From warehouses to showrooms and malls to office buildings, a majority of the commercial floors in the Twin Cities are concrete.

Over time, these concrete floors wear down and something has to be done about the wear and tear. Other times, facilities simply want their new concrete to have a nice look and to be adequately protected.

Concrete polishing does have its benefits for businesses throughout Minneapolis and St. Paul.

For instance, one Bloomington business found it was faced with two options: Replace the concrete flooring or have the concrete polished so they could get more time out of it.

The business decided to move forward with having the concrete polished because it was the more cost-effective solution. In addition, they receive excellent abrasion resistance and a high coefficient of friction that ensures the polished concrete is not slippery.

Polished concrete floors also meet and many times exceed OSHA standards when wet or dry. Slip resistance is very important because it helps avoid injuries in the workplace that can cost the company in the way of workers’ comp or injury claims.

Money is also saved because the durability that polished concrete provides makes the concrete in high traffic areas stand up better to that traffic.

When a polished floor is properly maintained, its life expectancy is 10 times the life expectancy of a tile floor. If the area has forklift traffic or other vehicle traffic, then tire marks are eliminated. This can create less drag on floor cleaning equipment and tires will last longer.

Polishing surfaces are also friendlier to the environment and the allergies of people within the facility. If the flooring is placed within a school, office building, laboratory, pharmaceutical company, or even a food service operation, the dust mite reduction is going to help the allergies of the employees who work there. Allergy problems can hamper productivity and doing something about them can be beneficial to everyone.

The refinishing process is economical and efficient, requiring hardly any commercial downtime at all. For a new floor, there are different finishes available, such as glossy like marble, reflective, matte, granite, or terrazzo. Sometimes the existing concrete’s aggregate will determine the finish on the original concrete, but there are different options available so businesses can have floors with the look they want.

When opting for a highly reflective floor, the main benefit is that the reflectivity increases light levels, reducing the need for artificial lighting. In other words, not as many lights have to be turned on and that means saving money on the electric bill. If the floor is polished in an area that has needed more lighting, then the increased visibility will make the work environment much safer.

Overall, Twin Cities businesses are recognizing the benefits of having their existing concrete polished rather than replacing it. They are doing a favor to the floor, themselves, their employees, and their bottom line for the long-term.