Anyone have polished concrete floors in their house/flat here?
Now the important question. Do you know a company here in Swiss which does polished concrete floors for homes? Normally when they lay down screed (estrich in german) its crap quality and not suitable for polishing. That's fine for tile and wood flooring of course. I'm looking for a company which would lay down higher quality concrete which can be polished above a floor heating system.
Googling did sort of reveal some dealers/solutions. However, perhaps some first-hand experience would be welcome.
The Estrich you are talking about is not bad quality - it's perfect for what it is meant to do - level up the floor so you can apply ceramics/stone/wood, while working great with the floor heating.
Estrich is a general word that includes, among others, Anhydritestrich or Zementestrich (which have very different qualities), It's a family name to many options and you can't just generalize that it's "crap".
If you, on the other hand, want a large surface area concrete floor, you can take a look at this company:
Rather than argue over the Estrich, I'll just agree with you. The purpose it serves over floor heating is perfect. It's a bit annoying that right under the floor heating *is* concrete I could polish.
So I might consider this floor overlay rather than trying to get a real polished concrete floor. Thanks for the advice!
I was surprised to read that Bodarto's floors are made of concrete, ground stone, pigment and... fiberglass. Fiberglass?
The floors I'd think of (seen outside of Switzerland) seemed to me to be a fine-grade concrete, with the surface ground down, then "sanded" flatter than flat and polished (perhaps with a very fine abrasive paste/machine). Are they then somehow sealed? Is that what the fiberglass does, in a coating layer on top of the concrete? Or is it mixed into the mass before pouring?
Helm is right, for different reasons, brushed concrete floor is separate layer on the top of slab / underlying construction concrete. Be prepared, it's one the most expensive flooring and least for me, one of the most beautiful.
Just google "terazzo site:ch"
I am not giving you links, there are morons on this forum, who will come yelling "blatently advertising" and distributing their beloved red blobs.
There are different types of products for concrete flooring, with different recipes. The one for bodarto is water proof, which means you can use it in the bathroom and kitchen floors/walls. Sometimes the difference in ingredients is to control the shininess (seen often in shopping mall garages). I had a project where the flooring just went all over the place, including the walls of the bathroom. It gives a wonderful industrial look (though, granted, it's not for everyone).
Concrete - the stuff you pour to build the slabs, is only categorised as water proof when it's at least 25cm thick, but that means water coming from one side won't manage to sip to the other side. Concrete will still absorb moist and create a whole battery of living creatures on the surface if not treated. It also tends to micro-crack (temperature fluctuations, vibrations, etc). If you just want the look of a concrete floor, then a more "elastic" material, with the proper properties to better deal with the human use of a home, is a better option, also because you can avoid seams (you will still have some, but you can avoid having it for every 8m2). And you can keep the wonderful floor heating.
Due to the capacity of covering an extremely large area without seams, and due to the work involved doing this kind of floor (you can't just lift a board and do it again, if you get my grift) it's one of the most expensive to apply. It's, on the other hand, extremely durable, so it pays out in the long run.
plm987sdf, there are other companies out there, with different price ranges. You can look for "FUGENLOSE BODENBELÄGE" (this does include other types of flooring, but should give you enough companies dealing with this type) in google and check on the map companies close to you. Go to their show rooms to check the product for inspiration
I am not privy to the intent of their ingredient choices. However, they probably mean loose glass fibers, not a plastic laminate built around said fibers. Such fibers are commonly used to reinforce concrete and I wouldn't expect them to to have much effect on appearance, etc.
We had polished concrete floors in our kitchen and bathrooms - we used a small local company in Geneva. With regards pricing, it was significantly cheaper than a tiled floor. The concrete was poured, polished and then treated with some sort of sealant.
Yeah, that sounds about right... Once polished, the concrete needs to be sealed.. You had underfloor heating also? I basically need to find a company which will pour better quality screed which can be polished. Of course, that's more money than normal over floor heating screed. Somewhere I read, that the cost of the better screed + polishing is about the same price as a wood floor. So your not really saving money if your looking for the cheapest solution. But that could very well be less than tile for sure..
Reading via chrome translate it seems I should be asking for #3 type of screed. They call this "Kunstharzestrich" on this website. This seems like what I would need to pour on top of the floor heating and then polish it. I have more options during a new build for sure. I'll need to price out the bodarto vs this Kunstharzestrich solution.
It is called Terrazzo, you can still have it. I love it because it is so easy to clean and lost breadcrumbs melt into the pattern easily. It is very sturdy, too. I had it in one of my appts and still miss it!
I involved with a renovation of an 80s era house. Heating is in-floor copper pipe. Id like to know what the chances are that the screed/estrich can be polished as is? Is that something someone would have to specify at time of construction?
I had a couple floor contractors look at it but there seemed to be uncertainty so Id like to find a concrete specialist that works with existing residential floors to take a look.
If you are talking about "terrazzo", it is not polished existing screed/estrich, but it is a another layer on the top of existing one. There are many technics according to what you have / what you want / how much you are willing to pay: brushing, painting, terrazzo, hammering, billions of things you can spill over. Be more specific.
Thanks for the reply. There is a hard material, which seems like some type of concrete, as the primary floor material. Currently this material t is covered with an adhesive and carpet.
If I remove the carpet and adhesive, can the concrete like material be polished? My understanding is that this material, which surrounds the heating pipes and provides a hard surface, is commonly called screed or estrich. There are different types and grades. My understanding is that the composition in most cases is not suitable for polishing. It's not hard enough. (I don't know if this is true or not.)
I don't want to pour or add a thick layer of something overtop just to be polished. If there are hardeners and sealant that can be used on the screed/estrich that would allow it a usable degree of polishing with reasonable appearance, that would be what I`m looking for. I may be open to staining or painting as well.
I don't know how to determine the suitability and compatibility of the existing material.