Polished to Perfection
CSDA Polishing Contractor Helps to Make Luxury Auto Facility Shine.
Luxury and classic car enthusiasts have a passion for quality automobiles, spending millions of dollars on a brand new Ferrari or a restored 1982 Porsche 911SC. But you don’t park your $2 million Bugatti in your driveway and probably not in your garage either, unless your home includes an armed security service. Owners and collectors of exotic vehicles keep them in an auto storage facility like Black Mountain Motorworks in Denver, CO.
As Black Mountain’s construction was being planned, the owner knew he wanted a polished concrete floor for durability and minimal maintenance. Plus, the high sheen of the polish would deliver a certain look and quality his customers expected. Its high reflectivity would complement the luxury and exotic cars parked on top of it.
The general contractor (GC), Waner Construction, called on CSDA member All West Surface Prep during the design stage of the project. Anthony Brown of All West said, “It was nice to be part of the planning process from the get-go. It’s rare that you get to speak directly with the owner of the building to understand what he wants and for him to understand what you need to deliver a high quality floor.”
To achieve the target PSI, FF rating, DOI and promised gloss level, it’s always best to plan a polished concrete floor before the pour. When the concrete mix is specifically designed for the purpose, the end result is far superior to a floor where polishing was an afterthought.
All West submitted their mix design for the slab to the GC and waited 28 days after the pour for it to cure. This gave the other tradesmen on the job the opportunity to work on the building while the slab was curing. But when the slab was ready, there were still too many contractors working on the main floor, so All West began their polishing work in the upper mezzanine and the back of the building. When the other contractors were finished a few weeks later, they returned to complete the main area.
The slab was ground to salt and pepper exposure with a ride-on power trowel that All West customized for troweling and polishing, as a power trowel is much faster than a traditional grinder. Where the trowel couldn’t reach, an Aztec Edger was used.
The floor was dyed with 45 gallons of Ameripolish black dye at a 50% dilution, applied with a clouding technique. To densify and seal the floor and pigment, All West used the Retroplate System. After roughly 45 minutes, a ride-on scrubber was used to pick up the densifier. The floor was then honed with the ride-on power trowel again, followed by another sealer and then the final burnish. All West also cleaned and filled 5,400 linear feet of control joints in the floor.
Black Mountain Motorworks’ 36,000 square foot polished concrete floor was completed on time and on budget and it turned out perfectly – the owner and the GC were thrilled with the results.
The secret to All West’s success? “Planning.” says Brown. “You don’t always get to dictate measures to ensure a quality floor. Proper planning and expectation management is what made this job run smoothly.”
As CSDA continues to expand into the concrete polishing industry, our members showcase why polished concrete floors are a beautiful, durable, customizable and low-maintenance solution for warehouses, showrooms, retail stores and more. Floors can be refinished or built brand new with concrete polishing, just like this CSDA member proved.
COMPANY PROFILE
All West Surface Prep is based in Denver, Colorado and has been in business for over 20 years. They have over 20 employees and offer the services of surface prep via shot blasting, epoxy and moisture mitigation, as well as grinding and concrete polishing.
RESOURCES
General Contractor
Waner Construction
CSDA Polishing Contractor
All West Surface Prep
Anthony Brown
Phone: 303-573-7737
Email: anthony@allwestsurfaceprep.com
Methods Used
Concrete Polishing
