Why not have concrete floors in your home?

If you're design-savvy or just looking for something new, you might be interested in the many benefits concrete flooring can have in your home.

Exposed, industrial interior design trends are huge right now, and a concrete floor may be just what you need to transform your home from bland to grand.

You'll remove the need for expensive overlays like timber and carpets, and the strong durable matter means you won't have scratches, cracks or rips in your flooring. Concrete is long-lasting and incredibly easy to maintain. So what are you waiting for?

Prep, prime and polish

Once you've determined the condition of the existing concrete, it's time to select the best equipment to polish concrete. If you've got a particularly large area to cover, you might want to consider hiring a larger concrete grinder to save time and improve production.

You'll also want to consider how much edging is required. Remove skirting boards before you begin grinding and prepare to put in extra effort when edging your new floor.

Select the level of polish you want your floor to have. Finished range from a full polish with no coatings and high shine right down to a simple grind and seal with epoxy coating. All finishes require a different amount of time and money to complete, so think carefully about what is most realistic for your budget and deadline.

Next, you'll need to choose between a wet and dry grind. Dry grinding can generate a large amount of dust, so you'll need to use a dust collector if you choose this method. Wet grinding will work during the early grinding stages, however it generates a large amount of slurry so you'll need a wet vacuum.

You'll need to determine whether the concrete surface is hard or soft, and then match it with the correct diamond tool or bond.

You can choose between three main diamond bonds - hard, medium and soft. Hard bond diamonds are best used on soft concrete surfaces such as a broom finished slab. Medium bond diamonds are more suited for general purpose grinding applications, whereas soft bonded diamonds are great on hard concrete floors, as found in warehouses.

Make sure you take your time when selecting your diamond bond. If you use an incorrect one it may wear out very quickly, or not perform at all. If you can't determine whether your concrete floor is a hard or soft surface, always use a hard bond diamond tool as it will not grind the surface.