Chase Oaks Church’s campus in Fairview is nestled against a creek. To complement the natural theme, most aggregate for the concrete floor came from sources within a 90-mile radius. Crushed black dolomite aggregate up to 1 inch contrasts nicely with cement naturally colored tan by the fine, sandy coarse aggregate common to Texas. The black aggregate came from Lattimore Materials Co.’s quarry about 130 miles northeast in Stringtown, Okla. Texas Bomanite polished almost 17,000 square feet of floor made with this mix.
Sarah Copp, Texas Bomanite Chase Oaks Church’s campus in Fairview is nestled against a creek. To complement the natural theme, most aggregate for the concrete floor came from sources within a 90-mile radius. Crushed black dolomite aggregate up to 1 inch contrasts nicely with cement naturally colored tan by the fine, sandy coarse aggregate common to Texas. The black aggregate came from Lattimore Materials Co.’s quarry about 130 miles northeast in Stringtown, Okla. Texas Bomanite polished almost 17,000 square feet of floor made with this mix.

When leaders of a non-denominational church in Dallas-Fort Worth went looking for a place to build their fourth campus, they chose a site along Sloan Creek in the small but growing Town of Fairview. Large windows overlook the water and a wildlife sanctuary beyond. The décor is warm and inviting, accented by natural elements such as wood, steel, stone, and concrete.

A mix of tan concrete with large black aggregate, the building’s floor complements the theme by literally bringing nature inside. Tan is the cement’s natural color, influenced by the color of the fine aggregate native to Texas. Chunks of black dolomite, a sedimentary rock similar to but a little harder than limestone, came from a quarry in Oklahoma.

Achieving a consistent deep, even grind over 17,000 square feet is extremely difficult. We asked Chief Estimator and Project Manager Tyler Balch how Texas Bomanite pulled off the job, which earned a 2016 Concrete Surfaces Polished Concrete Award in the Institutional Projects category.

Turns out relationships are just as important to success as technical competence.

Texas Bomanite used an HTC Superfloor 800 HD Classic grinder with Sase Co. Inc. Gold Series metal bond diamonds (for hard to very hard concrete). The company began polishing three to five days after the slab was poured with 40 grit pads, switched to 80 grit to remove scratches and continue cutting the floor, and removed the last traces of scratches with 150 grit pads. After densifying with Bomanite Stabilizer Pro, crews left the jobsite so the general contractor could continue construction. When Texas Bomanite remobilized, crews used Sase Quick Cut – Yellow Series diamond pads to clean up the floor. Next, they honed/polished using Sase Triton resin bond diamonds with a 100 grit followed by 200, 400, 800, and 1500 grit. Bomanite VitraFinish was applied as stain guard and burnished with a 1500 grit HTC Cleaning Technology Twister pad VIDEO / product info on a high-speed propane burnisher.
Sarah Copp, Texas Bomanite Texas Bomanite used an HTC Superfloor 800 HD Classic grinder with Sase Co. Inc. Gold Series metal bond diamonds (for hard to very hard concrete). The company began polishing three to five days after the slab was poured with 40 grit pads, switched to 80 grit to remove scratches and continue cutting the floor, and removed the last traces of scratches with 150 grit pads. After densifying with Bomanite Stabilizer Pro, crews left the jobsite so the general contractor could continue construction. When Texas Bomanite remobilized, crews used Sase Quick Cut – Yellow Series diamond pads to clean up the floor. Next, they honed/polished using Sase Triton resin bond diamonds with a 100 grit followed by 200, 400, 800, and 1500 grit. Bomanite VitraFinish was applied as stain guard and burnished with a 1500 grit HTC Cleaning Technology Twister pad VIDEO / product info on a high-speed propane burnisher.

Question: This was new construction, so your crews didn’t have to remove and replace existing concrete. There were probably other challenges, though. What was most difficult and how did you tackle it?

A big challenge is scheduling the initial grind. Grinding to expose the large aggregate while the concrete is still green decreases labor and materials tremendously.

Getting on the slab early also allows us to get consistent aggregate exposure over the entire slab. If there’s an area that wasn’t flat due to finishing, we can go back and work on that area to make sure we get down to the large aggregate to make it consistent with the other areas.

Another benefit is that honing goes much more quickly, which helps the general contractor complete the project on time. We demobilized after grinding down and exposing the coarse aggregate and applying densifier so the GC could continue construction. When we came back for final polishing, the only thing left was to hone and polish; the messy, time-consuming part of the job had already been completed. We get in and out to keep the GC on track to finish the job.

Question: So you have a two-phase polishing process. When do you like to do the initial grind?

Three to five days after the slab is poured.

Question: How do you introduce the general contractor to the two-phase concept?

It generally starts when we send our proposals to the GCs bidding a particular job. We like to give them as much heads up as possible so they can fit us into their schedule.

Once we’re awarded a project, we ask the GC for a pre-pour meeting with them and the concrete [place-and-finish] subcontractor to let them know our expectations regarding finishing as well as scheduling.

We’ve worked with Medco Construction, the GC for the Chase Oaks Church project, on other jobs, so they’re used to it.

The client opted not to fill joints with polyurea before grinding to create a smooth transition between cuts and keep dust and dirt out. Texas Bomanite’s maintenance manual suggests cleaning polished concrete floors with Prosoco’s Consolideck LSKlean Ultra or similar product.
Sarah Copp, Texas Bomanite The client opted not to fill joints with polyurea before grinding to create a smooth transition between cuts and keep dust and dirt out. Texas Bomanite’s maintenance manual suggests cleaning polished concrete floors with Prosoco’s Consolideck LSKlean Ultra or similar product.

Texas Bomanite President Scott Balch likes to make sure we have a pre-pour meeting before starting any new builds. He’s being doing them for 12 or 13 years. They’re very important for the polishing industry.

Key Takeaway

Work with the general contractor and concrete placement subcontractor to schedule the initial grind within three to five days of slab placement.