We’ve been seeing a lot of burnished concrete slabs being used at commercial building sites, because most architects, engineers and concreters need a very flat floor for the successful installation of floor coverings.

While these professionals certainly aren’t wrong, the act of burnishing a concrete substrate to make it flat can cause more problems than it solves. In fact, the three biggest problems with a burnished slab are:

1. Once the surface of the concrete has been burnished and closed off, the excess water mixed into the concrete will have great difficulty in drying naturally, which can cause lengthy delays in the concrete drying and conforming to Australian standards of moisture levels to accept floor coverings.
2. Most adhesives, and coatings, amongst others, require some porosity in the surface of the concrete to enable bonding. A highly-burnished slab does not have any porosity, and as such can hinder the actual bond between the adhesive or coating, and the surface of the concrete.
3. It will generally present the installer with a higher pH value when the concrete is prepared for floor coverings. The required surface pH value of concrete for most adhesives is recommended to be between 9-10, and the surface’s pH is too high it can cause adhesive failure.

Repairing over-burnished concrete can be challenging as well, as the surface will have to be diamond ground or shot blast. Even worse, once the burnish has been removed, contractors will have to wait for the excess water in the concrete to rise to the surface of the slab to evaporate, which will only cause more delays.

However, if you find that you have to deal with burnished concrete, Densi Crete can help to provide you with an effective and time-saving solution once the burnish has been removed.

Benefits of using Densi Crete:

• Densi Crete can be used on concrete surfaces of any age, and in the case of new surfaces, can be applied at the time of pour.
• Densi Crete forms a permanent moisture barrier in the concrete, which will allow you to install floor coverings within 24 hours of application on existing concrete or as little as 14 days from time of pour.
• Finally, Densi Crete also reduces the pH value of concrete, which means that you don’t have to worry about adhesive failures

For more information about DuraCore’s range of products, please feel free to contact us or visit www.duracore.com.au. Alternatively, to find your nearest distributor please click here.