Polished Concrete Floors—NYC Style!

Polished concrete flooring is a terrific solution for property managers, residential building owners, and landlords who want trendy designer flooring that is cost-effective, durable and low maintenance.

As a contemporary design option, polished and decorative concrete can be found nearly everywhere. Floors, walls, and countertops made of concrete are a very popular trend for lofts, hotels, apartments and residential housing. Polished concrete transforms plain concrete floors into visually-appealing and functional “artwork” that enhance the overall feel and design of the space.

It should be no surprise then that New York City architects use raw and polished concrete extensively in new construction and New York City property managers and building owners choose polished concrete flooring when revamping older buildings. Concrete is the most durable flooring material. It’s unique (no two floors are the same) and it’s cool!

NYC Style Polished Concrete Flooring is a technique of using the existing concrete floor and applying a clear acrylic sealer followed by epoxy primer and polyurethane sealer coats that bring out the concrete’s natural beauty. Perfect for older buildings and homes with concrete substrates where a modern look is desired by showcasing the original building material. Concrete embraces an industrial, yet natural appearance which illustrates the juxtaposition of a manmade structure built with natural materials—the earth to which it’s anchored.

Installation

Creating a typical polished concrete floor involves 10–15 steps that included the application of a concrete overlay and several grinding and polishing steps. The NYC Style Polished Concrete installation process takes less than half the steps of traditional polished concrete. This greatly reduces costs making the project doable for those on a budget, and for the do-it-yourself enthusiast.

Obtaining a beautiful concrete floor using the NYC Style method involves the application of two or three products:

1. *Optional: Acrylic concrete sealer like Duraamen’s Perdure A03 clear UV resistant acrylic sealer.
( Application of an acrylic sealer first maintains the natural gray color of the concrete. If you omit this step any epoxy primer will turn the concrete darker than desired.)

2. Concrete primer such as Duraamen’s Perdure E32 clear epoxy primer/sealer

3. Matte or gloss clear polyurethane concrete sealer like Duraamen’s Perdure U45 (matte) or Perdure U46 (gloss).

It is important to note that polished concrete does not mean the floor must have a high-shine sheen, though many do. The application of a matte or matte/gloss mixture for the final top coat will determine the sheen which may range from semi-gloss to high-gloss. Additionally, the floor may be tinted with a concrete dye (Deso Dye) to achieve subtle color variations.

This technique of installing polished concrete is not limited to NYC, or to cities in general. This contemporary concrete flooring technique is used worldwide when sprucing up a property for new tenants, remodeling, or revamping the interior design of a space.

Below: This radiant heat flooring how to video demonstrates the installation of NYC Style Polished Concrete starting at 7:01.

If you’re considering polished concrete flooring for your existing property, home or building and want to take on the project yourself you may purchase high-quality, professional grade Duraamen products on this site.

If you prefer to have a professional concrete contractor do the work and want references, please contact us through our find an installer page, or by calling 1-866-835-6595.

Products Referenced in This Article:

Perdure A03 uv resistant acrylic concrete sealer
Perdure E32 epoxy concrete primer/sealer
Perdure U45 matte polyurethane concrete sealer
Perdure U46 gloss polyurethane concrete sealer