Having polished concrete floors installed in your building is an environmentally-friendly choice. Concrete gets some flack in the media for being a poor choice for the environment. But these claims are centred around concrete as a building material without considering the low impact that polished concrete has.
A polished concrete floor has little to do with the demand for concrete as a building material and actually reduces the consumption of new flooring materials. Polished concrete floors are one of the least resource-intense ways of creating a floor over existing concrete.
Polished concrete reduces the need for transportation of materials, has a long lifespan and reduces some heating and cooling costs with its thermal mass. Polishing concrete is a simple form of creating a floor. Because of its simplicity, it’s one of the most environmentally-friendly choices you can make for your building.
Reduction In Transportation
Other types of concrete floor coverings require a global shipping network that has a negative impact on the environment. When you choose to have your concrete floor polished, you reduce the amount of pollution that comes from global shipping.
Imagine you would like to install an epoxy concrete floor covering. The epoxy is most likely manufactured somewhere far away. The manufacturing process creates some pollution that goes into the air near the factory. Then, the epoxy gets to you by rail, truck and ship, which all emit CO2 and add to environmental degradation.
On the other hand, polishing concrete is done by a local business that uses and maintains the same equipment for every job. The travel impact is much smaller than having epoxy shipped from far away. Polished concrete uses what is already in place, your concrete slab, to create an attractive and long-lasting flooring solution.
Life Span and Energy Efficiency
Concrete is a superior material because it creates a highly efficient thermal mass. A concrete slab helps regulate the temperature in your building better than other building materials. On a hot day concrete stays cool longer, then stores some of the heat and releases it at night. The opposite happens on a cold day. This helps you reduce your energy consumption for heating or air conditioning.
When you choose concrete polishing for your flooring, you allow the slab to absorb more heat and release it more efficiently. Adding flooring on top of your concrete creates an insulating barrier so that you can’t access the thermal mass of your concrete slab as easily. Using the full potential of your concrete slab’s thermal mass helps you reduce your environmental impact for years.
Polished concrete floors also lasts much longer than other concrete floor coverings. An epoxy floor covering has a typical lifespan of up to 20 years, while polished concrete can last over 100 years. A longer-lasting material is always better for the environment and means less work for you.
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