Should You Hire a Pro to Do Your Concrete Flooring Finish?
Regardless of how well they are maintained, concrete floors will eventually show signs of wear. One way to extend the life of your concrete floor is to finish or refinish it with a protective coating. There are two main options: doing it yourself or hiring a professional.
Both options are valid. However, it’s important to note:
Concrete Protective Solutions does not recommend DIY concrete floor finishes… especially if you want the highest-quality outcome. But, we also want to inform the public of their options fairly, accurately, and unbiasedly. The following information is designed to do just that.
Why Finish Concrete Floors?
Concrete floors have grown increasingly popular over the last few years in personal and professional settings. Your flooring choice is typically dictated by several factors, such as cost per square foot, unique performance needs, and space size. We often recommend polished concrete floors, thanks to their many benefits.
The Benefits of Refinishing Your Concrete Flooring
In addition to its esthetic value, polished or refinished concrete has several benefits that make it an excellent choice for flooring. Some of these benefits include:
Low Maintenance—When you seal or refinish concrete, it becomes highly resistant to stains and spills. Day-to-day cleaning can be as simple as sweeping dirt and mopping when needed.
Durability—Refinishing concrete can keep your floors from getting scuffed, scratched, and faded. Concrete is known for being durable. Add polish to it, and it becomes virtually indestructible.
Dust Resistant—Polished concrete floors are hypoallergenic and don’t collect dust, thanks to their smooth coating. The polish also prevents a process known as “efflorescence,” which causes unsightly salt deposits on the surface as the liquid evaporates from the concrete.
Eco-Friendly—Refinishing concrete does not require harsh chemicals or produce dangerous waste products. It’s a sustainable, green option with no volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
Cost-Effective—Polishing your concrete floor reduces maintenance costs and extends its lifespan, saving you significant money in the long term.
Safe—Polished concrete may seem slippery, but it has a higher level of slip resistance. Greater reflectivity also makes any safety markers easier to see.
DIY Concrete Flooring Refinishing
If you are a fearless homeowner that enjoys projects around the house, you are probably leaning towards the DIY route. Before you do, there are a few things you should know.
While the pros of DIY concrete refinishing include lower costs, self-made timelines, and eliminating the stress of finding the right contractor, it’s also important to be aware of the risks. The four major risks include:
Lower Quality Coating—Flooring professionals like us can access high-quality polishes and coatings not available to the general public. This means the quality of your DIY finishing will never be as high as a professional one.
Shorter Lifespan—A lower-quality coating results in a shorter lifespan for your finish, especially if the product is not installed correctly.
No Warranty—Hiring a professional also presents the opportunity to have your floor backed by a warranty. If something goes wrong during or after your DIY job, you are going to have to pay to fix it out of pocket.
Larger Margin for Error—Even the handiest among us make mistakes. When it comes to DIY projects, what often seems requires a high level of skill.
General Overview: How to Refinish Your Concrete Flooring
Step 1: Clean and Resurface the Floor
When beginning with raw concrete, you generally have to grind it down to a smooth, level surface. This may include adding additional concrete or epoxy to fill any holes or cracks before leveling.
Step 2: Clean the Floor Thoroughly
Make sure there’s no dust or dirt to accidentally seal to the floor.
Step 3: Polish the Concrete
Once the floor is even, use a concrete polisher to polish it until you achieve the desired sheen. Once complete, rewash the floor.
Step 4: Stain the Floor (If Applicable)
Once the floor is dry, you can use an acid stain or paint to change the color of the concrete and boost esthetics. To accomplish this, you can mix the stain with water (1:1 ratio) and use a plastic sprayer, applying the stain or painting one small section at a time.
Step 5: Seal the Concrete
Once the stain or paint has dried, it’s finally time to apply the polish and seal the concrete. Be sure to use a water-resistant, stain-resistant polish.
Questions to Ask Yourself Before Committing to DIY Flooring
The step-by-step listed above is highly simplified—a general overview to give you a sense of what needs to be done. The job itself may be a lot harder. Before embarking on the DIY journey, it’s important to do an honest self-assessment.
Ask yourself -
Do you have time to complete the project?
Can you handle the physical requirements of the job?
Do you have (or need to buy) the tools for the job?
Do you have (or want to learn) the skills required for the job?
Think carefully about your responses. If you answered no or maybe to any of these questions, you might want to hire a professional to refinish your concrete Floors.
Hiring a Professional to Refinish Your Concrete Floors
Whether or not hiring a professional is the right option for you depends on your goals and priorities. However, hiring a professional team, like Protective Concrete Solutions, to refinish your floors is the ideal choice if you want the highest-quality coating.
As achievable as refinishing may sound, actual installation usually requires a professional level of precision. DIY floor finishing can easily go awry if the concrete isn’t prepared correctly, the coating is not mixed correctly, or the coating is not applied correctly. For these reasons and more, hiring a professional flooring company is well worth the money.
The Cost of Hiring a Professional to Refinish Your Concrete Floors
The cost of having your concrete polished or refinished will vary based on a few factors. The most common factors include:
The square footage of the floor
The complexity of the job
Custom design preferences
Travel and other expenses
Due to setup times and special requests, residential jobs tend to be a little more involved (and costly) than commercial jobs—an industry standard.
The Benefits of Hiring a Professional to Refinish Your Concrete Floors
It’s almost always more advantageous to hire a professional for your floors rather than do it yourself. The benefits of hiring a professional to finish your concrete floors include:
Higher Quality Coatings—As we previously mentioned, industrial coating products used by professionals like us are much higher quality than commercially available polishes.
Professional Installation—Since we specialize in concrete, we can guarantee that your finish is done safely, accurately, and quickly.
Save Money on Equipment—Unless you work in construction, you may not have the machinery and equipment necessary to complete the job. Hiring a professional can save you money on rentals and other materials.
Avoid Costly Mistakes—If your DIY job goes awry, you will likely have to pay to fix your mistakes. Hiring a professional can help get the job done right the first time around.
Improved Longevity—The higher-quality coating will also save you money in the long run, thanks to improved durability and longevity.
Minimal or No Disruption—No one can get the job done faster than a team of professionals. Hiring a professional flooring company will minimize or prevent disruption to your personal life or business operations.
Custom Designs—If you’d like a sleek or more esthetically-pleasing floor, hiring a professional is your best bet. We offer a variety of finishes, color flakes, patterns, and designs that are typically too intricate to do by yourself.
Contact Concrete Protective Solutions for Your Flooring Needs
Are you ready to finish or refinish your concrete floor? It’s time to talk to a professional. Call (503) 744-0290 or email us at info@nightowlfloorservices.com to learn more about our services!
