Why Is Floor Preparation Required?

Why Do I Need Concrete Grinding?

Without proper floor surface preparation, many problems can arise once you’ve installed your new flooring. If you have ever seen uneven floors, peeling floors, or bubbling floors, it could be because the floor wasn’t properly prepped.

Why do you need Concrete Grinding? If you are looking to lay any floor covering to a concrete slab you must first check that the concrete slab is clean, perfectly level with no minor bumps (even 0.1mm can be an issue), and ready for the installation of the new flooring system that you have chosen EVERY flooring system except for carpet will require “Floor Preparation” prior to installing your new flooring system (Excluding carpet).

Your new flooring system needs a clean, smooth, and porous slab to bond to. Any glue or cement residue or any minor bumps in the slab left between the concrete will affect the quality and durability of the new floor covering that is being installed and may result in the flooring system that you are installing failing.

Floor installers and (all major companies) will not give you any form of warranty or simply won’t do your project if you haven’t done the correct Floor preparation. It should be noted that the manufacturer will also not give you any form of warranty as you have not followed the correct guidelines. Concrete Grinding is also necessary to remove any form of residues on your concrete slab and to level your floor to enable a clean installation of your new flooring system.

Concrete Grinding will ensure a smooth finished result for 99% of floors but not necessarily level in some cases the subfloor is in poor condition to start with, which in turn dictates the end result. This is when Floor Levelling is required.

Concrete Grinding is also necessary to remove any trip hazards if you wish to use a concrete slab as your subfloor. It is especially important if the floors are going to be polished, as the quality of the concrete will show through.

Concrete Grinding the floors prior to the application of tiles, floorboards, vinyl, lino, slate, pebblecrete, parquet, laminate, epoxy, waterproofing membranes, floor levelling products, paint, etc. is the single biggest way to ensure the longevity of the floors as well as to ensure that you get your warranty from the installer/company that you chose to install your flooring system.

If you “skip” the process of “Floor Preparation” by not doing concrete grinding companies have the right to NOT give you any warranty on the installation of their flooring system that they have installed. So if it fails within even 7 days, it is YOUR issue and not there’s and you will NOT get a refund, free repair, or replacement. So you could end up wasting tens of thousands of dollars purchasing and installing your new flooring system, only to have it fail within a short period of time because you chose to skip the Concrete Grinding or Floor Leveling (also known as Floor Preparation) process. This is why “Floor Preparation” is so important.

The team we provide for you are experts in their field at removing floor coverings, adhesives, and compounds that make the surface uneven and difficult to reinstall a new underlay or flooring system too.

Our service is designed to provide a completely smooth and clean surface for our customers to do what they want. Our friendly team of experts is ready to assess your situation and consult with you on the best way to proceed with your Concrete Grinding project.

Why Do I Need Floor Levelling?

New concrete slabs are laid to Australian standards which specify a 10mm maximum tolerance within any room and a 20mm maximum tolerance over the entire building footprint.

This makes Floor Levelling an important key to your renovation project as many concrete slabs have a variance of height exceeding the maximum recommended tolerance for laying a large range of flooring systems.

A large portion of people who install new flooring in their home or commercial building fails to inspect the levelling of their concrete subfloor, which almost always leaves their floors with subtle errors and dips. Before installing your new flooring system, always ensure that correct floor preparation is undertaken prior to the installation of a new flooring system.

Floor Levelling may not seem like an important step when putting in new flooring. However, the concrete that acts as a base for your flooring can often have high or low points which means your concrete isn’t completely smooth and level. High points can be caused by concrete spills, contamination, and original pour errors as well. Low points can be frettings, divets, holes, and other damage such as Concrete Cancer and Concrete Cracks.

With Floor Levelling Sydney’s specialist team, we can fix any of these issues such as the raising or lowering of concrete height to accommodate these high or low points. Our Floor Levelling team is also able to create falls in the concrete slab for water-proofing purposes or to direct drains. As well as any other Floor Levelling service that you can think of that may be required prior to installing your flooring system, such as an Ardex Skim Coat or a Liquid Screed.

1) Floor Levelling is required to fill any holes and divets
2) Floor Levelling products are what ensure your floor is flat to the exact MM required
3) Floor Levelling is required to ensure flawless installation of a new flooring system
4) Floor Levelling is a process that is done AFTER Concrete Grinding
Click Here To Read More About Why Floor Levelling Is Required

Concrete Grinding alone will not make your concrete slab “flawlessly flat” and ready for the re-installation of new flooring systems. Concrete Grinding is used to remove all residues on concrete slabs before the re-installation of a new coating (glue, epoxy, stencil concrete, waterproofing, etc.) it is also used before the re-installation of a Floor Levelling product.

The reason for this is the Floor Levelling product needs a flawless, clean concrete slab to bond to that has no residue left on it. Failure to remove all the residue prior to the installation of a Floor Levelling product will result in the product failing. The Floor Levelling product installed AFTER the Concrete Grinding is what ensures your floor is flat to the exact MM required.

Is Concrete Grinding Required Before Floor Levelling?

Yes, Concrete Grinding is ALWAYS required prior to floor levelling otherwise you WILL NOT get ANY insurance on the installation of our product as it’s most likely going to fail, crack, or popup within a 3-12 month period due to Floor Preparation not been done correctly.

You may also require Concrete Grinding before Floor Levelling proceeds if you have previously had flooring systems such as vinyl, lino, tiles, glued carpet, etc. Installed that may have been glued or cemented down to your concrete slab as they will have left a residue that will need to be ground away. Or if you have had epoxy, paint, stencil concrete, or other residues applied to your concrete slab they can also be taken care of with Concrete Grinding.

It’s very important to ALWAYS remove any prior residues on a concrete slab prior to attempting Floor Levelling otherwise the Floor Levelling agent will fail to bond correctly with your concrete slab. So it is essential to not skip Concrete Grinding.

Floor Levelling is a process that is done AFTER Concrete Grinding. Concrete Grinding alone will not make your concrete slab “flawlessly flat” and ready for the re-installation of new flooring systems such as Tiles. Concrete Grinding is used to remove all residues on concrete slabs before the re-installation of a new coating (epoxy, stencil concrete, waterproofing) it is also used before the re-installation of a Floor Levelling product or flooring system.

The reason for this is the Floor Levelling product or coatings need a flawless, clean concrete slab to bond to that has no residue left on it. The Floor Levelling product is what ensures your floor is flat to the exact MM required for your new flooring system.

Click Here To View Our Floor Levelling Page For More Information
Click Here To View Our Concrete Grinding Page For More Information

Why Is It So Dangerous To Skip Floor Preparation?

– Floor installers and all major companies will not give you any form of warranty or simply won’t do your project if you haven’t done the correct Floor preparation.

– The manufacturer of your flooring system or coating will also not give you any form of warranty as you have not followed the correct guidelines.

– If you “skip” the process of “Floor Preparation” by not doing Concrete Grinding and Floor Levelling companies have the right to NOT give you any warranty on the installation of their flooring system that they have installed. So if it fails within even a super short period of time, such as 7 days, it is still YOUR issue and not there’s. You will NOT get a refund, free repair, or replacement of your flooring system.

– It’s very important to ALWAYS remove any prior residues on your subfloor prior to installing any form of adhesive bonding product, Floor Levelling product, or other bonding agents. If you fail to do so, The Floor Levelling agent or adhesive bonding product will fail to bond correctly with your subfloor. So it is essential to not skip Floor Preparation.

– The failure rate of Flooring Systems and coatings that have not had the correct Floor Preparation done is over 90%

What Is Floor Preparation?

What Is Floor Preparation? Floor Preparation is the process of preparing the existing subfloor to receive new floor covering or coating and ensuring that your new floor cover or coating will look great, lay flat, stay bonded, and not fail.

Floor Preparation is the first and most important step before the installation of any flooring system or coating. Without proper Floor Preparation, many problems can arise once you install your new flooring system or coating. If you have ever seen uneven floors, peeling floors, bubbling floors, or flooring systems failing in general it could be because the appropriate Floor Preparation was not done.

Whether it is residential, commercial, or industrial—the floors must be properly prepped for replacement of new flooring systems or coatings.  You can’t skip Floor Preparation. Every surface needs to be clean, level, free of existing adhesives, and within moisture tolerances, for the type of floor covering or coating, that you will be installing.

How Does Floor Preparation Work?

Step 1: Job Site Assessment

You’ve selected your new floor system or coating and you’re excited to have it installed. Not so fast. The first step after you have selected your dream floor is to have a qualified installer or estimator take a look at the job site conditions to be sure your selection will be a good choice for your particular space. Site inspections can also be important for “test grinds”, checking the “MPa” of the concrete, and checking if any surface preparation is required prior to you installing your new floor system or coating.

Step 2: Removing The Existing Flooring

Often times when we do job site inspections, we’ll find that there are existing flooring systems or coating that have already been installed. Without removing the existing flooring system or coating it is usually impossible to know what lies beneath them that can cause issues after the installation or somewhere down the road.

Often we will do a small test grind, or removal of a small area of the flooring system to see what we are dealing with prior to providing you with a quote to provide the most accurate price possible.

However, for many reasons (such as different areas having possibly multiple layers of a flooring system or coating which requires a price increase) for those reasons as well as some others, you may not get a 100% accurate price on your quote if you don’t know all the details or if we run into any issues that you have not made us aware of such as if there are multiple layers or coatings on your subfloor that need to be removed.

Step 3: Concrete Grinding

Your new flooring system or coating needs a clean, smooth, and porous slab to bond to. Any glue or cement residue or any minor bumps in the slab left between the concrete will affect the quality and durability of the new floor covering that is being installed and may result in the flooring system that you are installing failing.

Concrete Grinding removes all imperfections and inconsistencies in the concrete, resulting in a smooth and usable surface. Old and damaged concrete surfaces can be restored to their former glory and used for years and years to come

Concrete Grinding is always required prior to:
1) Concrete Crack Repairs
2) Concrete Cancer Repairs
3) Application of Floor Levelling Agents

Step 4: Concrete Cancer Repairs

Concrete Cancer Repairs may need to be addressed and repaired prior to the installation of a Floor Levelling product such as Ardex. Concrete Cancer is caused when the steel reinforcing within a concrete slab begins to rust. As the steel rusts, it expands and displaces the surrounding concrete; causing it to become brittle and crack which exacerbates the issue and speeds up the process of damaging your concrete and causing your flooring system or coating to fail within a short period of time. Concrete Cancer should ALWAYS be repaired prior to Concrete Grinding and Floor Levelling.

Click Here To Learn More About Concrete Cancer Repairs

Step 5: Concrete Crack Repairs

Concrete Crack Repairs can be done with Epoxy Crack Injection Resin. This can mitigate problems of cracked concrete with larger and finer cracks. The ARDEX Epoxy Injections used to Repair Cracked Concrete use a high-strength, rapid-setting two-part system to repair concrete damage from hairline cracks right through to structural repairs.

These products are ideal for repairing holes, spalls, and cracks in concrete, in internal as well as external situations where heavy-duty vehicle traffic is anticipated. Once cured, the Repaired Concrete Cracks will be two to three times stronger than the original concrete, guaranteeing a long-lasting and durable Concrete Crack Repair solution.

Epoxy injection is a process by which the structural integrity of a cracked concrete member can be restored to its original strength. Epoxy is pumped into a crack under pressure. The injection is performed to ensure that epoxy fully penetrates and fills the crack. Once the epoxy has cured, the concrete is in essence welded back together.

Epoxy has a cured strength many times higher than the concrete itself, restoring injected members to their original strength. Any known cause for the cracking or settlement of the structure should be addressed to mitigate any future movement.

Epoxy Injection is an extremely cost-effective alternative to the removal and replacement of cracked concrete and can be executed with minimal disturbance.

Click Here To Learn More About Concrete Crack Repairs

Step 6: Floor Levelling

Floor Levelling is often required if there are any high/low spots/holes that need to be filled prior to installing your new flooring system. We highly recommend Floor Levelling the uneven subfloor before installing any type of floor covering.

Getting your Floor levelled is an important first step in any flooring installation process. A level subfloor is an important factor in helping your flooring last longer and keep the finish attractive, feel level underfoot, and do not pop up, crack, or fail within a short period of time. While also following the guidelines of the manufacturers to ensure you receive your warranty.

If your subfloor is not level, it can lead to Tiled Floors failing within a short period of time, or simply not being able to be installed at all, this is common for almost every single flooring system (excluding carpet).

Click Here To Learn More About Floor Levelling

Want To Learn More?

– Floor Levelling
– Concrete Grinding
– What Is A Feather Coat
– Concrete Crack Repairs
– What Is A Liquid Screed
– Why Do I Need Leveling
– How Does Floor Levelling Work
– Should I Get My Floors Leveled
– Why Is Floor Levelling Required
– Why Is Floor Leveling Important
– Why Do You Need Your Floors Leveled
– Can You Install Carpet On Uneven Floors
– Why Is It Dangerous To Skip Floor Levelling
– What Floor Levelling Products Should Be Used
– How Thick Can You Pour A Floor Levelling Product
– Why Do I Need My Floors Leveled Before Installing Tiles
– Why Do I Need My Floors Leveled Before Installing Vinyl
– How Does Floor Levelling Help With Pipes Cables And Drains
– Can You Use Floor Levelling Products On Timber And Concrete
– Is Floor Levelling Required For Installing Floating Floorboards
– Do All Flooring Systems Need To Be Leveled Before Installation
– Why Do I Need My Floors Leveled Before Installing Laminate Flooring
– Why Do I Need My Floors Leveled Before Installing Hardwood Flooring
– Can You Pour Multiple Layers Of Floor Levelling Compounds On Top Of Each Other