The Rittenhouse Hotel's renovated staircase was part of a four year project that involved multiple custom components. Made out of Quickrete 4000, the initial state of the floor was an almost raw concrete finish. The architect was looking for gray modeled concrete steps and landings made of polished concrete with a low gloss sheen. The steps were chipped and grounded down to aggregate in various spots to create a uniform look. The polished finish was selected to accentuate the custom made glass cove basin lights on the edge of the steps.
Contractor Philadelphia Polished Concrete first applied Sika Level 125 using various techniques to create a shadowing effect. Multiple layers of the self-leveler were sponged on by hand to address the tight edges and corners; the concrete was also polished by hand using diamond culled triangle polishing pads. Scofield Revive was used to stain the polished floor and the concrete was sealed and hand burnished with an 800 grit pad.
The most challenging part of this project was the painstaking attention to detail that was necessary to achieve the desired look. The overall project took 30 days to complete. With the architect and owner as major collaborators during the project, the contractor needed to more than exceed expectations in the finished result. The contractor was able to succeed with the right tools, labor, and techniques.
