Warehouse Finish – Polished Concrete
The mystery of polishing old concrete
A warehouse finish reveal is a little bit like opening a Christmas present that has been sitting in a box under the Christmas tree.
One has an idea of what might be in there but until the surface is ground and the concrete polished the final look is a mystery.
Even after having completed countless jobs we always find it exciting as the history of an old slab is revealed.
What could be in there, old acid stains, bleed from embedded iron, unusual aggregate and sand colours?
This Warehouse Finish job in Diamond Creek indicates concrete slab finishing techniques that were commonly in use right up until the 1970s.
The concrete grinding and polishing process reveals that the concretors who laid the slab screed the slab and then rolled it with an old fashion mesh roller.
After that they scattered a stone and cement dust topping over the slab and then hand trowelled it to finish.
If you look at the photos you can see the stone dust markings (as if the slab was hand seeded) as well as patterns created by the mesh roller.
After grouting and machine polishing these imperfections create a floor that visually has much character but that leaves one with a most durable floor that will display a superb lustre, sheen for many years.
The home owners absolutely loved the end result and had us return to do more work on their outdoor concrete.
It is still important when specifying a Warehouse Finish that the home owner has done their research and understands the unpredicatable patterns, marks and colouring that the history of a slab will reveal. We make these galleries to help people's understand that when polishing an old slab that every floor will look different. One cannot know what they may or may not find under the surface. Just like opening a christmas present!
