Process
How a floor is made
Polishing commences at a minimum concrete age of 28 days from the date of pour, or any time on an existing slab.
Approved PeterFell C2 Applicator
Approved TextureSafe Applicator
Twenty-Five Years Combined Experience
Residential, Commercial and Civic
Site Assessment and Slab Inspection
We read the slab before we quote. Flatness, hardness, aggregate type, saw cuts, penetrations and moisture all decide what the floor can become. On existing slabs we test a small area to confirm what sits under the surface.
Flatness sets what is possible, because a machine follows the high points first and an uneven slab needs a deeper cut to reach a consistent face. Hardness decides the diamond selection and the number of passes. Saw cuts, joints, penetrations and thresholds are recorded, since each one is an edge worked by hand. What you get back is a written scope naming depth, polish level, sealer and areas.
Finish Selection and Sample
You choose a depth from the ladder and we post a physical sample tile. Where the slab is already poured we grind a sample patch on site so the decision is made on your own concrete rather than a photograph.
Four things are decided here, not one: colour, aggregate, depth of cut and polish level. Colour and aggregate are fixed at the pour, depth and polish at the grind, which is why an existing slab still has real choices open. The tile is posted free anywhere in the Bay of Plenty, usually within a few days. Sign off on the sample releases the job to programme.
Grinding
Diamond grinding in progressive steps to the agreed depth. On new pours the slab must reach a minimum concrete age of 28 days from the date of pour before polishing commences, and existing slabs can be ground at any time. Dust is extracted at the head throughout.
Timing is what people most often plan wrong. Grinding earlier than 28 days pulls aggregate from a slab that has not reached strength and the face never closes up. The cut runs from coarse metal bond diamonds through finer tooling, with edges and thresholds hand cut to match. The area needs to be empty and clear of other trades, with power available, and there is real noise and vibration while machines run.
On a new pour, polishing commences at a minimum of 28 days from the date of pour.
Polishing or Texturing
Polished floors are densified and refined through the grit sequence to the selected sheen under the PeterFell C2 Polished Concrete System. Textured floors are bush hammered to an even face and finished with the PeterFell TextureSafe System.
A densifier hardens the surface from within before the refining passes begin. Where the floor is stopped in the grit sequence decides the sheen: matte holds almost no reflection, satin returns a soft even light, gloss reads clearly, and a high polish carries a mirror return. Textured floors take the opposite route, struck rather than cut, so grip sits in the material instead of a coating. Colour looks lighter at this point because the sealer is not yet on.
Sealing
Eco based or solvent based sealer, selected for the environment the floor sits in. Interior floors are sealed for stain resistance, exterior surfaces for weather and slip performance.
Eco based sealers are water carried and low odour, which suits an occupied home or a fitted out interior. Solvent based sealers carry deeper and hold colour longer under ultraviolet, which is why they go on driveways, exterior paving and commercial floors. The sealer is applied in coats to a clean dry floor and the tone lifts as it goes on. Cure times are given in writing on the day, as they depend on product, temperature and humidity.
Handover and Maintenance
The floor is handed over clean, with a written maintenance schedule. Neutral pH washing and no aggressive chemicals is the whole regime for most floors.
We walk the floor with you in daylight so anything is raised while we are still on site. The schedule is short by design: neutral pH cleaner, no acids, bleach or aggressive degreasers, and felt pads under anything dragged. Grit walked in from outside is what actually wears a polished floor, so an entry mat does more than anything else on the list. Sealed floors are re coated periodically rather than reground.
Every floor starts with a slab inspection and a sample.
A physical tile, posted free, anywhere in the Bay of Plenty.
A sample tile tells you more than any photograph.
A physical tile, posted free, anywhere in the Bay of Plenty.