Find Your Local Perth Floor Preparation Contractor

What equipment is used to prepare the floor? Today, we at Australian Construction will share with you what we use for Perth floor preparation contractor services. By the end of this tutorial, you will know their differences, and also understand why you should choose us as your service provider.

Floor preparation is one of those things that people do not know about. They think that the concrete floor is ready for finishing once it is already dry. Quite the contrary, it does require a lot of preparation. This allows the concrete to be ready and accept the finishing processes.

1. Shot Blaster

The shot blaster is the most common floor preparation equipment used in this industry. It has what is called steel shots, and they come in different grits. A shot blaster looks like a large floor polisher, and it is operated by hand.

In the shot blasting process, we remove the old coatings from your concrete flooring. This leaves no traces, and only gives us a final product which is concrete. This concrete is levelled and roughed only to the right degree to make sure that the new coating is going to stick.

Shot blasting is the most common type of Perth floor preparation contractor services, which we at Australian Construction offer. Once the surface preparation is in process, we can now texture your concrete flooring. We also use the right grit in relation to the kind of finish that you will use.  

2. Concrete Scarifier

This one is rarely seen in the industry, but it is equally important. A concrete scarifier is an equipment that functions as a wood planer, albeit for concrete. It is also known in the industry as a surface planer.

This is a milling machine, which cuts or “scars” the concrete. It uses cutting tools that rotate around the drum. We use the scarifier if the concrete is really uneven or if it is really thick and we need to remove a big chunk.

Concrete scarifier are more aggressive than grinders. They are equipped with cutting wheels that rotate quickly. These mean machines can easily remove ¼ inch of concrete in a single pass.

We at Australian Construction employ this if you want to lower your concrete flooring. Our machines have cutters that will chip through the concrete. Once the “planing” of the concrete is over, we can move on to using less aggressive grinders to smoothen the surface a little bit further.

3. Concrete Grinders

Grinders can be used for grinding concrete and for polishing. It all depends on the attachment that you use. Concrete grinders have rotating discs in a horizontal position.

With concrete grinders, we can do a lot of tasks such as:

• Light texturing
• Opening the pores of the concrete
• Removal of paint
• Removal of other thin coatings

The wonderful thing about concrete grinders is that they are versatile. You can change the attachments, and they come in different grits. Concrete grinders are gentler than other Perth floor preparation contractor equipment. They can scrape a maximum of 1/8th inch, making them ideal for preparing the surface after shot blasting or after using a scarifier.

There are different types of concrete grinders. There are hand-held ones and there are walk-behind ones. We have both, and we use the equipment that is appropriate for the project. On some occasions, we use grinders with floating heads—they follow the contour of the floor.

4. Multi-strippers

Multi-strippers are used for stripping paint and other kinds of finish. These strippers are machines that have a blade at the front. You push the stripper forward according to the depth that you want.

Once you push it forward, it has a cutting action that works in a forward and backward motion. We use multi-strippers to remove paint, epoxy, and even a layer of concrete.

The great thing about a multi-stripper is that it produces an even cut. They are noisy, and they also produce large debris and dirt. This should not be an issue, as we at Australian Construction will take care of the disposal of the debris.

These machines are heavy-duty. They are a popular choice for stripping slabs of concrete from your flooring. We love using these machines because they help us complete stripping jobs in a short period of time. They are also suitable even for tough conditions.

A great example is if you used red cement as your topcoat for your flooring. If you want to remove that, a multi-stripper is one of the best options. Once the top layer is removed, you have to re-apply a new layer of concrete, and then we can do the surface preparation once the concrete is dry.  

5. Burnishers

The last on our list is burnishers. These machines are used to polish the floor, especially so if your final floor is concrete with no other layers. They are made of rugged solid steel.

In concrete burnishing, you will have a durable finish that will last. The surface of your concrete will get a lustre, and it is great if you are building car parks, a warehouse, or a large commercial space.

The primary enemy of flooring is dirt. Over a long period of time, the dirt will get stuck on the concrete. You will notice scratches and you will have a dirty floor—even if you clean it.

Foot traffic is the primary culprit here. The solution is burnishing. At Australian Construction, we can prepare the surface of your floor and make it look brand new. All the scars will go away, and our end product is a concrete floor that has lustre.

Summary: Perth Floor Preparation Contractor

Floor preparation is an important and critical aspect of construction. Do it right so your floor will last a number of years.

Give us a call at Australian Construction on 1800 155 881, and we will discuss your project with you. We have a team of engineers who are highly knowledgeable about large-scale construction projects, especially for floor preparation.