Turning a tired old concrete floor into a thing of beauty is not always easy, but it’s where a skilled concrete polisher can make a big impression. This retail floor in a shopping mall had multiple tenants over the years; walls and partitions had been moved and nailed to the floor leaving a variety of damage.
“The floor needed many more repairs than we expected,” Dancer Concrete Design’s project manager Jacob Janssens told the owner, setting the expectations. “Once we completed our first grinding pass we were able to see the extent of repairs that were needed.” And there were a lot. But from nail holes to the rough top of a concrete wall, Dancer was up to the job.
“Good communication with the customer is key,” says Dancer Concrete Design owner Nick Dancer. “The contractor on this job was a national contractor that does all of the Red Wing stores. You don’t really get as much feedback on this type of project as when working directly for the owner, so you’re kind of on your own to do the best job you can.”
Dancer used TRU PC from CTS Cement to repair the damage. This material is a high-flow topping that simulates polished concrete after grinding and polishing to expose the aggregate. The contractor was able to blend the patches and match the natural look of the concrete.
“We patched this floor with TRU PC because you can get it to match,” Dancer says. “We start by wire brushing the area to be repaired, clean it well, then prime and place the patch. Then we grind it flush and it polishes really well. The color never really matches, but it will take dye. On this floor, we left it natural.”
Dancer exposed the brown aggregate in the floor, “generally to a salt-and-pepper finish but sometimes deeper, more of a random aggregate exposure. We went to an 800-grit finish, starting with 30-grit metals wet and switching to dry between the 100-grit and the 200-grit. For the top of the footer we just ground it the same as the floor.”
“Red Wing wanted a cost-efficient floor with some natural character to it,” Dancer says. “We were able to do both.”
Dancer started polishing concrete in 2011. “We do both epoxy floors and polished concrete,” he says. “Our average project size is 3,000 to 5,000 square feet; mostly commercial, but we’ll do residential work for a private client.” He notes that polishing seems to be getting more popular. “At first it was big box and grocery stores, but now we are seeing it in churches and YMCAs, which is promising.”
