Is polished concrete on a car garage floor in Melbourne a good idea?
If you own a luxury vehicle, sports car, restored collectible or simply what a dream car garage then don’t paint it, don’t lay rubber tiles, forget about epoxy or even glue checker plate – do things properly and get concrete polishing for your garage floor in Victoria to create a premium look, Garage floor concrete polishing in Victoria has become very popular with car dealerships or a home owners you can polish the concrete floor to give it a premium look and feel that customers, friends and visitors will drool over, they will make any vehicle stand out like a museum exhibit on a shiny floor surface.
Concrete polishing for car garages in a home
A car garage can be made to look and feel like an extension of your family home simply by getting existing plain grey concrete floor either polished or treated with a grind and seal. You can even choose to have the polished concrete presented with a matt, semi gloss or full floss finish depending on your tastes. Imagine doing away with that rough light grey rough concrete floor to have something that looks like your own personal car showroom or Formula 1 workshop in your own home. Garage floor polishing is for the true car enthusiast. A grind and sealing service in your garage is the cheapest option, but getting it mechanically polished is a much better choice if you want the best type of flooring surface for your garage.
Just imagine, if your walls are bare brick these can easily be covered with plasterboard, painted & with the addition of lighting you build your own personal showroom to store your vehicle at home, admire it & show it off to friends when they visit. By putting polished concrete flooring in your garage and renovating the walls, you can great an inviting space that is great for your vehicle, tools, memorabilia and can even add value to your home at the same time.
Concrete polishing for a car dealership showroom
If you are a landlord or a car dealer principal you can polished the concrete floor in your showroom to help sell more vehicles. Instead of laying expensive floor tiles that can crack, easily scratch and look dated in a few years, concrete polishing a car garage showroom will give you a stunning looking floor that reflects light, is durable and can handle not only foot traffic from visitors, but also heavy vehicles being moved in and out. A polished concrete floor in a garage is the lowest cost of maintenance of any type of floor treatment surface.
Can you polish a garage floor made out of concrete?
Absolutely, we can polish any type of concrete floor in a garage, inside a home, office, retail shop or even outdoors around a pool. It doesn’t matter where the concrete floor is located it can be polished to suit indoor or outdoor use. What will change is the finish that is applied to it depending if it is likely to have water over it or not. Outdoor areas will have a pavilion or honed finish while indoors can have lots of other choices of finish applied.
Polishing a garage floor is an alternative choice to painting it, putting epoxy on it or just sealing it. It gives you the toughest, hardest flooring finish of any material available to be used in garages. It makes it perfect for parking a car on it.
Can you polish the existing concrete floor in a garage?
It’s possible to polish the existing concrete floor in a garage in Melbourne and a new concrete slab could be polished as well. Either way we can prepare the concrete floor with a grind to make sure it is smooth. We will then start to polish it once the preparation has been completed and it doesn’t matter if it is new or existing, we take very similar steps. The only difference might be whether we have to repair any damage to the floor or remove things like glue or other debris from the old floor.
Why is a mechanical polished garage floor better than a standard concrete grind and seal?
The reason mechanical polished concrete is a better option in a garage vs a grind and seal is its long term durability and life span of the floor. Mechanical polished concrete floores are ground and treated with a chemical densifier to harden the concrete matrix of the floor.
The floor is then polished using diamond pads under the machine to refine and polish the surface. As apposed to painting the surface with a sealer out of a can. Mpc floors will only need a basic maintenance program of cleaning the floor with hot water and mop and thats it. A grind and seal with eventually need to be ground back and recoated after a few years to bring the floor back to life.
Can a car be parked on a polished concrete garage floor?
There are so many benefits to using concrete for your flooring, getting it polished just elevates things whether you are renovating or building something new. It has a high level of stain resistance, good light reflectivity due to the glossy finish, its easy to clean and maintenance, its a surface that is not easily damaged, and it lasts a long time (longer than your car probably). It is tough enough to park any type of vehicle on it and with a simple sweep or the use of a blower you can clean it in minutes.
The other big benefit is you can install a wheel locking device directly to the floor for added security if you have a rare or expensive vehicle.
What exposure and gloss level is good for polishing a car garage with concrete flooring?
Once you decide to polish the concrete of your garage floor, you then need to choose the aggregate exposure that you would like to see on the surface and then the level of gloss or shine that you’d like. A simple way of comparing would be like this;
Aggregate texture
You can choose how much or how little you want to expose, each finish has its own unique appearance and characteristics and we refer to them as;
- Surface Polish Finish or Nil Exposure
- Salt & Pepper Finish
- Random Exposure Finish
- Full Aggregate Exposure Finish
- Pavillion or Honed Finish used in Outdoor applications
Gloss or shine level
The final choice you make is the level of shine and this is normally split into 3 x levels of matte, satin & gloss;
- Matte floors are typically finished at 100 to 200 grit ploish stage. This will still give a nice low diffused sheen to the floor with very little too no reflection from down lights.
- Satin finish is typically 200 to 400 grit polish stage. This will give a slightly more reactive floor with more reflection from down lights and light from windows.
- Gloss finished floors are typically finished between 1500 to 3000 grit these are highly reflective floors that have a sharp reflection from down lights and so provide the most durable scratch resistant floors available. They will also provide the most energy efficient floor as far as lighting goes.
There isn’t a right or wrong really when it comes to choosing a combination but you do have to consider how you think you will manage to maintain it.
Is it easy to maintain a polished concrete floor in a car garage
Vehicles will bring in dirt and debris from the roads, a lot more than people will from their shoes. The tyres, wheel arches and underbody all catch dirt, grime or even small rocks that can fall onto a polished concrete floor. When you walk in the garage or move the vehicle this can be dragged over the shiny surface.
If the floor is not swept or dust mopped on a regular basis, your vehicle tires can actually degloss the finish over a long period of time in the areas where they consistently roll in and out of the garage. The wheels and tyres are going to be slowly grinding the finish of the concrete with a more aggressive grit than what the floor was polished with in the first place. While it will take a while to dull, you can extend the life of the surface with regular cleaning.
Maintaining polished concrete is simple due to the fact that it doesn’t take much to clean it. A dust mop is generally all that is required, maybe even using a good blower. Heavier cleaning can be done with the occasional wet mop using clean water only.
Workshop polished concrete
We do workshop polished concrete in Victoria for home owners or business owners. If you want the toughest, most durable floor surface in a workshop then polished concrete is the best choice to use. It is extremely hard especially if it is mechanically concrete polished which means you can put equipment on it, drop tools, drive vehicles or even carry stock on metal racking. If your workshop is also used as a warehouse you can rest assured the polished concrete will still look great after many months of use, even if there is hundreds of people walking in and out or lots of movements with forklifts or other vehicles.
Will polishing concrete garage floors reduce oil stains in a car garage?
In normal circumstances a raw concrete floor will stain really easily, there is nothing protecting the concrete. Polishing concrete garage floors will reduce the chances of a spill of automotive fluids leaving a stain because because of the density and impregnating sealer that is used in the final step of polishing the floor.
Even polished concrete has pores even teeny ones so things like anti-freeze coolant, brake fluid, and solvents such like turps need to be cleaned quickly if they are spilt. Acidic based fluids can etch the surface as well but fortunately there are lots of pH neutral cleaners on sale these days that you can use on your car. You could use a stain guards or some protective mat over the area you use to handle chemicals to be safe.
Even if you do apply a sealer to the concrete they will break down if exposed to solvents or other strong chemicals for very long. However, they will buy you time to clean up and they will protect the concrete from staining in many circumstances since they act as a sacrificial layer.
Design ides for car garage floor polishing
It is important to decide what exactly you want in the garage. Do you want a gym? A seating area? Storage space or maybe even an area to have a big tv and a fridge. Not too many people think about polished concrete in their garage in Melbourne, but it has so much potential to be turned into another living space.
As long as you know it is completely waterproofed, has great lighting, insulation and the right level of security you can treat it as an outdoor room while drooling over your pride and joy. The best thing about choosing a polished concrete floor in your garage compared to other materials is that it does not absorb dirt and dust so it is a more hygienic environment, tough & easy to clean – what else could you ask for really?
What does polished concrete in a garage floor cost?
Getting mechanical concrete polished floors in a garage costs $110 per square metre which is similar to what it costs to do the inside of a home. The reason the cost is similar is because the amount of work involved is practically the same. We will grind the floor first to make sure it is completely smooth & then we will mechanically polish the concrete floor to your chosen finish.
Polish existing concrete garage floor costs in Melbourne
If you want to polish the existing concrete garage floor in your home in Melbourne then you have two choices;
1) Concrete grind and sealing of a garage floor which is around $80 per square meter
2) Concrete grind with mechanical polish of a concrete floor which is around $110 per square meter
Most of the time will be spent on preparing the existing concrete floor to make sure the surface is suitable to be polished or sealed. This is where a lot of the labour time is spent and once it is ready the sealing or polishing process will then begin. There are no other costs involved it is an all inclusive price covering preparation then polishing of any existing concrete floor.
Why is polished concrete so expensive for garage floors?
Well is it really expensive? A mechanically polished concrete floor in a garage will cost around $110 per square metre and this cost includes the preparation of the floor as well as the actual polishing. No other costs are involved, meaning you don’t have to pay for materials to be delivered, you don’t have to may for any extra materials. you literally just pay for the labour to get your concrete floor polished.
When you make the right comparison you will find that getting a polished concrete floor is not really expensive when you add up materials, delivery & labour cost to install other flooring types.
Is polished concrete better than epoxy in a garage?
Polished concrete is a better choice compared to epoxy flooring because of its impressive strength, beautiful looks and its’ resistance to most toxic chemicals and substances. Polished concrete flooring is ideal for garages that will not be subjected to harsh chemicals and materials of extreme pH substances making it suitable for most residential homes that have a garage in Melbourne.
Is polished concrete in a garage floor worth it?
When homes in Melbourne are built the garage floor is often forgotten about. It is pretty weird because every other floor in the home is considered as a living space that needs a floor covering of some type. Some people will polish all the floors in their home in Melbourne. Although the garage floor is often forgotten about and is just left as a plain concrete slab. What tends to happen is cement dust builds up, things can be spilt on the floor and stain it as well.
It becomes the room that nobody really cares about.
Although, there is nothing stopping you from getting the concrete floor in a garage polished so that it feels like an extension of the main home. It then becomes easier to clean, it is nicer to walk on and it feels more comfortable when you are doing anything in the garage.
We all know how tough it can be to keep a garage floor clean, considering how frequently this room of a home is used it just makes sense to make it as easy as possible. That’s why a resilient floor coating like mechanically polished concrete is worth the investment in more ways than one. You will spend less time cleaning the floor and it will be stain resistant too.
Can any concrete in a garage be polished?
Any concrete in a garage can be polished very easily whether it is a brand new garage that has been built or it is an existing, old car garage. In both scenarios we would grind the concrete floor first to make sure any glue, stains, cracks or other imperfections are removed from the surface. This will leave a very smooth, clean concrete floor that can be polished.
The next step will be to either seal or mechanically polish the concrete floor & the choice of service type is up to you & your preferences. Sealing the concrete floor is the cheaper option but is also quite raw so you will still see the aggregate as it was poured, maybe even some cracks and it will have a more rough look to it. If you decide to get mechanical concrete polishing then the floor will be much smoother, you can cut deep into the aggregate and maybe even get different colours in the finish depending on the style of concrete slab pour.
Can you polish old concrete in a car garage?
You can polish old concrete in a car garage no matter what age it is. What would happen first is that you remove everything that is in the garage so we can access the whole floor area. We will then do a concrete grinding service to make sure any glue, stains, cracks or other imperfections are removed from the floor. If it is very old and has lots of cracks we can try and repair some of these, but it will depend on their depth. The goal will be to leave a very smooth, clean concrete floor that can be polished.
The next step will be to either seal or mechanically polish the concrete floor, with the choice of service type p to you & your style preference. Sealing the concrete floor is the cheaper option but is also quite raw so you will still see the aggregate as it was poured, maybe even some cracks and it will have a more rough look to it. If you decide to get mechanical concrete polishing then the floor will be much smoother, you can cut deep into the aggregate and maybe even get different colours in the finish depending on the style of concrete slab pour.
Does concrete polishing make it easier to clean my car garage floor?
One of the huge benefits of concrete floor polishing in a car garage is once it is completed the surface is very smooth and can even have a glossy finish if it is mechanically polished. This makes it the easiest floor surface to clean in a car garage, all you need is a blower or a broom to clean any dust or debris on the floor. You never have to worry about concrete dust again because the whole surface is sealed so that the only dust might be a few leaves or dirt that blows in from the driveway. You could even hose the garage out and everything will just wash out quickly over the smooth surface.
Is garage sealing in Melbourne a great idea?
One of the huge benefits of garage floor sealing in Melbourne is the reduction in maintenance needed, it reduces the chances of stains from oil or tyres, it is easier to clean and will add value to the home. Garage sealing should be done by a Melbourne concrete polishing contractor if you want the best result. You could try yourself, but a word of warning, we visit lots of sites during the year to repair poorly sealed garage floors. It looks easy to do it yourself, but it isn’t, you also have to remember it might look good when you first do it, but if the surface hasn’t been prepared properly or you purchased cheap sealants then it won’t last long.
We can professionally grind the concrete floor in your garage, then seal it using our professional quality sealants and equipment.
How to polish a concrete garage floor
How to polish a concrete garage floor is very simple;
- Remove everything from your car garage.
- Measure the entire floor area of your garage floor.
- Contact a garage floor concrete polisher in Melbourne to get quotations, they may need to visit your site for a visual inspection.
- Ask for a written quotation so you can compare each company, their costs and inclusions.
- Make sure they include a concrete grinding service before it is polished.
- Double check if they are just doing a concrete grind and seal or a grind, mechanical concrete polish and seal. There is a difference, sealing is cheaper and not as durable as mechanical concrete polishing.
Is concrete floor polishing in a garage better than using garage floor tiles?
Concrete floor polishing in a garage is a much better choice compared to using garage floor tiles. You are comparing two completely different floor treatment types, think about it, garage floor tiles could either be hard tiles that then have lots of grout lines or made out of other synthetic material that may not last very long if a heavy vehicle is sitting on them. If you polish the concrete in your car garage you are literally using one of the hardest surfaces known to mankind.
The benefits of concrete floor polishing compared to tiles are;
- If tiles are made out of rubber or other materials they may not be durable and need to be regularly replaced.
- Moisture, oil, cleaning fluids or other products might soak into soft material tiles and cause them to deteriorate.
- Hard floor tiles are costly to buy, lay and maintain compared to polished concrete floors, they will also have grout lines that can catch oil, grease and other debris very easily.
- The surface won’t be 100% smooth as there will be joins between the tiles, a polished concrete floor is completely smooth, flat and doesn’t have any joins.
Can concrete grinding fix a stained concrete garage floor
Stained concrete garage floors are very common in Victoria. Most homes when they are built will just have a slab poured and the garage is built on top of it but is left unfinished or untreated. The rough concrete floor surface has no protection at all and is just very rough, bare and prone to being stained easily. If you drop paint, oil from a car, or any other coloured chemical this can quickly soak into the concrete surface and leave a permanent stain in the concrete. Over time you will have a very patchy looking floor which won’t look very appealing.
To repair a stained concrete floor you can get a concrete grinding service that will take a layer off the top and remove most stains, small cracks or other imperfections so that it is smooth. You could leave it as is, but the same thing will happen over time. So the smart choice is to then get the concrete either sealed or mechanically polished so that it is protected from any further stains or damage.
