Lotus sports cars polished concrete showroom in Melbourne
Haynes Polished Concrete was engaged by Lotus Cars Australia to provide a quotation to convert a ground floor office area near the city of Melbourne to have polished concrete floors to display their range of vehicles. This car manufacturer has dealerships located around Australia and their Melbourne location is one of its newest. They had been enjoying great success and have new vehicles being launched in the coming months.
To cater for local customer demand and handle the end of their existing lease they had to find a new location to build a new showroom for their dealership. Fortunately they located a larger commercial site near the motorway in South Melbourne. The commercial building they leased was being used as an office space with a very typical multi floor construction with a concrete foundation, multiple storeys and large warehouse storage area. The ground floor had been covered with carpet floor tiles that were layed over the concrete although these were quite dated, worn out and didn’t suit the high end positioning of this car brand
Mark and his team from Haynes Polished Concrete did an amazing job transforming our showroom and workshop areas. They met some unexpected challenges early on which is when Mark’s determination and incredible work ethic stood out.
He went above and beyond with small details that resulted in an incredible finish that exceeded my high expectations. He was a pleasure to deal with, trustworthy and I was always able to rely on him to be on-site when he said he would be.
Mark clearly takes pride in his work and he should be very proud of the work he carried out at Lotus Melbourne, we are certainly very happy with the result. I would have no hesitation in recommending Haynes Polished Concrete to anyone that is considering using his services.
Polished concrete vs other flooring materials for showrooms
Converting an office to be used as a showroom with polished concrete
Converting an existing commercial office floor area into a car dealership can be done quite easily if the landlord approves the different use of their property. A lot of DA’s for commercial properties in Melbourne would have been granted for multi-use scenarios. In this case we are talking about changing the flooring surface so that instead of handling people with desks, it will showcase static vehicles on display.
Using polished concrete flooring is a popular choice in Melbourne for car dealership showrooms, cafes, bars, clubs and other high traffic public areas because it is the hardest surface available which means its durable, easy to care for, looks amazing and can handle heavy usage. There is no other flooring surface material that can match it. That’s why we get asked to convert so many properties to get concrete grinding and prepare them to be polished, then sealed.
For landlords it makes it really easy for any tenant to work with & they don’t have to worry about customers spilling drinks or food, scratching the floor or even slipping.
Why is polished concrete such a great surface for showrooms
In this example the car dealer needed an easy way to display vehicles in their indoor showroom. They were renting the building so it didn’t make commercial sense to invest in new floor tiling to be installed and the landlord wasn’t going pay for that expense either. Using the existing carpet tiles could have been possible but would have looked and felt tacky when trying to sell premium priced vehicles.
So the compromise that is ideal for the landlord and the tenant is to choose the most cost effective flooring material which is to polish the existing concrete slab. It is the absolute no brainer win-win scenario. The car dealer gets a beautifully polished floor that has a high gloss finish, it looks amazing, helps to bounce light around the showroom & helps to present the vehicles in a professional manner. The landlord gets a new stylish floor that will last for years and probably never have to be changed again. Neither has to spend a fortune because concrete polishing showroom floors in Melbourne only costs between 60 to 100 dollars per square metre depending on the size of the job and the cost would be tax deductible for the tenant as well.
The other reason this becomes an easy choice is that concrete floors as simple to clean, it will handle a vehicle being moved on it, will be hard to scratch and is great for the environment because timber or other materials aren’t being added to the building.
Can polished concrete be used for a showroom that is indoors and outdoors
Some modern showroom buildings in Melbourne have very large openings that allow a car dealer to slide open a big door or a wall to create an indoor and outdoor showroom area. This lets lots of fresh air and natural light into a shopping area space and makes it easy for people to move around freely. If a vehicle is being featured it can be moved inside and outside as needed depending on the weather as well.
If the outdoor portion of the concrete floor isn’t covered or sheltered from the weather then what our company can do is provide a honed or pavilion finish to the whole area or just to the portion that is outside. This will ensure the surface reduces the chance of someone slipping if it is raining or there is water on the ground from washing the vehicles before they go on display.
We make it really easy to create an incredible indoor or outdoor showroom area for either existing or brand new commercial properties in Melbourne
How do you remove the existing carpet, tiles or floorboards in a showroom
For most new tenants the first thing you will look at is the condition of a property to figure out how easily it can be used with minimal adjustments or renovations. For showrooms or retail stores that get lots of foot traffic this can be a difficult task because typical flooring materials can age quite quickly. Sometimes the best choice is to remove the existing flooring so the bare cement is exposed so you can start again.
Once the material has been removed we can prepare the concrete surface by grinding the concrete to remove adhesives or other imperfections to make sure it is completely smooth to being polishing and sealing. This is a very common process for commercial properties in Melbourne especially for floor spaces that are up to 1000 sq metres in size.
What flooring finishes are available for showrooms
For this car dealer they wanted a full grind with a high gloss polish so that the floor would reflect the light from outside & show off the new vehicles. In other situations you can choose a floor finish which is either matt or semi gloss which can be chosen before we begin our work. The difference comes down to how deeply we grind the concrete and what type of sealant is used after it is polished.
The colour of your floor will depend on the type of concrete mix that was originally poured, how far we grind, the lighting (natural or ceiling) and the sealant we use. For a lot of showrooms the idea is the floor should not overwhelm the space visually so they are often quite muted and simple so that the items on display are the hero for shoppers to look at.
The other concern they had was if they used the existing carpet tiles when they moved vehicles around as the wheels turned it would eventually lead to the carpet moving or breaking free from the adhesive and causing a trip hazard. So they decided to Car dealer showroom concrete polishing with full grind high gloss polish in Melbourne with sunlight
Let Haynes Polished Concrete transform your car showroom with gleaming polished concrete floors. Adding a polished concrete floor to your showroom will add value and prestige to your car dealership.
