Alternative to polished concrete

gem1919

7 years ago

Hi, we are building a home shortly in Adelaide and love the look of polished concrete but are unable to have it (builder won't allow) and are looking for alternatives that can be laid after handover from the builder. We will be having hydronic heating and would love to hear of alternatives that people are aware of. Thanks in advance.

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Comments (7)

PRO
NuBuck Pty Ltd
7 years ago
look at travertine tiles - natural stone so hydronic heating will work well, a variations in texture and colour - we are also debating between polished concrete or travertine tiles - its more of a cost factor for us as we have a huge area
PRO
MB Design & Drafting
7 years ago
Find alternative builder! Or it could be polished once they've gone. If you want polished concrete push to get it. It's quite a bit cheaper now than it used to be.

Tiling over slab as suggested is ok but the cost's adds up quickly. Say $40 per sqm for tiles plus laying of around say $100 per metre.
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I am not sure of these colours and where they are from but I have got a sample here in the images. You don't say how big the area this will be... I would tend to go with a light colour up against the jarrah floors...it looks stunning....dark...will tend to close the room in. Romano or Icelandia would be my choice. Romano you can pick up a colour from this and accessorise with it and Icelandia will go with anything...Hope this helps...take care..Robyn
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No worries! Most people haven't heard of them yet! SIPS panels are basically a couple of sheets of timber board, with a core of polystyrene. They come in panels, or can be pre-cut to size to fit the job. As far as builders go, I don't personally know of any that use concrete panels for residential jobs - mainly because they're not really cost effective until you get to larger commercial sized jobs (as far as I know). Another good way to achieve the industrial look is by using polished plaster render. That gives the look of concrete at a fraction of the cost and can be done in a variety of finishes to suit your taste. It all depends if you want the whole house to have the concrete look or just as features in places that count - all comes down to your design.
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I know of this veneer concrete flooring as an alternative to lished concrete, however as a veneer, it is a thin pour over a solid substrate. Unfortunately the very nature of a first floor is suspended, (although sufficiently supported) it will have flex and movement in it, which this opttion does not favor. The reason is due to cracking, and resurfacing the cracks are unsightly. As a designer, and working on my own renovation, I looked into this option and the technical implications for my build. It was not recommended although possible. I did however find one other alternative, called xlite, which are large scale tiles that replicate the look of stone, marble and concrete too. The tiles run in 3000 x 1500 sheets, so Grout lines are limited and hardly factors. In fact that the unique scale of tile, which is lightweight and has a fantastic thermal mass, great insulative quality is so different, makes this system a feature on it's own.
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I do think it depends on the style of house and decor - but having said that, I love polished concrete :)
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PRO
NuBuck Pty Ltd
7 years ago
yep - travertine tiles are around 75/sqmt cheapest - can go up to 85
LesleyH
7 years ago
Out of interest, why won't the builder allow it?
hagan_38
7 years ago
Epoxy coating. Can choose base colours then epoxy coating goes on after.
User
7 years ago
We are having polished concrete and our builder is nervous about it. Cracking. Aggregate inconsistencies. Colour inconsistencies. We tells us he has no control over this, which we can see and is fair enough thing for him to worry about. We had to tell him we don't mind fine cracks and inconsistencies in how the aggregate is seen, but we had to accept some expansion joints to prevent bigger cracks.

If you really want your concrete- pick the colour concrete/aggregate you want- tell him to lay a topping slab of that, then you can polish it after he has gone. Although from what I understand the risks are not in the polishing so much.
User
7 years ago
There are also things like Pangea- but it is $$$

Alternative to polished concrete

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NuBuck Pty Ltd

MB Design & Drafting

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