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Specifiers Magazine:

"NINE FUNDAMENTALS FOR POLISHED CONCRETE FLOORS"

The polished concrete floor industry is lacking standardization relative to the equipment, chemicals, and process.

Polishing specifications based on ASTM and other practices can ensure objective, quantifiable and consistent results within a green paradigm.

Click on the image below to read our featured article, or click the image above to read the full issue of The Construction Specifier.

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Industrial Terms

GHP Floor: In commercial terms a "Polished Concrete" Floor. However this terms leaves no doubt that the floor is recivieng a full mechanical process (not opening the concrete and applying a resinous polymer or Acrylic sealer). This includes all three steps; Ground, Hone and polishing the floor.

GH Floor: This includes the first two steps of a "Polished Concrete" floor. Grinding and Honing the floor may be used to mechanically open up the floor for the indroduction of color or chemistry in the concrete. Often times this is recommended over chemical stripping of the floor to remove contaminents or sealers. This method is better for enviroment and does not leave dormant chemistry in the poors of the concrete.

Concrete Processing: The act of changing an existing concrete surface by means of a mechanical process that involves cutting and/or refining the surface to a desired finish.

Ground Concrete: Also the complete processing procedure as mentioned for Polished Concrete. Ground Concrete has a flat appearance with no, or very little reflection and sheen. Grinding Steps are the lower grit diamonds up to 50 grit.

Honed Concrete: Also the complete processing procedure as mentioned for polished concrete. Honed Concrete has a matte appearance and a slight clarity of reflection that has a low, medium, or high sheen depending on the final diamond grit used. Honing steps are those between 50 grit diamonds and 800 grit diamonds.

Polished Concrete: The processsing of the concrete surface through means of a mechanical process that uses an abrasive medium where each step is refined to its purest possible form on a microscopic level from one progressively finer abrasive to the next until the desired level of "polish" is achieved. Polished Concrete has clarity of reflection like a mirror and has a glass-like finish. The clarity will depend on the final diamond grit. Polishing Steps are 800 grit and higher.

Clarity of Reflection: The degree of how crisp and clean the reflection of objects appear in the surface of the concrete. Clarity of reflections are catagorized as Polished, Honed, and Ground.

Surface Cut: The degree to which the surface of the concrete is abraded. These cuts are defined as Surface Cream, Fine Aggregate, Medium Aggregate, and Large Aggregate.

Full & Maximum Refinement: When the abrasive has refined the surface to the degree to which it no longer cuts, or cuts very little under its current weight.

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