When to Schedule Polished Concrete and How to Care for Concrete After Processing

One question we are frequently asked is when in the construction schedule should we do this work and how do I protect the floors after you do them?

These are very important questions because often concrete floors are not treated properly after processing or they are done at the wrong point in the job and have to be redone. You can avoid costly polishing and repairs if the floors are treated properly. Care should still be given to make sure spills and damage to the slab do not happen before, during and after processing.

WHEN TO SCHEDULE

Option 1: Schedule the concrete polishing at the end of the job. This can be done after all ceiling work, painting, etc is completed. This option is best if you aren't installing many walls or glass surfaces to the work area. With this option you would install your baseboards and touch up any paint after our work and be done.

Option 2 Schedule the team to come before walls are set in place which saves hand machine work and avoids delicate finishes or adjacent surfaces. This may be the best option if you have walls going in that will require a significant amount of hand machine work. This will require the floor to be protected by the general contractor after processing or a change order for us to do it. This option is risky as you have to keep a finished floor protected during construction.

Option 3: Schedule sensitive areas first and then do the job towards then end. Sometimes when there are many glass panels and cabinets that have to be set, we will send a team in before to grind those areas first. This would be a change order but allows us to do the job at the end but finish the floor under cabinets and walls so machines don't have to be run to up the finishes.

Option 4: Sometimes we will do the grinding first and then come back towards the end of the job to do the final grit and polish. This is good in cases where there is glue, mastic, thin set that needs to be removed but the contractor wants us to do the final polishing steps at the end. This requires the floor to be protected as well but it allows the finish of the floor to be done at the end which avoids a lot of damage. This would require an additional mobilization.

How do I protect these floors when you are done?

You are worried about abrasions and spills on the floor, so protecting in important. For example a paint spill, oil spill, someone dragging a piece of furniture, a ladder foot, a nail under a bucket, etc can result in redoing our work. We recommend covering the floor with a cardboard type material and advising all other trades that the slab will be the final flooring and should be treated accordingly. This will avoid damage that may be permanent or require more work. Another option is to have your concrete floor contractor (hopefully us) come back at the end of the job to do a final buff or cleaning to turn the floor over in its best condition.