WINNER OF THE 2015 CONCRETE SURFACES POLISHING AWARD FOR THE BEST COMMERCIAL PROJECT
Desco, an Edmonton polished concrete contractor, is proud to announce that we are the 2015 Concrete Surfaces Polishing Award recipient for the best commercial concrete polishing project for our work at the Doublestar Drilling Offices in Acheson. Acheson is an industrial area just outside of Edmonton. Desco rescued the floor from a poor quality polished concrete finish installed by another contractor by providing a concrete long lasting solution that exceeded expectations.
Desco was hired to restore a polished concrete floor after the original polished concrete installer failed to meet the owner’s expectations. The floor for the commercial office was originally to be dyed black with an acetone based dye and polished to expose minimal aggregate. However, the original installer failed to apply the dye and sealer correctly and the owner was not satisfied with the consistency of the black staining. The owner hired Desco to repair the unacceptable floor. The first step was to understand the owners’ intended outcome. The prior polishing contractor convinced the owner the color would look great in the space. Desco discussed the many shortcomings of having such a dark floor, including the challenges of keeping a black floor clean. The owner opted not to use black dye after learning this.
Desco started the project immediately. Our robust inventory of grinding equipment and a large library of polishing diamonds. The project management team at Desco was able to provide various same day options directly to the owner in order to complete the scope of work in a timely manner.
Desco installed a mock-up in one of the offices to determine how deep of a cut would be required to remove all of the existing black dye. The sample also helped to give an accurate estimate to the client as to what was required in terms of financial costs and time to achieve their desired depth of cut, sheen, and clarity. We found that the best course of action would be to remove the sealer and dye by grinding the concrete to expose large aggregate. By using large planetary head grinders and smaller edging equipment, Desco was able to quickly remove the black dye completely and expose natural colored concrete with large aggregate showing.
The floor was grouted with an environmentally friendly acrylic based grout that filled the small surface voids when mixed with recycled site grinding dust. The grouting enabled us to meet the client’s expectations on clarity and visual aesthetics. The control joints were filled full depth with black polyurea elastomer joint filler which was chosen to highlight the existing black accents in the interior.
The concrete polishing was scheduled as one of the last trades for this project. All of the walls were painted and all of the doors were installed. Desco spent a significant amount of time to provide protective temporary coverings to protect all of the existing finishes.
Concrete Construction magazine is a trade specific magazine for the residential and commercial design and construction industry. This is the fifth year the magazine has hosted the competition for the best in concrete polishing around the world. Candidates for this years competition came from a wide variety of places, including Australia, Canada, and across the United States. We are the only Edmonton polished concrete contractor recognized in this years awards.
PROJECT DETAILS
- Project Location: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
- Flooring Contractor: Desco Coatings of Alberta Ltd., Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
- Architect/designer: Walters Chambers & Associates Ltd., Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
- General contractor: Clark Builders, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
- Amount of polished concrete: 2,450 ft² (all of the office)
- Size of building/project: 13,700 ft²
If you would like to find out more about concrete polishing or if you would like to contact us with regards to a commercial concrete polishing project, please follow the links below.