There are two broad profiling techniques that people can use to prepare their concrete slabs so that they can fit on a new surface. They include chemical and mechanical profiling, where profiling entails the use of grinding equipment to create a strong bond between the concrete and bonding agents. Biochemical profiling, on the other hand, uses acid to etch the surface of concrete and open pores on it to achieve a strong bond between the slab and the bonding agent.
Mechanical scarifying, also known as profiling, is the perfect profiling technique for removing vegetable oils, sealers, petroleum-based products, and coatings from the surface of the concrete. However, it has proven itself more efficient than acid etching, given that its results are reliable. It involves the use of grinding equipment to grind the concrete surface to achieve a rough concrete slab. Mechanical profiling services include the use of a grinding machine combined with advanced vacuum technology to capture dust and profile the surface of a concrete floor. Concrete prep procedures can help minimize any dirt or debris that may inhibit bonding of the concrete with the bonding agent. Mechanical profiling starts with grinding away the slab surface, creating a bondage, and exposing aggregate to allow any coating, including adhesives, epoxy, and mortar to bond with the concrete surface. Preparing a surface ensures a better bond between a slab and the bonding agent to create a concrete that is ready for polishing.
Steps for Concrete Profiling
A concrete profiling contractor first grinds the surface of a slab followed by a survey of the current state of the concrete. As the contractor examines the tile, efflorescence, curing materials, existing sealers, grease, dirt, and oil are removed. The contractor will also determine how well-bonded a slab is if there is a surfacing material over the epoxy coating, stone, tile, or concrete substrate.
Grinding and Surface Preparation
Preparing the surface of a concrete slab to accept the surfacing materials or bonding is the first step to creating a durable concrete floor. The condition of the substrate, which could include cracking, dusty, shelling up, and surfacing material are some of the factors that determine the slab surface profile. Ask yourself if there will be a need to polish the concrete and the type of overlay or concrete to install on a slab. Other factors include project requirements, such as restrictions on equipment, dust, and noise as well as job site conditions to make sure that the working environment can accommodate scarifying and grinding equipment.
Concrete profiling starts with grinding and scarifying a slab to remove shot blasting or old floor coatings or any other loose concrete or contaminant. There are numerous concrete surface prep and resurfacing companies out there. However, everyone wants to work with a contractor with several years of service in this field and has the necessary equipment for grinding and resurfacing a concrete floor. Professional concrete repair contractors are equipped with dust-free technology and modern tools for concrete preparation, cleaning, and crushing.
Removal of Adhesive
Concrete repair contractors have applied mastics and adhesives to commercial and industrial surface materials for years. Once a homeowner decides to replace an old concrete slab, the contractor has to strip or ground off the adhesive and glue and remove any contaminants on the surface. Then the contractor can go ahead to profile the slab to accept the bonding agent and concrete after the glue is removed.
Removing Thinset
Stone tiles, porcelain, and ceramic removal is a dusty, dirty task unless a professional service does it. As such, an ordinary homeowner might have to research on the internet to understand the thinset removal process. Unfortunately, some contractors often fail to remove the thinset when removing debris on a concrete slab, inhibiting the bond between the concrete slab and the thinset. That can result in hollow sounding tiles or delamination, which eventually loosens the floor or make it crack. Scraping off all debris and the thinset isn’t possible, and only a vacuum system that can capture the dust coupled with a mechanical diamond grinding technique can get rid of all the thinset. Professional pavement repair services have all the necessary vacuum and grinding technologies that can capture the dust and dirt produced during overlays in residential and commercial environments and grinding of the thinset.
Impact
A hardened point often impacts the substrate, and it can even cause it to crumble. It also causes the slab to fracture the cement paste and aggregate, causing the concrete to get damaged. Concrete repair contractors can use scabbing, scaling, bush hammer bit, milling, and scarifying to impact a concrete slab. When talking to a concrete slab contractor, let them know the surface profile you would want on your concrete pavement. Also, get a free estimate and ask the contractor the surface profile that the material manufacturer recommended for a concrete floor. Your floor has to be adequately prepared before you install high-quality flooring material. Contractors often get into a floor repair project without following the due process, hoping that the bonding agent and the slab would stick magically. The mess on a slab flooring material is real, but magic isn’t practical. As such, anyone who isn’t sure about what needs to be done on a concrete floor should enlist the help of professional concrete repair service. Alternatively, a homeowner can download a checklist of questions to ask a concrete floor repair contractor before a project starts.
Preparation is an essential step in repairing and maintaining quality concrete flooring material. Homeowners have to prepare their floor with the right concrete surface profile for quality and robust bonding on an overlay or coating. Concrete surface profile refers to a standardized measure for surface roughness. A smooth concrete slab with almost no preparation will have a low concrete surface profile while a rough concrete slab will have a high concrete surface profile. The slab surface texture is an essential consideration for applying an overlay or coating on a flooring surface.