Flooring material needs to be practical, hard wearing and hygienic, especially if it&#;s being used in high traffic areas or a building like a hospital or a school. Even the most hard-wearing material will need to be repaired, maintained or replaced from time to time and it&#;s essential to have the right equipment for the job.
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A floor grinder is a highly useful piece of machinery that can be used for both DIY and commercial applications. This machine can be used for a variety of projects but it&#;s important to make sure you know what you&#;re doing, especially if you&#;re using a floor grinder for the first time. If you&#;re thinking about floor grinder rental and want to know more about this machine and how to use it, see below for our handy guide.
A floor grinder is a machine which uses rotating discs to clean, polish, smooth or resurface flooring. They&#;re commonly used on concrete flooring but they can also be used on hardwood or stone floors. Floor grinders can be used to prepare a floor (by removing leftover adhesive, paint or glue, or levelling the surface), or they can be used to polish and finish the floor to a high shine.
Floor grinders are available in walk behind or ride-on models, as well as smaller, handheld grinders.
Floor grinding machines all work in roughly the same way, although there is a difference in their quality, power and abilities. Abrasive pads on the bottom of the machine grind off the top surface of the floor, helping to level it out or remove surface level blemishes. Some floor grinders use slightly different pads to clean and polish the floor and give it a shiny, reflective surface.
An operator moves the machine over the surface of the floor in a smooth, even motion, while discs underneath spin around. Each disc holds a pad which grinds or polishes the floor (depending on the pad material). Floor grinders can have just one disc, or as many as six working at once.
Diamond-coated discs and diamond blades are common abrasives used in floor grinding machines. They&#;re available in a range of grits ranging from coarse to fine and it&#;s important to select the right level for the job (more on this later).
Floor grinders can be used in both wet and dry conditions depending on their application. Wet floor grinders use water to cool down the diamond pads and remove excess dust. Water helps to reduce friction and increase the lifespan of your machine, but it can be quite messy to work with.
If you&#;re using the dry method, the machine will polish the floor while containers within the grinder remove and store the dust. Both methods are often used for best practice; the dry method will remove any imperfections or uneven sections of flooring and the wet method can polish the floor to give an attractive finish.
Floor grinders are versatile machines that can be used for a variety of different applications. We&#;ll explore some of the most common uses in more detail below.
This application is most commonly used on concrete floors, as the surface must be properly prepared before repainting or adding a coating. Floor grinders can be used to level the floor and smooth away any inconsistencies or damage in the floor&#;s surface or edges. Coarse diamond discs will be needed for this application and you may need to go over the surface several times to achieve your desired result.
Once a floor has been prepped and made level, it can then be polished to a high shine. Different discs may need to be used during the polishing process, with a move towards finer abrasives with each polish. Floor polishing is highly effective and it gives an attractive, mirror-like shine to surfaces such as concrete.
Floor grinders can also be used to smooth and refinish hardwood floors. Grinders remove the top layer of flooring to reveal the fresh wood underneath and this can then be treated with a new wood stain or fresh layer of sealant.
It&#;s recommended that you refinish hardwood flooring every seven to 10 years and grinders allow you to remove any scratches, dents or stains on the surface of the wood. They also remove any traces of old varnish and allow you to change the colour of the stain if required.
Floor grinders are ideal for use on concrete but they can also be used on other stone flooring materials, such as marble or granite. Floor grinding can change and restore the appearance of stone flooring by levelling the surface, preparing the surface for treatment or polishing the stone to a reflective shine.
Screed is often confused with concrete, but there are differences in the finish, the size of aggregates used and the mix consistency. Screed is poured as a thin layer to create a smooth coating on a floor and it&#;s often found underneath tiles. When renovating or repairing a floor, you may need to remove an old layer of screed first. This can be done using a floor grinder, which will grind down the top layer until the screed is gone.
If you&#;re replacing flooring like carpet, vinyl tiles or rubber, you&#;ll first need to use a stripping machine to remove the existing flooring. Once this is done, it&#;s likely that they&#;ll be some adhesive, latex or paint left behind. Concrete flooring may also have some patches of an existing coating that will need to be removed before repainting or resealing.
If you need to remove paint, latex or adhesive from a floor, you can do so using a floor grinding machine. They provide a chemical-free way to remove any existing paint or coatings and ensure the floor is prepared for the next stage.
Floor grinders are versatile and powerful machines, but it&#;s important to know how to use your grinder effectively. This will make the job much easier and give you the required finish you&#;re after.
Choosing the right diamond pads is crucial to achieve your desired finish. You may have to experiment with a few different types but it&#;s worth doing as much research as you can beforehand. This includes understanding different bonds and segment styles, as well as testing the concrete hardness if possible.
You&#;ll also need to think about whether you&#;re removing material (like glue or screed) and if you&#;ll be polishing the floor afterwards. Diamonds that are too abrasive could scratch the floor beyond repair, so always consult a professional if you&#;re unsure.
You&#;ll achieve the best results if you take your time and don&#;t rush, especially if you&#;re removing stubborn patches of adhesive or paint. Rushing means that you might have to go over the same area multiple times, which then takes more time in the long run! Go slowly and carefully, especially around the edges of the floor.
Some larger grinders require more than household power. You may need a generator or have to consult an electrician to make sure there&#;s adequate power before the work begins. This is especially important if you&#;re using a floor grinder for a DIY job at home.
If you&#;re looking to hire a floor grinder for your next project, get in touch with the experts at Concept Flooring Technology. We&#;re proud to offer a range of high quality flooring machines for hire, including floor grinders, concrete floor polishers, handheld grinders and preparation grinders.
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Difficulty: Easy | Costs for 20m²: approx. 350-400 euros | Workload for 20m²: approx. 8 hours
The building material concrete is used in many areas. The areas of application range from the foundation of a building to special constructions such as bridges or tunnels. Concrete is also being used more and more frequently as a floor in modern living areas and industrial rooms due to its stylish appearance. Good processing of the concrete floor in the form of concrete grinding plays an important role in this. In this article we explain in detail how you can turn a newly poured concrete floor in a new building or the old concrete floor into an eye-catcher.
Figure 1: Sanding the concrete floor - this is how it's done!
In order to be able to successfully grind concrete, you should obtain the necessary tools and machines in advance. In addition, due to the high level of dust and noise, certain equipment is required to protect your health.
As described above, certain protective equipment such as a respirator, safety goggles and hearing protection are necessary for concrete grinding. Depending on the size of the area to be treated, a floor grinder should be used. This is used for large areas such as a floor in a living area. This will save you a lot of time and effort. In addition, an angle grinder is required for the surfaces that cannot be reached with the floor grinder. With an angle grinder you can work on small areas such as corners and stairs. An industrial vacuum ensures cleaning between the individual grinding processes. You can usually rent these machines at any large hardware store. In order to protect the concrete floor from mechanical and chemical stress, you should apply a seal after sanding it down.
At a glance:
For more floor grinding padsinformation, please contact us. We will provide professional answers.
Concrete grinding depends on the size of the area to be treated and the number of grinding passes required. For a floor area of &#;&#;approx. 20m² and three sanding passes with a grain size of 80, 160 and 320, you can calculate around 350 - 400 euros for your project:
Personal protective equipment (approx. 27 - 43 euros):
Machine rental (approx. 160 euros):
Tools (approx. 165 - 205 euros):
Prices are from current internet research (20.11.).
Which abrasive paper is necessary for grinding concrete depends on the expectations of the individual operator. For example, sanding concrete floors requires multiple sanding passes. Here you usually start with the first sanding pass with a coarser grit of 80. In the second sanding pass you continue working with a 160 grit. Double the grit of the sandpaper after each sanding pass until the desired finish is achieved.
The fair-faced concrete is used more and more frequently in modern residential and industrial construction. The optically stylish exposed concrete can appear in offices, living rooms, kitchens and bathrooms in the form of floors, walls, ceilings and stairs. In order to be able to use the full potential of the fair-faced concrete, different machines, tools and grinding techniques are required depending on the area of &#;&#;application.
Figure 2: Fair-faced concrete in modern residential construction
A floor grinding machine is used for fair-faced concrete with a large area, such as floors in industrial halls or offices. Due to the large diameter of the grinding disc of the floor grinding machine, many square meters can be ground down in a short time and with significantly less effort than with an angle grinder. You can read about how the grinding of a concrete floor works in detail in our instructions under point 4 "Sanding concrete smooth - step by step instructions".
When grinding concrete walls, special hand grinders, which are closely related to conventional angle grinders, are used. Since, in contrast to grinding concrete floors, the "floating" of the floor grinding machine cannot be used due to its own weight and the machine's own weight has to be carried when grinding concrete walls, this grinding work is one of the more complex variants of concrete grinding.
In advance, you should be sure that grinding the concrete surface is really necessary. Due to the overhead work and the weight of the machine, the grinding of a concrete pavement is associated with great exertion and correspondingly tiring work. The entire concrete surface of the ceiling is processed with a concrete milling machine in several grinding passes. An angle grinder with a diamond cup wheel can be used for the edge surfaces.
The grinding of a concrete staircase is often necessary during renovation work due to old material residues such as adhesive from carpets or tiles. The concrete surface must be thoroughly sanded down. Only then is it possible to lay the new floor on the concrete staircase due to the required adhesion between the concrete staircase and, for example, the new carpet. An angle grinder with a diamond grinding disc is advantageous here, as this can be used perfectly for small areas.
There are several ways to sand down a concrete surface. This usually depends on the size and also the accessibility of the concrete surface to be processed. Devices such as a floor grinder or an angle grinder, also known colloquially as a flex, are used. Another option for very inaccessible areas is to grind the surface by hand using diamond hand grinding pads .
Diamond hand grinding pads can be used to grind small areas that are difficult or almost impossible to reach with an angle grinder. Thanks to their ergonomic shape, they are easy to hold and are available with different grit levels, from 50 for renovation sanding to grit for high-gloss polishing. However, grinding concrete by hand is a very tedious and sweaty activity and is therefore rarely used.
A floor grinder is often used to smooth large, rough concrete surfaces. Due to the large sanding disc and its own weight, this is able to work on a large area in a very short time with little effort. In order to produce a homogeneous grinding pattern on the concrete floor, it is essential that the floor grinding machine is guided evenly. Depending on the application of the concrete surface, several grinding passes with different grit grades of the grinding wheels are necessary.
The angle grinder, also known colloquially as a flex, is suitable for grinding small concrete surfaces such as corners, edge areas or stairs. The Flex is equipped with a diamond grinding cup, which can process the hard material thanks to the robustness of the diamonds. One of the major disadvantages compared to the floor grinder is the higher grinding effort and the associated effort due to the smaller grinding disc. An increased risk of injury must also be expected due to the open grinding wheel.
Grinding and sealing concrete smooth can be done successfully even by inexperienced people by following the steps involved. Grinding and sealing the concrete is divided into three steps. These are the grinding, vacuuming and sealing of fair-faced concrete.
Figure 3: Grinding a concrete floor using a floor grinder
Before starting your forthcoming work, ensure occupational safety. You should put on a breathing mask and safety goggles because of the dust that develops during sanding. In addition, your hearing should be protected with hearing protection.
First clean the surface to be treated with an industrial vacuum cleaner. Be careful to ensure the concrete floor is free of loose debris before sanding. Large loose residues of material could scratch deep grooves in the floor during the grinding process.
Equip the floor grinder with the appropriate sandpaper for your application and start the floor grinder. Important: When using the sandpaper for the first time, pay attention to the increased frictional resistance of the sandpaper, which can affect the floor sander.
Sand the surfaces evenly using the floor sander. Care should be taken to keep the handle of the floor grinder flat. This ensures better gliding of the floor grinder on the concrete floor. Check the sandpaper after certain time intervals and change it if necessary to prevent the sandpaper from wearing through.
If you can't get to all the places in the room with the floor grinder, then you should use the angle grinder. In combination with the right diamond cup wheel, the angle grinder is a good alternative for working on surfaces such as edges, corners or stairs.
After the room has been completely sanded, the increased occurrence of dust must be counteracted by cleaning with an industrial vacuum cleaner. You should make sure that before each new grinding process, the surface to be processed must be free of particles in the form of dust or material residues from the previous grinding process.
Repeat steps 4 to 6 until the desired finish is achieved.
After the desired micrograph has been achieved, the fair-faced concrete must be sealed due to the sensitive surface. Mix the sealing medium (e.g. synthetic resin or epoxy resin) thoroughly and apply to the fair-faced concrete with a brush or roller. You should make sure to apply thin and even layers. Usually at least two jobs are required to get a good result. The drying time before walking is approx. 24 hours. Complete drying of the seal is achieved after 72 hours. Good ventilation and a minimum temperature of 5°C are required while the seal is drying. Direct sunlight should also be avoided during drying.
The areas of application of fair-faced concrete are increasingly being used in modern residential and industrial construction. Therefore, the processing of the concrete surface in the form of concrete grinding is increasingly becoming part of the everyday activities of a craftsman. The use of the machines depends on the size of the area and the accessibility of the surface to be sanded. A floor grinder is used for large areas. An angle grinder or, in rare cases, a diamond hand grinding pad can be used for hard-to-reach areas such as corners and edge areas.
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1. Cutting concrete - The most popular machines and tools
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