Shine On

CSDA Member Gives Concrete Floor New Lease of Life

Indiana Flooring Carpet One is a CSDA member and part of the association’s Polishing Committee. Mike and Tony Jackson are the co-owners and the company services residential and business properties in central Indiana. In addition, the company has commercial and national accounts that cover the entire Midwest.

The 1,000 square foot floor area had all blemishes and adhesives removed ready for polishing.

Recently, the company was contacted by a couple that had just bought a home in Madison, Indiana, and wanted to discuss flooring solutions. The couple had a growing family and had been searching for a larger property in the country. They had found their dream home, but it was in need of some major remodeling work. The couple contacted Indiana Flooring Carpet One and worked with the company to find the right type of flooring to meet their needs. While the upstairs floor of the house was to have natural hardwood floors, a more hard-wearing material was desirable for the 1,000-square-foot ground floor. This part of the house was earmarked as a recreational room and hang out area for the couple’s four growing boys. The family loved the outdoors and regularly went hunting and fishing, plus the four sons were tough on just about everything, so the couple were looking for recommendations of a surface that could stand up to some harsh treatment while being easy to maintain.

There were many options available, but Indiana Flooring Carpet One suggested that a dyed polished concrete floor would be the most suitable surface and recommended the CRMX polishing system from CSDA member GMI Engineered Products. This was the company’s go-to system and had been used several times before to successfully create high-quality polished floors.

“We are certified applicators of this system and have found it to be the best one for polished concrete floors. We worked with the customer to decide which color dyes to use. In the end, we settled on two shades of black that gave the floor a variegated look,” said Tony.

Acetone dyes and resin were applied to create a distinct color for the floor surface.

The 1,000-square-foot work area was approximately 39 feet by 28 feet, so the floor was rectangular in shape except where a stone fireplace protruded from the middle of one wall. Fortunately, Indiana Flooring Carpet One was the first contractor to do work in the room, so the polishing process could be completed without the concern of impacting other work—particularly wall finishes. First, a black rubber-back carpet was removed before a 19-inch concrete grinding machine with carbide scraper blades was used to remove an alcohol-based adhesive. The operator then used an HTC 800 to cut the adhesive residue with 40 grit metal bond diamonds, taking two passes to get below the residue and leave a clean slab surface. This left the surface with what is known in the industry as a ‘salt and pepper look,’ meaning the equipment had reached a layer of course sand and cement where flecks of sand become visible in the polished surface.

The contractor used two models of burnishers to finish the entire area. CLICK TO ENLARGE

The application of a surface refining agent was the first step in the CRMX process, which removed all scratches and produced a high level of clarity in the floor. This is followed by the use of a segment canvas setting tool that, when used in conjunction with a refining agent, further refines the surface. Then the operator applied the two acetone dyes with a pass of resin over each. After all residue from the dye was cleaned off, a densifier was put down to harden the concrete and create a dust-proof surface. The final step was to polish and burnish the floor using a 27-inch propane burnisher and a 17-inch electric burnisher for areas that were harder to navigate. The result was a highly-reflective, even-finished floor.

“The customer had looked at some of our projects around town but could only imagine how the floor would turn out after polishing. When it was completed, the couple told us they had no idea it would turn out so well and were 100% satisfied with our work. It was very pleasing to hear that we had exceeded their expectations,” concluded Tony.

Company Profile
Indiana Flooring Carpet One is a family-owned business that was established in 1961. The company has been a CSDA member since 2013 and services the Midwest. Indiana Flooring Carpet One employs five operators, four trucks and offers the services of surface preparation and concrete polishing.

Resources
Polishing Contractor:
Indiana Flooring Carpet One
Anderson, Indiana
Phone: 765-643-6635
Email: mjackson@indc1.com
Website: www.indianacarpetone.com
Methods Used: Concrete Polishing