Sustainable Flooring: Supermarket Selects Dry Polishing Concrete Floors - Sustainable Flooring

Management at Reasor’s, a full-service independent supermarket chain in northeastern Oklahoma, faced an interesting challenge when constructing a new upscale 77,000-square-foot store: How to create a colorful and attention-grabbing high-performance finished floor that could stand up well over time yet carry minimal long-term maintenance costs?

Enter dyed, densified and dry polished concrete, a new high-quality approach to an age-old building material. Enhanced by environmentally friendly innovative technologies and installation techniques, the finished concrete offers unlimited geometric and freeform design possibilities in precise colors, and stands up well in high-traffic areas, while enjoying very low-maintenance requirements and associated costs.

Reasor’s took advantage of a patented concrete dye and dry polish process to transform the new store’s bare concrete floor into a highly appealing, durable and richly patterned colorful, no-wax wear surface that does not require the extensive maintenance of some other flooring options.

Dyeing and dry polishing bare concrete with specially formulated chemicals following a carefully devised process permanently chemically changes the composition of the top wear surface to improve durability of the achieved finish.

Because the resulting floor does not require frequent re-waxing and other maintenance to counter the effects of foot traffic and wheeled carts, and because there are no seams or grout that could serve as breeding ground for mold or mildew, it is possible for management to save up to 65 percent on maintenance costs (which are typically the most expensive factor in the life of a finish) compared to other flooring options.

Before committing to the process for the new store, located in Owasso, Reasor’s asked Concrete Visions, Inc., — a Tulsa, Okla., polished concrete contractor and certified installer of FGS PermaShine polished concrete flooring — to set up a sample section of dyed and dry polished concrete in the rear delivery area of one of Reasor’s other supermarkets.

“We wanted to see how the floor would stand up against heavy traffic from the fork lifts and other equipment used daily,” explained Allen Mills, executive vice president of Reasor’s, which has 15 supermarkets and two convenience stores. “After 120 days, the floor looked like the day we put it in,” Mills notes.

The fact that the dyed and dry polished concrete floor meets the NFSI (National Floor Safety Institute) standards for certification as a “High Traction” floor that retains its non-slip qualities even when wet was also extremely important, he adds. (The floor also complies with ADA and OSHA requirements for interior floor surfaces.)

The layout for the new supermarket, custom designed by the design and décor source group at Associated Wholesale Grocers, Inc., features multiple eye-catching patterns in six distinct custom-blended colors.

“Before we started the project, it was important that I was able to show Reasor’s that we could mix the dyes to exactly match the specified colors and use them to create the specified patterns,” notes Roy Bowman, president of Concrete Visions.

The patterns and decorative designs in Owasso were designed to encourage shopper traffic and also highlight particular areas. They include: patchwork quilt-like squares; swooping curves; a sunburst pattern; abstract patterns; a large five-point star in the movie rental section; colorful geometric patterns in the deli eating area; and — in the area of the corner meat department — lines that radiate from a circle, directing customers to various counters. Other decorative design features include a large gentle arc in the staffed pharmacy area. The floor, overall, is a combination of soft forms and overlapping geometric forms. Typically, the patterns are in aisles and open areas where people are walking. In some cases, smaller patterns are included atop larger patterns, resulting in an interesting tone-on-tone effect.

The design team took into consideration the market demographics and the regional competition, and then selected shapes and colors it felt would positively impact sales, explains Lori Quick, director, Design and Décor Source Group, a department of Associated Wholesale Grocers, Inc., — a cooperative of independent grocers in 22 states.

The colors in the floor were selected to fit into the overall color scheme for each department, giving a lot of variety to the floor.

“Each department has a unique design concept that puts the product in the forefront, with the colors and the shapes sometimes coming up the adjacent wall in color blocks, mirroring what is on the floor,” points out Quick.

The design team also used tenets of color psychology. For example, the installation uses warm colors (yellows and golds) to stimulate appetite.

“Just about any structurally sound concrete floor can be dyed, dry polished, and chemically hardened and densified, a process that hardens and protects the top wearing surface,” points out Greg Schwietz, president of L&M Construction Chemicals, the manufacturer of FGS PermaShine.

The dyeing process takes place after the floor is polished almost to the degree desired. The dry polishing technique uses diamond disks in the grinding machines for precise results. After the dyeing — and as soon as just minutes later — the floor is polished for the final time with the finest grit. At that point, the floor is still somewhat porous. To maximize durability, the installer applies the compatible penetrating hardener/densifier, which makes the concrete denser and harder where it counts, on the near-surface wear zone. It is possible for initial preparation steps to be completed just a few weeks after concrete is poured or right after standing concrete is cleaned and prepared.

Both new and renovated polished concrete floors can be permanently dyed just about any color or combination of colors. The intensity of the dye can range from a relatively light 25 percent concentration to a richly vivid 100 percent concentration, enabling the floor to complement most any palette of other finishing materials.

Using a certified installer trained in all the steps of the polishing/dyeing/densifying sequence assures quality control and expected results. While the technique for dyeing and dry polishing concrete to achieve design goals is fundamentally the same for every installation, designers can specify choice of colors, intensity of color, and the level of shine.

In Owasso, Concrete Visions used FGS Permashine’s water-based, solvent-free, VOC-free, odorless and non-toxic hardener/densifier.

“Unlike a sealer that just coats the floor and wears off, the hardener/densifier chemically reacts with components of the concrete floor without completely sealing the surface,” explains Schwietz.

“The hardener/densifier allows the surface to breathe, so there is no water vapor build-up and leaves no film to scratch, chip, peel, discolor or otherwise deteriorate,” Bowman says. “The added strength and wear resistance help preserve the highly polished look for many years.”

“Although dyed and dry polished concrete is more expensive up front than VCT or stained and sealed concrete, because of its much lower maintenance and overall life-cycle cost, it’s cheaper in the long run,” notes Mills.

The dye and dry polish process also works well for restoration of concrete floors during remodels. It utilizes highly efficient HEPA filter vacuum air purification technology to collect dust generated during the dry abrasive grinding and smoothing process. Because the jobsite can be kept virtually clear of any airborne dust, in a supermarket renovation management would not have to remove or even cover stock on the shelves.

The polished concrete may help supermarket owners gain up to five LEED credits under various categories, including Materials and Resources, Energy and Atmosphere, and Low Emitting Materials. And, depending upon the colors selected, the floor can reflect as much as 35 percent of the lighting, with the lower heat output from the lamps reducing demand on the air-conditioning system.

Whether in a renovation or in a new supermarket, dye and dry polished concrete offers designers an expedient way to achieve great low maintenance aesthetics underfoot.