Concrete floors have long been a popular flooring option for basements and garages. However, their versatility and customization have made them a great choice for other living spaces as well. You may be wondering if polishing a concrete floor is an eco-friendly option.
Why Is Concrete Flooring Desirable?
Concrete creates a great flooring surface that’s very durable and easy to maintain for all homeowners. When properly installed and maintained, concrete can last for many decades. This is an extremely low-cost material that can be customized with staining, stamping, painting, and even polishing to get the look you’re going for. Concrete is growing in popularity because of its resistance to being scratched by things like furniture, pets, and shoes.
Why Do Concrete Floors Need to Be Polished?
When it comes to finishing concrete floors for optimal usage, you have options. This includes sealing the floor with something like an acrylic sealer and polishing the surface. This can be done to different extents to achieve the optimal reflectivity and consistency that you’re looking for. This final finishing step is necessary to protect the concrete from things like staining and abrasions.
The Benefits of Polishing Over Sealing
One of the main reasons that polishing concrete is preferred in highly-trafficked areas is because the wear surface of the concrete is extremely hard. It’s very resistant to scuffs and scratches and doesn’t require a need to reseal it every couple of years. Furthermore, concrete can be specifically finished to meet your individual aesthetic preferences for the room.
Polishing concrete is going to be less expensive than applying a sealing or wax compound. It’s also much less likely to require repairs when compared to other types of flooring materials, like tiles. Even better, polished concrete floors are super easy to clean due to their smooth finish. The penetrating liquids known as silicate densifiers naturally reduce the porosity of the concrete during the polishing process. This helps to ensure that the concrete doesn’t absorb moisture.
The Environmental Benefits of Polished Concrete Floors
The environmental benefits of polished concrete floors are widely known, which is why using concrete flooring usually comes along with environmental tax credits as well as LEED credits for builders. We’re going to dive into some of the most obvious reasons that concrete flooring is environmentally friendly below.
No VOCs
VOCs, known formally as volatile organic compounds, are found in many different types of flooring materials as well as flooring maintenance chemicals. Whenever you walk around on flooring like vinyl or tile that has these VOCs, it emits some of them into the air. This not only reduces indoor air quality but can be harmful to your health. On the other hand, polished concrete is completely free of VOCs. This equates to cleaner air for you and your family to breathe in.
Electric Bill Savings
If you’ve ever looked at a polished concrete floor, you know just how reflective it can be. The beauty of having polished concrete floors is that you can use less lighting throughout your home while still getting the same amount of light in each room. It’s even been estimated that polished concrete can enhance the ambient lighting in a room by up to 30% due to its reflectivity. This results in spending less money on electricity bills throughout the year, which is something all households can appreciate.
Mold and Dust Reduction
When it comes to maintaining indoor air quality levels, it’s very common for homeowners to invest in a wide variety of air filtration devices. One of the great advantages of going with polished concrete floors is they can’t harbor any dust like traditional carpeting would. Furthermore, they’re highly resistant to mold growth.
You don’t have to worry about this type of flooring reducing your indoor air quality, which means you can spend less time and energy running your air filtration devices. Even better, this is a great alternative for those who suffer from severe allergies, asthma, or other respiratory conditions.
Recycling Customization
One great advantage of concrete is that it allows you to incorporate other products into the concrete itself. These products could be recyclable crushed glass, metal shavings, or even marble chips. By incorporating these used materials into your floor, you save them from going to the landfill while enhancing the overall visual appeal of your floor.
Reusable Raw Material Inputs
Concrete is a hardened substance that can be constructed out of different raw materials. While limestone is one of the most predominant raw materials that go into cement, there are many other waste by-products that can be introduced into the concrete mixture. These include slag cement, silica fume, and even fly ash, which are always products from steel mills, power plants, and other manufacturing industries.
Fewer Flooring Materials Needed
It’s commonplace to traditionally cover a concrete floor with additional flooring material. This means spending money on a new flooring product as well as manufacturers continuing to make an abundance of other flooring materials. When you opt for sticking with your traditional concrete and just polishing it, you save the trouble of having to put down another layer of flooring.
Less Prone to Moisture Damage
One great advantage that polished concrete has over other types of flooring materials is it doesn’t absorb moisture. This is not only ideal for when you accidentally spill something on your floors but also if you experience flooding in your home. It could be flooding from a storm or from an unexpected burst pipe. Your polished concrete floors will remain in good condition and won’t need to undergo replacement like other flooring materials would.
Are There Any Drawbacks to Polished Concrete?
Just like any other flooring material option that is available, polished concrete does come with a few drawbacks that you should be aware of as a homeowner. The first drawback is going to be dependent on the quality of the concrete that you have poured. If you try to pour the concrete yourself or you have a less than reputable contractor do it for you, they may use poor quality materials that will not withstand the polishing process.
Concrete is a very hard material, which makes it great for durability and resilience. However, it can be taxing on the body when standing for long periods of time. Adding rugs and padded mats is a great solution to prevent this issue from happening. Furthermore, you may notice that concrete is quite colder in the winter if you don’t have radiant floor heating. Simply wearing slippers or other shoes can mitigate this problem. You can incorporate runners or rugs in areas where there is foot traffic.
Expert Concrete Floor Polishing Service
Valley Concrete Coatings & Polishing offers expert concrete floor polishing service to the Phoenix, AZ, community and the surrounding areas. We’re also here for all your commercial flooring, epoxy, metallic epoxy, polyaspartic floor coating, cool decking, concrete staining, and acrylic overlay needs.
Simply call Valley Concrete Coatings & Polishing today to book a service appointment with one of our flooring professionals.
