors or garages are epoxy flooring and Vinyl Composite Tile, (or VCT). Both of them are used in a variety of different applications with great results. But how do they compare?

Here’s a brief overview of the merits of both and how they compare against each other. While the end decision usually comes down to the budget, both have distinct advantages.

Affordability

Without question, the upfront cost of VCT is more affordable. The tiles aren’t that expensive, laying them doesn’t cost much by way of time and effort. Naturally, if you’re on a strict budget, VCT is a good option for you.

On the other hand, an epoxy coating is more expensive and more difficult to install. Sometimes, the upfront cost of the installation is a deterrent. However, if you have room in your budget, this is a better long term solution in comparison to VCT.

Maintenance

The key difference between epoxy coatings and VCT is maintenance. The coating requires little to no maintenance. You can simply wipe or mop the surface regularly to preserve its looks.

This is where VCT might fail. While vinyl doesn’t require too much maintenance to preserve its looks, you might need to wipe, buff, and wax it regularly. This can become tedious after some years. Moreover, over time, wax get’s accumulated and needs to be stripped completely before reapplying. This can add to the costs.

Application

Both epoxy coatings and VCT tiles are easy to apply on your concrete substrate. In both cases, the substrate needs to be in good enough condition for the layers to look good.

Most people can install VCT as a weekend DIY project. All you need to go is clean the floor thoroughly, apply a thin layer of glue, and then add the VCT. Any DIY person can accomplish this easily.

Applying an epoxy coating requires a little more skill. You need to account for the curing time between different coatings so if you plan to do it yourself, the project would take several weeks. A professional will be able to finish quickly and do a great job.

For more information on polished concrete, or to get an estimate, you can contact us at The Floor Company. If you’re calling from Ottawa and surrounding areas, dial 1800 461 3121. If you’re calling from Belleville, Peterborough Kingston or Durham, simply dial this number-1877 277 9877. Alternatively, email us at info@thefloorcompany.com or use this contact us form to connect with us.

The Floor Company

Address: 1117 Newmarket Street, Unit B, Ottawa, ON K1B 4N4

Phone:(613) 706-6664

How Long Does It Take to Polish a Concrete Floor?

Posted on September 15, 2015 by Greg Bell in Concrete with Comments Disabled

Polished concrete floors are fast becoming a popular flooring option in commercial and residential properties. Concrete is certainly more resilient than most other flooring materials available today. It is also low maintenance so you don’t need to worry about doing more than an occasional mopping to maintain its looks.

The polishing time depends entirely on what level of polish you want, the size of the floor, and the obstructions. Here’s a look at what’s involved in the polishing process.

The Polishing Process

There are four different levels of polish, from satin-like finish to very high-gloss. To attain different finishes, we use progressively finer grinders. Needless to say, the lower levels of polish take less time. However, the process is the same.

Step One – We start by using coarse diamond and metallic matrix grinders. These are enough to remove any kind of blemish, stains, small pits, coatings etc. This process essentially prepares the floor for further polishing.
Step Two – During this process, we use grinders with diamond abrasives in resin or plastic matrix. Depending on the level of polish we need, we use increasingly finer grits to achieve the task. For high gloss finish, most contractors will use 1500 or finer grit.
Step Three – During the polishing process, we also apply internal impregnating sealer to the floor. This penetrates the concrete surface and protects it. It also densifies and hardens it, making the surface more resilient. The hardened surface doesn’t need much maintenance.

What Tools Are Used?

The polishing process is achieved through a machine with different levels of grinding grits. The process is quite akin to sanding wood; for more shine, finer sandpaper is used.

Accordingly, for the first step, about 16-20 grit is used to remove any coating, and to level the surface. Then we move from one level of grit to other. After the surface is polished with a 150-grit, a chemical hardener is added to the floor.

After that progressively finer grits are used to achieve the desired levels of gloss. Depending on the area, the level of polish, and the obstacles, the polishing can take upwards of 2 to 3 days. However, you can use the surface immediately after the polishing is done.

For more information on polished concrete, or to get an estimate, you can contact us at The Floor Company. If you’re calling from Ottawa and surrounding areas, dial 1800 461 3121. If you’re calling from Kingston, Belleville, Peterborough and Durham, dial 1877 277 9877. You can also email us at info@thefloorcompany.com or fill in this contact us form.

The Floor Company

Address: 1117 Newmarket Street, Unit B, Ottawa, ON K1B 4N4

Phone:(613) 706-6664

Eco Polish Decorative Concrete Flooring

Posted on August 22, 2015 by Greg Bell in Concrete with Comments Disabled

“Eco Polish” is how we have branded our grinded concrete clear epoxy floor. We have coined it this because it is both economical and ecologically friendly.

The Eco Polish floor is recommended for those who want an exposed aggregate floor but also need stain resistance, deep colour, water proofing, salt resistance and more.

It is especially recommended for those spaces that are commercial and street facing in climates that get snow. This is because traditional exposed aggregate floors, such as polished concrete, are often porous. Porous floors that are installed in frequently wet and salt exposed areas will certainly degrade years before an epoxy coated floor.

Here is the Eco Polished Concrete process:

1) First we grind the floor to expose the stones and evenly remove all of the “cream coat”. This ensures even saturation of the epoxy leading to a consistent colour and durability.
2) Then we repair the floor. Typically this means filling cracks, joints, holes and divots with an epoxy paste we make using the very grinding dust from your floor, to help with colour keying to your final surface.
3) We then coat the floor in solid epoxy. (The 100% solids part means there are no smelly solvents used.)

So far, we have described our basic Eco Polish floor. At this point, the floor is complete and contains all of the benefits we went over above. However, the floor may have some imperfections such as air contamination, dust, bugs etc… caught in the surface. This happens at times because the epoxy is sticky when it’s curing for up to 8 hours.

As a highly recommended option, we suggest finishing this new surface with one coat of urethane. Urethane (available in matte, satin, and gloss sheens) is preferred because it provides UV stability, abrasion resistance and, by nature of installation method and its quick cure window, a near perfect sheen and texture.

Another great benefit to our Eco Polish concrete floors is that they are very forgiving. Should you run a busy commercial space for example, and your maintenance lapses, these floors are usually quite resilient and will recover rather well as compared to traditional non-coated polished concrete.

While Eco Polish floors may take about 30% longer to install than regular polished concrete, the longevity and ease of ownership create a great reward long term, and the look is unparalleled in the industry.

We think you’ll love all of our exposed aggregate options, speak to a professional today to help decide which one works for your space.

Why is Polished Concrete so Popular?

Posted on August 18, 2015 by Greg Bell in Concrete with Comments Disabled

Today, there are many people who are considering having a polished concrete floor on their property. The option is becoming increasingly popular amongst homeowners who have had a chance to witness some truly stunning designs. At The Floor Company, we’ve seen many people opt for polished concrete flooring and never regret it.

What is Polished Concrete?

In essence, it’s a concrete floor that’s highly polished to give it a shine. You can add different colours, create a variety of patterns, embed aggregates, pebbles, and even recycled glass to get a beautiful design. These floors can be polished to have a dull, matte look, low sheen, a slightly cloudy shine, or a high, glass-like sheen with clarity.

Why Are They so Popular?

Polished concrete is becoming popular because of the wide variety of benefits they offer compared to flooring alternatives:

Design Options – There’s no end of choice here. You can have any colour, design or the finish you need. The sheer versatility of concrete is one of its best features. As mentioned earlier, you can create stunning designs and effects by adding aggregates like coloured stone, crushed shells, recycled glass, etc.

Relatively Low Cost – While the costs vary from place to place, concrete flooring is relatively cheaper to other flooring options. The polishing cost depends on the number of rounds the grinder would have to make on the surface. If you want a highly glossy floor, it’ll be more costly.

Longer Life – Polished concrete is resilient and not as susceptible to damage as other flooring options. With careful maintenance, you won’t need to replace it for several years.

Health Benefits – Concrete flooring is actually very hygienic. The possibility of dust mites, mold, dirt, etc is low. Moreover, you don’t need to use hazardous coatings, or adhesives. It’s a highly sustainable flooring option.

Low Maintenance – It requires very little maintenance. You can mop it daily with water and floor cleaners. The floor won’t require waxing or sealers and will maintain its sheen for a long time. It is recommended that you use only neutral pH cleaners on the floors.

Because of the various benefits of polished concrete floorings, it has become an ideal option for both residential and commercial properties.

For more information on polished concrete, or to get an estimate, you can contact The Floor Company. If you’re calling from Ottawa and surrounding areas, dial 1800 461 3121. If you’re calling from Kingston, Belleville, Peterborough and Durham, dial 1877 277 9877. You can also email us at info@thefloorcompany.com or fill in this contact us form.

The Top 3 Most Popular Garage Floor Coating Finishes in Ottawa

Posted on July 27, 2015 by Greg Bell in Concrete with Comments Disabled

Garage floor coatings are all the rage these days. People are really starting to see their garage as an extension of their home. Why not see it that way? After all, most garages are at least 25% the size of the main floor of a home. Sometimes, even the same size.

With our cars leaving as much as 6 feet of clearance above for storage, why not use it. Part of turning a garage into a hobby space, shop or storage area, is having a clean, safe and long lasting durable floor.

The Top 3 Most Popular Garage Floor Coating Finishes in Ottawa are Listed Here:

1) Decorative Flakes

Flakes embedded in a resin of either epoxy, urethane or polyaspartic

This system is awesome. It’s a quick install. It costs around the same as the tile in your kitchen but is way stronger and best of all, it hides dirt. Who wants to be washing and scrubbing a dusty old concrete slab as it wears away because of contamination from all the gunk we expose to? We know you don’t. The decorative flake floor is trendy, non-slip and covers up most of what ails a floor.

2) Polished Concrete

The act of grinding, polishing and chemically changing a concrete floor

This option is very popular down south where there isn’t any concrete eating salt around. Here, it really shouldn’t be used in garages where cars will sit and thaw in the winter. However, it is still a popular option. We have workarounds to give you the look of polished concrete without leaving your floor exposed to salt, tire staining and other contamination issues. Ask us how we can set you up with a floor that looks like modern polished concrete, but won’t corrode away.

3) Troweled Decorative Overlays

A process by which concrete strengthened by various polymers is troweled to look like stone

This option is often chosen by the “garage party family” on your block. It’s not quite as strong as a decorative flake floor, but, it’s great for cook outs, storage, car parking and general light use. You can go with a stone texture alone or add decorative scoring to make it look like tile.

No matter what you are looking to do with your garage, we have you and your floors covered. Contact us for more information about how we can help your concrete garage floor in Ottawa look great and be long lasting and durable.

Self-Levelling Epoxy Flooring Vs Concrete Levellers

Posted on May 11, 2015 by Greg Bell in Concrete with Comments Disabled

Concrete floors and wood sub-floors are never perfectly flat or exactly level. All pre-manufactured flooring has a specific allowance for levelness and flatness. When it comes to getting a floor level and flat to the specification required, a concrete self levelling overlay or underlay is often the solution.

BEFORE Self Leveling Concrete Process

There is a difference between and underlay and an overlay, in fact, in our opinion they should be called pre-layments and final-layments.

Underlayment: This is a leveller that is not designed to be used as a finished surface. It is to be used as a base for a flooring system such as carpet, tile or hard wood.

Overlayment: This is a levelling agent or system that can be a wear course or final floor topping. It is still recommended that it be sealed with epoxy or similar.

DURING Self Leveling Concrete Process

Now, focusing on overlayment, let’s discuss the reasons one should choose epoxy over a concrete or gypsum bases overlayments.

Firstly: adhesion. You might think concrete would have the best adhesion to a concrete but in fact epoxies have been shown to have a much stronger bond. This is because when applied, epoxies are much more liquid like than concrete and therefore are able to penetrate the slab and expand in is pores. This requires proper surface preparation via grinding or shot blasting.

With concrete overlays, the bond is achieved on the surface only using a proprietary binder or primer. While this does work in effect, it’s not nearly as strong or as well bonded as 100% solids 2 part epoxy.

Another huge benefit to using epoxy for a self-leveling overlay is the fact that epoxy itself is a sealer. In theory, assuming your floor doesn’t require more than one coat of epoxy self-levelling overlay, you could do one coat and your floor would be level, sealed and the colour you want.

AFTER Self Leveling Concrete Process

With a concrete self-levelling overlay you would have to wait for the concrete to cure, sand it, then clean and vacuum and then apply an approved sealer.

Unlike concrete overlays, epoxy overlays have many options concerning non slip and final sheen. Epoxies also bond well with other coatings where as concrete overlays often fail in the department.

To ensure the best outcome when levelling a floor you will not be covering with other flooring, you best bet is to choose a leveller that can withstand years of wear and tear on it’s own without requiring a sealer. That solutions, is self levelling epoxy. If you have any questions about Self-Levelling Epoxy Flooring Vs Concrete Levellers, ask our team today!

Are Concrete Floors Cold and Damp?

Posted on February 17, 2015 by Greg Bell in Blog with Comments Disabled

Concrete can be a very cold material, as the material itself is smooth and unforgiving…however, concrete is no colder than ceramic or stone, so why give concrete the cold shoulder?

Unlike other materials, with concrete, you have the ability to install radiant heating cables, which are special cables that give off plenty of heat. By putting these in your concrete floors, you will experience heated flooring with concrete!

Concrete floors end up being warmer with this method, and if you are designing a home as opposed to simply re-flooring a room, see about allowing as many windows as possible, so that the concrete can take in the heat from the sunlight and hold it in, thereby making the floors even warmer (wintertime would be a nightmare without any sort of heating for your concrete floors).

It can become a terrible hassle if a concrete floor is built on a subgrade that does not drain accordingly, as this will cause your concrete floor to become awfully damp. Dampness can also occur from not having insulated the area properly enough, as moisture and water will then seep into the concrete and cause inevitable dampness.

So, for ensuring that your concrete floors are warm and dry, you must make sure that your floors are laid and installed correctly, and a bit of research on your own time would not go astray, as it would be in the greatest of benefits to you to know about concrete flooring installation beforehand, that way you can make sure the contractor is doing things correctly (if it’s a younger contractor, you run the risk of him not knowing any “tricks of the trade” or whatnot).

In today’s society, methods are being used to help stop moisture and water from getting in and under your concrete floors (besides insulation), and that is through contractors and carpenters placing a vapour barrier within the concrete slab, in order to protect from the invasion of moisture.

You see, at the end of the day, if your concrete floors are put in correctly, and they are heated properly, you would not have much to worry about in the way of walking on a stone-cold floor in the wintertime.

If you have any questions for a concrete professional, contact us today!

Acid Stained Concrete Vs. Dyes and Tints

Posted on October 21, 2014 by Greg Bell in Concrete with Comments Disabled

While most people are happy with a natural coloured concrete slab, some opt for a more brilliant colour or just a slight change in the tone of grey and light beige’s that are naturally occurring when polishing and/or sealing concrete.

Acid Stains

In the past, the most common way to change the colour of a concrete slab was to do an acid stain or acid wash.

Acid stains require a lot of labor and immense amounts of water to be introduced into the slab in order to carry the acid and the resulting reaction that occurs when the acid and concrete properties meet.
Acid Stained Concrete Vs. Dyes and Tints colour chart
While this technique is time tested and proven, it does present certain issues such as adding a lot of moisture to a slab that is going to be sealed next.

Using water to penetrate and stain a concrete slab means that the slab will have to dry for many days prior to a sealer being applied. Even when using a water-based sealer, there is a certain risk that is being taken when applying it to a floor that was recently wet or damp. The sealer could flake off or be weaker in the long run. Also, if you require an impact resistant floor or wish to finish with a coating such as an epoxy or a polyaspartic, the floor must be grinded first prior to being sealed.

When doing an acid stain, this is not necessarily the best outcome as grinding the floor prior to staining it will reduce its ability to take on a new colour

Concrete Dyes

Decorative concrete dyes and concrete dye systems have come a long way and, in our opinion have replaced acid stains as the go-to product to use for staining concrete that will be sealed or polished.

These decorative dye systems are first sprayed down on the floor and either scrubbed in or left to dry. There is no need to neutralize them with large amounts of water or neutralizing agents. This means that, the floor can be polished or sealed on the same day that it was stained.

Another advantage to using concrete dyes as opposed to concrete acid stains is that the colour is much more predictable because there is no requirement for a chemical reaction in order to achieve the look that you are going for.

Concrete dyes can be used to change the overall colour of the floor but can also be used to create borders, accents, logos or really any other effects you may be going for.

If you would like more information about concrete dyes and stains, please contact us today to talk to one of our specialists.

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The Polishing Process

What Tools Are Used?

1) Decorative Flakes