The hottest product in architectural concrete today is polished concrete surfaces especially in retro floor applications.

 

That is why architect Brian Rock contacted Musselman & Hall Contractors to investigate the use of polished concrete on an old floor in a vintage building in downtown Kansas City. Brian knew a polished floor could be the answer but he was concerned that a quality product could not be achieved on an older, less-than-perfect floor. After a visit to the M&H architectural concrete showroom and a discussion with the experts there, he was convinced that polished concrete would be a good fit and Musselman & Hall was the contractor for the job.

 

Brian arranged for his client Susanne Ryan with Breakthrough Marketing, Design, and Technology to meet with M& H project manager Dan Kroesen to walk the space and address Susanne’s concerns about incorporating polished concrete into the project. She was quickly on board, the scope was clarified and the price was agreed to. The catch…there were only eight weeks to complete the entire renovation project. There was no time to waste.

 

The new 3,000 SF office space is on the ground floor of the historic Manhattan high rise condominium building at 700 E 8^th Street. Nearly 2,600 SF of the office space floor is polished concrete. The original floor design called for several of the individual office spaces and a small conference room to be stained as well as polished but the owner wanted more. Using her creative side, Susanne Ryan scratched out an extremely intricate, and exotic, free-form design knifing through the office space. M&H concrete artists are specialists in intricate and exotic free form designs so the project ground on.

 

Conditions of the existing concrete floor presented a number of challenges for foreman Sam Kroesen and his crew during the polishing. Marred by large chips and cracked and delaminated concrete, the floor had obviously experienced extreme wear and tear over the years. The dramatic unevenness of the surface compounded matters as well. After patching and repairing the floor, the polishing process began. The architect wanted a large aggregate exposure that took several days to achieve. The crew diligently worked long hours to successfully complete the dramatically transformed polished concrete floor within the scheduled time. Susanne Ryan exclaimed. “…the floor looked even better than I expected. Great Job!”

 

Polished concrete provides a low maintenance but handsome natural appearance for an in place concrete floor. It is perfect for new spaces with old floors that were previously covered with, carpet, tile or just plain boring gray concrete. Chemical stains can be used to add color and drama to an otherwise sterile space.