Concrete floors refer to those floors which are made by mixing cement & water. However, when we say ingredients, it also includes other materials like sand, slag, fly ash, gravel and limestone. These materials are mixed in different proportions and a paste is created which is further used for making concrete floors.
Places where Concrete Floors are usually made owing to its hardness and strength are-
- Private & Public places where footfalls are extremely high
- Garages and storehouse where heavy vehicles are parked
- Commercial places like markets
- Hotels & Inns
- Retail shops
- Warehouses and many other places
There are many types of Concrete floors. Few of the popular concrete floors are-
- External Stained Concrete floors: Concrete floors are stained with sealers which are non-yellowing and will make the floor durable and long lasting. It can be customized as per the taste and preference of the owner. It covers area such as courtyards, driveways, walkways etc.
- Internal Stained Concrete Floors: Concrete floors which are made inside the boundary of our residential complex-, to give it the effect of marble finishing, use satin or glossy material. These are too smooth and created homogeneously.
- Overlays Concrete floors: These types of Concrete floors are created in either in basement or in the balconies to give a classy look to the place. Different types of materials like Pebbles, chips, flagstones etc. are used to lay down this kind of flooring.
- Metallic Epoxy Concrete floors: The name itself suggests that it is metallic theme based flooring and different types of contemporary floors are made using this.. Material used for this flooring are fine concrete with pearl based pigments.
- Quarts concrete floors: Quarts floors are preferred in the places where heavy machinery are used and abrasion resistant flooring is required. These are good anti- microbial surfaces and require minimum upkeep as compared to others.
- Garage Floors: Garage requires the floor to be dust free and water proof. It also required the place to be easily maintainable and cost effective and thus concrete floors of garages are made in such a way that all the above requirements can be fulfilled. Chips based material of various colors are used to make such floors
- Polished Concrete floors: Slabs are polished to create this type of concrete floors. Steps like grinding of chips, polishing with different pigment colors and chemical treatment is carried out to create this kind of floor.
Advantages and disadvantages of Concrete floors:
Concrete floors have different types of advantages. Those are as below:
- These are durable and long lasting and as such they are not damaged. It is safe from damages due to scratches by claws of pets, legs of furniture etc.
- Cost of maintaining these kinds of floors are quite reasonable. Cleaning agents like powder can be used to clean the same
- These floors are usually eco-friendly as these are super laid over basic floors.
- Different types of designs, materials & colour can be chosen as per the interior of the house and thus makes it best for your home.
Concrete floors also have few issues and same cannot be ignored. They are:
- Floors are quite hard and as such if someone slips then there is all probability of getting hurt.
- Things fallen on the floor are likely to be broken or damaged as surface tension is high.
- Standing on hard surface for too long is bit tiring and not comfortable.
- During winter the floors are very cold so extra cost like carpets had to be incurred sometimes
- In case concrete floors are not sealed properly then it may get damaged due to moisture.
In a nutshell, concrete floors have more advantages and very little disadvantages which can be taken care of easily by being a bit careful.
