What is the cost of Honed or Polished Concrete?
To answer the question “How much does Polished Concrete cost?”, it isn’t much easier than answering the question “How much does a car cost?” Our first instinct prompts us to simply answer: ”It depends!”
There are many variants that determine the cost for both a honed and a polished concrete floor. For obvious reasons, no one will offer an exhaustive price list, which includes all the variables involved. However, the following is useful information:
The price of Polished Concrete versus other floor coverings
A commonly asked question regarding Polished Concrete pricing is whether it is cheaper or dearer than other floor coverings such as tiles, timber or vinyls. To answer this as honestly as possible we would say that it definitely, more often than not, polished concrete will be cheaper than a good quality tile, real timber, and, at times, a commercial quality vinyl.
When it comes to residential quality vinyl, laminate flooring and various types of carpets, the price might be lower than that of Polished Concrete. This occurs specially when choosing a Polished Concrete floor with a full aggregate exposure. (This will be explained in point c).
The size of the project
When it comes Polished Concrete cost, the size of the job definitely matters.
Even though a larger project costs more than a smaller one, in total, the price PER SQUARE METER, will always be lower on a larger area.
In a house, for example, by simply choosing to have another room polished, chances are that the overall cost per square meter may be lower.
The reason for this is that both a large and a small job will require the same amount of travel and set up. Obviously, a larger job will have a smaller percentage of this expense included.
The exposure of aggregate required
In Western Australia, every concrete, from the late 1960s to this day, contains aggregates in it. Clients often tell us that unfortunately there are no aggregates in their concrete… We then happily convey to them the good news that not only there are stones, but most likely, being in the Western Australian suburban area, beautiful, coloured granite stones!
The deeper the concrete is ground, the more the stone is exposed. The more the stone is exposed, the longer the job will take. Therefore, incurring in a higher cost.
An Eco-industrial look (no stones exposed) will, invariably, be cheaper than a Rustic partial or random exposure. At the same time, these will be considerably cheaper than the Classic deep stone exposure.
Fortunately, in recent years, no exposure, and random exposure, have widely grown in popularity over the deep stone exposure look.
Intricacy
Intricacy can affect the cost of Polished Concrete as it requires a higher amount of hand tooling, therefore, extending the length of the project.
For example: An area of 100m2, in a square building, will only have 40m of edges and 4 internal corners, to be executed by special hand tooling.
Naturally, in an area full of small rooms, the amount of hand work required will obviously be higher, therefore taking more time to do.
This might not greatly impact the square meter price of the job in an Eco-industrial finish, where stones are not required to be exposed, as much as on a classic finish, where full exposure of stones is required: Full exposure of stones requires deep grinding, which takes longer to do and to finish properly.
The required finish
Another great variant in the price of Polished Concrete is the finish. An outdoor honed finish will ALWAYS cost LESS than an indoor finish, since the outdoor finish does not require grouting (the process by which all the porosity is removed), nor fine polishing.
For example: When choosing Eco-industrial, at times, customers do not require the
floor to be highly polished or grouted. This can
considerably lower the price per square meter.
Accessibility
Another factor in the costing of Polished Concrete is the access to the area/flooring. When working in multiple stories, a special lift or crane might be required. This is not much of an issue, compared to when there is no accessibility for a crane or lift. In these instances, the tradesmen must operate with lighter machines, that will take longer to grind, hone and polish.
The travel distances
Here at POLISHED CONCRETE SPECIALISTS, we do not charge any extra travelling fee for any job done closer than 50km from Wattle Grove.
The quality & condition of the concrete
When estimating the price of Polished Concrete, the condition in which the concrete currently definitely plays a part in the costing of the job.
For instance: If a client wants an Eco-Industrial finish, and their floor has been laid very well, and left exceptionally smooth, the process of bringing it to its finish will be very quick. Therefore, the price can be considerably lower.
On the other hand, if the floors previously had tiles and, upon removal, some damage was done to it, the repairing of the damages shall affect not only its final look, as well as the cost per square meter.
The reason for the explanation above is so that customers can understand that there is no easy way to answer the question “How much does Polished Concrete cost?” There are too many variables.
When filling our quote inquiry, please answer as many questions as possible. This will enable us to provide you with the most precise estimate.
Get a tailored quote by following the prompts on our Create your Floor page.