When it comes to floor longevity, even the toughest surfaces require maintenance, and everything has a lifespan. For concrete, this can be up to 100 years. As such, concrete far outlasts wood, metal, and other construction materials. Sometimes, however, concrete can become chipped due to accidents with heavy equipment, chemicals, or some other incident. This is where SWEF’s grind and seal concrete solutions come into play.

If you’re experiencing issues like upheaval with your sealed concrete floor, you may have an undetected crack allowing moisture to get in and decay the soil or underlay beneath the concrete. These are most common in workshop or garage floors, which can cause damage to any existing epoxy surfacing. This will require a grind and seal treatment on your concrete floor to fix the problem and give your concrete new life. 

What is Concrete Grind and Seal?

Grind and seal concrete is the process of repairing and refinishing concrete flooring to restore its original pristine condition. Due to age, significant wear and tear or workplace accidents, concrete can experience cracking or chipping, compromising its structural integrity and creating tripping hazards.

Concrete grinding and sealing is the latest offering from SWEF’s services to ensure a safer, cleaner and more productive workspace. This process begins with grinding away uneven concrete surfaces to create a level platform to re-seal, filling cracks and holes with concrete sealant or epoxy resin. Grind and seal concrete floors provide a more cost-effective method of repairing broken concrete flooring without replacing the entire slab.

What is the Difference Between Polished Concrete & Grind and Seal?

You could be forgiven for mixing up concrete grinding and sealing and grinding and polished concrete. They look very similar, but the processes for achieving the finishes are completely different.

What is Polished Concrete?

Polished concrete is the process of finely grinding concrete down to remove minor blemishes and other abrasions, usually using 1500 grit or finer sandpaper as part of a three or four-step sanding process. This polishing process also coats the concrete with an internal sealant, invisible to the naked eye that helps seal and densify the concrete from the inside out. 

Properly polished concrete achieves a pristine, glass-like look. Despite the pristine look of a properly sealed concrete floor, polished concrete has several drawbacks.

• Mould or mildew growth – if your floor has not been sealed properly, you may experience some mould or mildew growth from water retention in a crack in the sealant.
• Difficult to stand on for long periods – There isn’t much give in polished concrete! After all, it’s a very thin veneer on top of a concrete slab, making it difficult to stand on for long periods, and not easy on your feet or back.
• Heat Retention – Polished concrete does not retain heat particularly well. This can lead to higher heating bills than you may expect.

What is Concrete Grinding and Sealing?

Unlike polishing concrete, concrete grinding and sealing is a technique that is used to repair damaged concrete by grinding the slab back to 200 or 400 grit, filling in any holes and then finishing the top of the slab with an epoxy resin finish. This epoxy acts as a barrier to bacteria and moisture, making it an ideal option for heavy-duty workplaces like garages, workshops or kitchens.

Sometimes known as grind and shine concrete sealing, this method is preferred with those who need repairs on their concrete as it is low-maintenance, takes less time, is generally cheaper, offers higher abrasion resistance and is sealed against water and bacteria.  

How Much Does it Cost?

The average price of a concrete grind and seal is typically between $50 and $80 per square metre. This price varies based on your project size and specifications. SWEF can accommodate almost any type of grinded concrete floor project, making us the perfect option for any heavy-traffic concrete flooring that needs repair and refinishing. 

Why You Should Hire SWEF For Your Grind and Seal Flooring Project

If you don’t need to replace your existing concrete floor, then concrete grind and seal is the perfect option to repair and refinish. SWEF have been sealing concrete floors with epoxy for many years and has recently begun offering concrete grinding and sealing for our customers.

SWEF’s experience in working with sealants like epoxy resin over the last several years makes us the prime candidate for your grind and seal concrete floor project. We understand the precision involved in achieving a smooth finish before applying an epoxy resin to seal the concrete.

By sealing your concrete floor with epoxy, you create an anti-slip and anti-microbial surface perfect for hospitals, kitchens, workshops, garages and other industrial applications.

How Do We Do It?

We begin by using a floor grinder across the entire surface, grinding with a diamond disk, beginning at 30 or 40 grit, covering the entire surface area. We grind down in several passes to  200 grit. This leaves a fantastically smooth surface to work with before fixing any cracks. 

We then fill any cracks using concrete sealant and leave them to dry for 24 hours to 36 hours. After this, we’ll go over the surface with a first coat of epoxy resin and leave it to dry for 24 to 36 hours. Following this, you will have a smooth, usable concrete surface that’s sealed against water and bacteria. Any damage sustained by accidents will have been repaired and sealed.

Once sealed, your concrete could then be used as a surface for a decorative epoxy resin or an additional coat of epoxy resin could be used to add additional protection and increased longevity.   

Final Thoughts

If you’ve been searching for a way to repair your existing concrete floor without resorting to replacing an entire concrete slab, grinding and sealing concrete is your best option to get your floor looking whole again and ready for safe operation and a new lifespan of another 50 or 100 years!

Call SWEF today to receive a consultation on your concrete grinding and sealing project.