OVERVIEW
For this franchise restaurant, polished concrete is their go-to floor finish, and how could not? Superior performance-driven concrete floor that is resilient, easy to maintain, environmentally friendly with lower lifetime.
When specifying polished concrete, it is important to understand that polishing a new or existing concrete slab can expose many imperfections which include cracks, spalls, color and texture variations. An existing concrete slab may also be aged, out of tolerance, deteriorated and unable to be used. Unfortunately, this was the situation for this location at Barstow CA, the owner was investing a lot on different areas and the main floor could make the entire presentation to look awful, but most importantly tripping hazards represented a big liability. That's when ONEFLOORS was called by the general contractor to take look.
SYSTEM
For an eroded substrate that would only show patches and cracks all over the place, a polishable concrete topping was the solution. But not every self-leveling cement can be polished, you need a cement that is low on polymers and very high density that can show clarity & gloss, we can find that on the TRU PC self-leveling topping from rapid set, is fast track in about 2 – 3 hrs for foot traffic and grind in 24 hours, would reach 7,000psi in 28 days.
To reached a high-quality, aesthetically pleasing decorative floor, there are a bunch of options and different methods that you can fallow, but that represents a problem, you can not replicate the results or achieve exactly what you are looking for, there is where ULTRAFLOOR from Diamatic, comes to play, ULTRAFLOOR is the only comprehensive polished concrete system with detailed written process specifications for all aspects of the installation including all equipment specifications, chemicals, metals, resins etc..
The ULTRAFLOR System extends the life of the floor well beyond typical polishing processes.
PROCESS
We started the project with a first grinding to create a good bonding profile for the self-leveling concrete topping, a CPS 3-4 for a strong bond to the substrate.
After vacuuming and proper cleaning, we started repairing big cracks and holes, open and filled to prevent them to telegraph.
We installed a two component, alkali resistant epoxy primer with sand broadcast to refusal formulated to have excellent substrate wetting capabilities to promote penetration and adhesion. We need to let it cure until next day.
For the installation of the self-leveling, we used 2 hypo mixers to have a continuous flow of material to the wet line and installers a runner, 2 troweling the material at a ½" thickness and one more spike rolling it to release. After the cement was placed, we have to let it cure about 24 hours, so it reaches enough strength, so we can start with the polishing.
When the cement is ready, we have a nice and smooth substrate to work with, but we have to be careful, although the concrete is strong enough to withstand grind procedures, is only ½" thickness, if you are not experienced enough, you can gauge it or damage it and you would end it up in the same place than before.
We start with a double grinding of metals, so we expose enough aggregate to make it look natural concrete.
We followed with hybrid transitional ceramics/metals, that creates an adequate transition from metals to resins.
A first pass of 200 grit resins prior to dye and densification. At this point, we can fill pin holes and other small voids in the concrete that sometimes are created during the grinding process.
Concrete dye is installed, a combination of colors or patterns can be selected. For this project, in particular, AmeriPolish Raw Sienna is on the specs.
Followed by a lithium concrete densifier that deepens clarity and heightens reflectivity (gloss)
After the densifier is dry, we continue with three more passes of resins up to 1500 grit for a gloss Class C level.
To finish the floor, we run a floor burnisher over dry Floor-Finish to reach 100degrees on the substrate.
This one-of-a-kind system incorporates proper substrate preparation, high-performance concrete toppings, concrete treatments, the mechanical process and finishing treatments that result in the ultimate polished concrete floor. The ULTRAFLOR® System extends the life of the floor well beyond typical polishing processes.
As a certified installer by partnered manufacturers, ONEFLOORS Concrete Coatings can successfully install a complete range of tested and proven seamless floor and wall systems, I hope that you can give us the opportunity to help you on the designing the flooring of your facility.