American Custodial

Decorative and ascetically pleasing, economical, very low maintenance, abrasion and stain resistant, permanent and long lasting, eliminates dusting conditions, greater strength and durability, more impact resistant, coating free…no more waxing, coating, stripping or painting. Polished concrete also increases light up to 30% at the highest polish.

Concrete polishing is less than the cost of concrete coating systems and is a "one time" installation. Concrete coatings can potentially fail due to delaminating, cracking, fading, staining, yellowing, and wear. Polished concrete gives you permanent long lasting results that require no costly maintenance because there are no coatings.

A polished floor will never require stripping, re-coating or re-waxing! In fact, because the penetration of oil, water and other substances is minimized with the polishing process, maintenance requirements are significantly reduced! In addition, polishing eliminates dusting and forklift tire marks! Regular concrete floors produce dust. A polished concrete floor on the other hand eliminates such dusting.

Polished concrete depending on it's use and maintenance care can last over 20 years! One fact is for sure, it is going to last many, many years without the use of special cleaners, sealers, waxes, strippers or coatings.

Polished concrete, though quite shiny, does not create a slippery floor. In fact, the benefits of mechanically grinding and flattening the floor will increase the coefficient of friction when compared to ordinary concrete. Polished concrete often exceeds OSHA standards for floors. (ASTM C 1028)

It is virtually maintenance free. Concrete that has been properly mechanically processed and densified is more durable and has a longer life cycle than other types of flooring available before restoration is needed. Polished concrete has the lowest cleaning per square foot cost of any flooring. Occasional auto scrubbing (commercial areas) or mopping with a neutral to non butyl degreaser cleaner is all you need to keep the surface clean and shiney. With a basic cleaning routine, polished concrete floors will retain their luster for many years! Polished concrete floors can produce a nearly perfect reflection, creating an extremely pleasing aesthetic look. With a reduction in regular required maintenance, you save both time and money, increasing your cost savings.

This process is warranted to never peel, bubble or blister! The final appearance of the concrete will be determined by the original aggregates, material blends, and desired finish.

We also have 23 different dye colors with more pending, that we can apply to your floors. This process allows the beautiful aggregate of the concrete to show due to the translucent color of the dye. Some examples can be seen HERE.

Difficulties that we may encounter.

No two concrete slabs are laid the same way. Concrete that has been laid at 3200 PSI or higher typically will take a much better shine. Variations in the amount of water in the mix to the amount and type of sand mixed with the concrete can be just a few factors that affect the outcome of your flooring. Concrete that has been installed at lower PSI's may have problems with the concrete binders being brittle. Most slabs will have cracks and minor imperfections in them before this process is started so expect them to still be there once the process is done. Because grinding of the concrete is required, blending in to the edges of walls can sometimes prove difficult. Most residential concrete is very unlevel but with some time on our end we can achieve a great polish.

Can all concrete be polished?

Almost any structurally sound concrete floor, whether new or old, can be polished. But there are some exceptions.
For new floors, no special mix design is required to achieve good results. However, the floor should be in place at least 28 days before polishing begins to ensure adequate curing. Some retail and warehouse facilities that plan to polish their floors after placement may specify the installation of as smooth a floor as possible to minimize the polishing steps required.
Existing floors typically require some surface preparation prior to polishing to remove dirt, grease, coatings, or blemishes. However, floors that are wavy, need extensive patching, or are extremely porous may not be good candidates for polishing. We can usually determine a floor’s suitability.
To help solidify and densify polished concrete surfaces, some we apply penetrating hardeners to the concrete, normally after the first step of the grinding process. These products, which can be applied to new or existing floors, work by reacting chemically with the concrete to form a hard, crystalline structure. They also prevent dusting of concrete and offer extra protection from water penetration and staining.

There are absolutely no problems in polishing the aggregate in concrete if we have to grind deeper than normal due to very rough pitted floors. Every one of the hard stones can be polished, from marble to diamonds. The difficulty in polishing concrete comes from the attempt to polish the cement binder because of the microporosity caused by the excess water required to make concrete workable. This bleedwater as it comes to the surface creates micropores. Since it is impossible to polish a void, this creates what is known as the eggshell or orange peel effect. In keeping this problem to a minimum the surface to be polished must be extremely dense. A great product we use just for this situation is the GM 3000 grouting system which will fill the pinholes on concrete or terrazo floors and allow for a truly remarkable,refined floor!
How is concrete polished?

Simply put, polishing concrete is similar to sanding wood. Heavy-duty polishing machines equipped with progressively finer grits of diamond-impregnated segments or disks (akin to sandpaper) are used to gradually grind down surfaces to the desired degree of shine and smoothness.
The process begins with the use of coarse diamond segments bonded in a metallic matrix. These segments are coarse enough to remove minor pits, blemishes, stains, or light coatings from the floor in preparation for final smoothing. Depending on the condition of the concrete, this initial rough grinding is generally a three- to four-step process.
After our last grinding step is achieved, we add a densifier and work into the floor to harden and dustproof it.
The next steps involve fine grinding of the concrete surface using diamond abrasives embedded in a plastic or resin matrix. Our company uses ever-finer grits of polishing disks (a process called “lapping) until the floor has the desired sheen. For an extremely high-gloss finish, a final grit of 1500 to 3000 grit may be used. We know when to switch to the next-finer grit by observing the floor surface and the amount of material being removed.
What are preexisting conditions that are beyond my control?

We did not pour the concrete slab and had nothing to do with leveling or toweling the slab. That was the job of the concrete contractor! In addition, we did not mix the cement and do not know what was put into it. There is real chemistry in concrete. It is more than cement, rock, sand, etc. mixed together. There are two issues with grinding concrete. One issue is actually desirable depending on the desired look you are trying to achieve. No one that I know of can see into the concrete and see where the aggregate lies. The aggregate may be spread evenly, close to the surface or deep in the slab. If imperfections have to be ground out in most cases the aggregate will become exposed. Sometimes normal grinding may also expose aggregate and there is nothing that can be done about it. If you have imperfections in the floor and you do not want exposed aggregate then your floor may not be a candidate for “true” concrete polishing or the imperfections will have to be left. Slabs over 50 years old in particular and some younger can have a problem that is a result of excessive microporosity and deterioration of the cement binder. This happens on older concrete before plasticizers were available or on newer concrete when plasticizers were not used. Plasticizers increase the concretes workability making the concrete easier to work with using less water. When plasticizers are not used more water is added to make the concrete more workable. When a lot of water is used more of it has to travel to the surface (bleed water) and it creates excessive micropores. As the floor is polished areas of the cement binder can come out because of the excessive porosity. Since it is impossible to polish a void what is left is an effect called various names such as Swiss cheese, eggshell, speckled or orange peel. These voids can vary in size as small as the point of a pin. This issue may not be realized to the fullest extent until the last grinding step or first polishing process begins. Again, this is a preexisting condition that is not always predictable because it may be hidden just below the surface. In these situations,we will apply the GM 3000 grouting system to fill in these voids for a truly remarkable floor!

If the concrete has/had a covering or coating on it and it did not allow for vapor transmission the concrete underneath could be deteriorated. This is more likely in a situation where there have been past moisture issues. Concrete exposed to these conditions have a problem that is a result of excessive microporosity and deterioration of the cement binder. This is considered a preexisting condition and may not be detectable until the covering or coating has been removed. If for example, a tile was on the floor the area under the tile towards the center in most cases will have the most damage as a result of the moisture not being able to escape out from under it. These areas are much softer and more porous. When polishing the floor these areas may end up with a different polish then the rest of the floor. Again, this is a preexisting condition.

If there has been glue, mastic, etc. on the floor from carpet, tile, wood or for any other reason these products can go down into the concrete. Often the results of these products being on or in the concrete do not show up until the floor has been polished.