What is a floated concrete floor?

What is a floated concrete floor?

A floated concrete floor is a seamless, stylish floor with a natural look and practical properties. As a result, floored concrete floors fit perfectly into any interior. And in every living space. Even in the bathroom. A floated concrete floor is a real concrete floor at least 7 inches thick. Partly for this reason, it is not comparable to a cast floor or concrete ciré floor.

What is floating?

Just a brief explanation of what exactly fluxing is so you can get a better idea. Flattening is finishing curing concrete that we poured in the morning. Floating a concrete floor creates a smooth finish and shades of color. These are also called drawings or flames. These drawings give character and life to your floor. The butterfly machine we use for this purpose makes circular movements across the floor. We also sprinkle the color pigments to make the desired color concrete floor during the flatting process.

What is the difference between a floated concrete floor and a concrete look floor?

Difference in thickness
Cast floors and concrete ciré floors are examples of concrete-look floors. These floors look like concrete but have a different composition. A major difference between a flocked concrete floor and a concrete look floor is the thickness. A floated concrete floor is at least 7 inches thick. But a concrete-look floor is only a few millimeters thick.

This also means that a concrete-look floor always requires a subfloor. For example, a sand cement screed. With a floated concrete floor, the subfloor is (almost) always omitted.

Floor structure
A floated concrete floor is a solid floor. We build a concrete-look floor in several layers. These layers consist of: epoxy, leveling, concrete look and two coats of lacquer. Because of this, the planning of both types of flooring is also very different. We make a floored concrete floor in two days. Depending on square footage. A concrete-look floor always takes at least 5 to 6 business days to install.

Finishing and maintenance
A concrete-look floor is finished with two coats of lacquer. For a floated concrete floor, we recommend impregnation. Layers of lacquer or impregnation make the floors easy to maintain. But cleaning and maintenance is different for both floors as a result.

Fluted concrete floor: advantages

  • Seamless: therefore hygienic and easy to maintain
  • Perfect combination with underfloor heating
  • Energy efficient
  • Wear and scratch resistant character
  • More and more beautiful over the years
  • Natural, vibrant look
  • No delays in the construction process

Can a floored concrete floor be used in your home?

In terms of living style? Definitely! In terms of floor construction? That, unfortunately, is not always the case. A home in project construction is delivered with sand cement screed as standard. There is almost never enough height available on the sand-cement screed for a minimum of 7 centimeters of floated concrete floor. Do you already have a sand cement screed in place? Then a concrete-look floor may be a good alternative for you.

We almost never pour concrete floors on wooden floors either. This is because of the action and the risk of cracking. We then recommend removing the wood floor and creating a new floor structure. The advantage of a new floor structure? A strong construction as well as the ability to properly insulate your floor.

Are you curious to see what a flocked concrete floor looks like in real life? Or would you like to receive specific advice for your situation? Feel free to call or schedule an appointment to visit our showroom. We are happy to help you choose your dream floor.

See all of Willem Designflooring’s projects here

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