The cost for concrete sealing per square meter in Victoria
The biggest difference in per square meter costs of concrete sealing in Victoria are down to whether you are trying to do it yourself or are looking to get quotes to hire a concrete sealing contractor. You can save money by trying to seal your concrete yourself, but like any DIY project if you don’t really have the skills or buy the right materials you can end up with a pretty poorly sealed concrete flooring area. This is why so many people chose to get quotes from professional concrete sealing companies or hire a local contractor. You will normally find three main options get treat your concrete floors whether it is a brand new slab or an existing old floor that has had tiles or carpet already removed.
1. Concrete sealing costs between $50 and $75 inc gst per square metre in Victoria
2. Concrete grinding and sealing will cost between $80 and $110 inc gst per square metre
3. Mechanical concrete polishing will cost up to $110 inc gst per square metre
The choice of service you select will depend on the type of look or style you are trying to achieve & the budget you have available. The average living room size in Victoria is around 25 metres squared therefore, to grind and seal the concrete floor of this floor area size will cost around $2,250 inc gst.
In the majority of cases the service you have to pay for is a concrete grind and seal because most floors have to be prepared properly before they can be resurfaced. If you have just pulled up old carpet or removed floor tiling then the concrete surface under all of that has to be made smooth. A concrete grind and seal is a two step process where the first phase grinds a surface layer to remove glue, marks and other small imperfections so the floor is ready to be sealed. Even if you are wanting to re-seal an existing concrete floor it is advisable to get a grind first, it is all about surface preparation to ensure you get a high quality final finish.
The other aspects that will vary the price you get quoted for concrete sealing will be;
- The distance the contractor has to travel.
- What shape and size the floor area is. Some living areas are simple and square while others might have lots of doorways, edges or angular shapes that need to be worked on or around.
- How much grinding or repair work has to be done to the floor surface to deal with imperfections, cracks or remove adhesive.
The cost of sealing a concrete floor in Victoria
The cost of sealing a concrete floor will also be impacted by how you choose to seal it, below is a really simple cost comparison.
DIY costs of sealing a concrete floor
- You need to buy the equipment like rollers, applicators, squeegee, floor coater, masking tape, protective clothing etc and this could cost between $500 and $1,000 depending on the brand, quality and quantity of tools you buy.
- The other things you have to buy of course are the sealing chemicals with basic sealers costing around $50 up to about $250 for a 15L penetrating sealer. They will all have different coverage guides so it might cover between 4 – 6 metres square which means you need at least 4 or 5 x tins for a 25 metre are. It is also normally recommended to do two coast. Therefore your sealant cost might be around $400-$500.
- It might also be recommended to apply a top coat once the sealant has been put down, so this might be another $200-$300.
- Assuming you buy all the right equipment, have some knowledge and have the right mix of chemical sealers the DIY costs could be between $800 and $1200 inc gst.
Contractor cost of sealing a concrete floor
- Hiring a contractor for the same 25 meter square area will cost around $1,250 inc gst to just seal an existing floor (excluding any grinding)
So yes hiring a concrete sealing contractor is more expensive than doing it yourself, but consider the following aspects;
- Speed – a sealing contractor will get the job done faster as they have the experience working with the tools & chemicals required.
- Hassle – you don’t have to worry about all the time and hassle of selecting and buying all the equipment or materials.
- Waste – you won’t have to worry about left over equipment or materials.
- Quality – the job gets done properly with a concrete sealing contractor using their knowledge and experience to deal with the surface & appropriate chemicals without any second guessing.
- Expertise – using a professional will mean the right treatment process, application tools and chemicals are used to complete the job. Just something simple like whether you should use a topical or penetrating sealer will be dealt with. Topical sealers adhere to the surface of concrete to create a protective layer. In many cases, this is all you need for concrete that sees light to moderate traffic but is susceptible to wear and tear. A penetrating sealers, on the other hand, bond with the free lime in the top layer of concrete to form calcium silicate, which prevents liquid from passing through. This type of sealer protects the surface from water, oil, and petrol spills. This type is a better choice for outdoor areas like a driveway or a garage.
What does concrete sealing cost in Victoria if the floor has cracks in it?
The cost of sealing a concrete floor might be slightly more than average if time has to be allocated to patch or repair cracks in the slab. The labour cost will change depending on the estimated time needed to repair the surface. How much time is needed will be reliant on;
- How many cracks in the concrete slab have to be repaired.
- How large or long the crack runs are.
- How important it is to not see the cracks from an interior design perspective.
- The floor area.
Does it cost more to concrete seal a garage versus a living room in Victoria?
Generally speaking the cost to do concrete sealing indoors or outdoors will be fairly similar because the tools are almost the same & so depending on the choices made, so are the chemicals needed to prepare or seal the concrete. The largest difference might be the type of sealants used where a topical sealer might get used in a garage which costs a bit more then a penetrative sealer that is normally used indoors.
The other cost factor difference between concrete sealing living rooms vs garages might be the time needed. So even if the floor area is the same, it might take more labour time to do concrete sealing in a living area that has a strange shape, lots of doorways or other obstacles that have to be worked around like an island bench, nib wall etc. A car garage is typically easier to work with because it is normally square and open.
