How long to grind concrete floor depends on several factors, like the size of the floor, the condition of the concrete used and how smooth you want the concrete to look at the finish. But, there are some general guidelines as to the timescale of such a project if you’re concerned about finishing renovations or starting construction. Let us explain, here:
There are 3 categories of concrete grinding we perform.
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Preparation grinding
Preparation grinding is then defined in 2 objectives
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- Clean grind – this is where we grind of old floor coatings, glue, tile grout and flooring residue or product spills. Often done when a tenant leaves a commercial building.
- Prep grind – this is preparing a floor for new flooring or a coating system. This is typically diamond grinding off 1/2 to 1mm of the concrete surface to ensure the next product can bond. Other instances it can be used to smooth a rough floor or remove humps in a floor or grind down edges
The time to do these options can vary a lot depending on the thickness and type of products needing to be removed. Also the hardness of the concrete. Progress can be 30-300 Square Meters per day.
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Grind and Seal
Grind and seal can be a decorative floor or surface finish. There are many options with regards to the end appearance. Typically the deeper the grinding (more of the surface removed), the larger the aggregate that will be visible in the finished floor. We can go with a very light grind with about 0.5mm surface removal through to around 5mm surface removal. the light grind will hardly expose any aggregate, the deep grind will expose larger aggregate profiles.
We have a wide range of surface sealers to finish the floor and make it easier to clean. Each sealer has pros and cons.
The time taken to do a grind and seal does depend on the depth of grinding, the hardness of the floor and the recoat (dry) time of the coating. Typically 50=100 SqM can be completed in a day or a day and a half.
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Diamond Polished Concrete
Diamond polished concrete is the top of the line. The concrete is diamond ground, chemically treated to further harden and internally seal the concrete, then diamond polished with progressively finer grades of diamond tooling. At the top end – what we call 3000 grit finish, the floor can have up to 12 different grades of diamond run across the surface – this takes time, and cost $.
The advantage of Diamond polished concrete is that there is no comparitively soft surface sealer to scuff, scratch or wear off.
The downside of diamond polished concrete is there is no coating to greatly resist staining or contamination (sealers can provide both a seal and a sacrificial barrier).
SO – Diamond polished concrete is prefect for areas that have heavy use, but are not subjected to things that can stain (like food and oils etc)
The time taken to diamond polish a floor can vary a lot depending on aggregate exposure desired, hardeness of the concrete, the layout of the area and the final gloss level to be achieved. Typically about 100 SqM per 2 days.
The timeframes given above have a lot of variation and every site has it’s own characteristics. Timeframes are based of using one or our 3 phase concrete grinders, using small grinders can take a lot longer, using multiple concrete grinders can reduce the time.
For dependable concrete grinding delivered to a high quality and with the utmost care, contact Floor Masters LTD in New Zealand at your earliest convenience. We have completed hundreds of thousands of square metres of surface preparation grinding and sealing for concrete surfaces.
