A beginner’s guide to polished concrete flooring

Whether you’re starting a self-build project or planning to renovate your home from the ground up, polished concrete flooring is the perfect way to give your space a cool, contemporary look that’s sleek, seamless and complements all styles of property and all interior décor designs.

It’s a material choice often seen in large-scale builds and commercial projects but it’s also a statement look that’s becoming more and more popular for residential homes and it’s easy to see the appeal.

Polished concrete flooring works beautifully in the kitchen, enhancing handleless cabinetry or adding a natural anchor to a modern Shaker design. It’s also great for unifying an open-plan scheme, creating a seamless flow throughout, and can blur the boundaries between inside and out, as this hardwearing, durable and easy to maintain solution can be used in both interior and exterior spaces. And there’s no need to be worried about it appearing too stark or industrial either, if that’s not your thing, as polished concrete comes in a wide choice of colours and can be used to add warmth within a space, especially when it’s teamed with underfloor heating.

Where do you start?

For best results, you need the experts and leading innovators Lazenby know everything there is to know about polished concrete to ensure you get the perfect finish. Each project they undertake is hand-laid and bespoke, tailored to your design and your aesthetic requirements with unique characteristics and variations.

When it comes to the installation, polished concrete has a thickness of 100mm and is ideal for new-builds, extensions and large-scale renovations. It’s usually installed at the beginning of a project, so may not be suitable for smaller refurbishments and in cases where your existing kitchen isn’t being removed.

Is it compatible with underfloor heating?

If you’re installing underfloor heating then polished concrete flooring is the perfect partner, as it can be laid directly over the pipes so there’s no need for a traditional screed. It’s a great conductor of heat too, so you’ll benefit from a cosy home with no cold spots and it’s efficient, so will help to keep the running costs of your underfloor heating down.

A concrete floor really needs to be installed before any stud walls go up and before wall build out and plastering to allow for the best possible finish around the edges.

What are the options for colours and finishes?

If you’re worried about concrete flooring being too grey then don’t be, as Lazenby polished concrete comes in a choice of 15 standard colours, from Off-White to Black, with everything from Pink to Walnut in between. There are also plenty of grey tones to pick from or you can have a bespoke colour made up if you want something truly unique.

The colour is applied to the surface of the concrete then power floated for a beautifully mottled, cloudy texture. You can also have it diamond polished for an exposed stone look. Lazenby places crack control joints every 5 metres to limit the risk of cracking and these are filled with a matching coloured mastic for a seamless finish.

How easy is it to maintain?

All Lazenby polished concrete floors are sealed in a matt, satin or gloss finish – the choice is yours – and while sealing doesn’t make the concrete stain-proof, it does give you ample time to clean up any spills and stains if they do occur. Just make sure you tackle them quickly wherever possible.

For regular cleaning, use a PH neutral product, as harsh chemicals such as bleach would strip the sealant, which would then lead to easier staining. Look after your concrete floor and it shouldn’t need re-sealing and will last a lifetime.

What are the other benefits of concrete flooring?

A Lazenby polished concrete floor is the perfect way to seamlessly join your inside and outside space with a continuous floor finish. In as little as three days, your new flooring will be ready and it can be protected so it’s not damaged during other building works. All it needs then is to be cleaned, polished and sealed.

 

Strong, durable, hardwearing, easy to maintain and in a choice of colours and finishes, concrete can also be used for furniture and fittings to complement your new flooring with worksurfaces, kitchen islands, staircases and bench seating to match. Plus, it’s a sustainable choice, as all the raw materials are locally sourced to help keep the carbon footprint to a minimum.

 

Ready to transform your space with stunning polished concrete floors and staircases? Contact us today at www.lazenby.co.uk or give us a call at 01935 700 306, and let’s discuss how we can bring elegance and durability to your interior design. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us at [email protected] for all your concrete flooring needs!