Concrete floor preparation in Cork

Concrete floor preparation gets a concrete slab ready for the finish that goes on top, by grinding it flat and clean and taking off anything that would stop the new floor bonding. Euro Concrete prepares floors for resin, epoxy, tiles and timber, and the installer lays the finish.

A new slab dries with a thin, weak skin called laitance, and an old slab carries paint, sealer, adhesive or the remains of a previous floor. A resin, an epoxy or a tile adhesive laid over either will fail where the surface under it fails, so both come off. Grinding with diamond tooling takes the surface back to sound concrete, opens it up so the coating can grip, and brings down high spots and ridges. Filling cracks and low spots, and laying any levelling compound, is part of the installer's system and follows the grinding. The floor is left clean, with the dust extracted, ready for the next trade.

A concrete floor is prepared for epoxy by grinding it with diamond tooling to take off the laitance, old coatings and contamination, opening up the surface so the epoxy can bond, then vacuuming it clean. Euro Concrete does the grinding and preparation, and the epoxy installer primes and lays the system.

Epoxy bonds to the concrete itself, so anything between the epoxy and sound concrete is a weak point: the laitance on a new slab, paint, sealers, oil, old adhesive or a previous coating. Grinding removes these and leaves a slightly rough, open surface that the primer soaks into. High spots and ridges come down at the same stage, so the floor is flat for the coating. The installer then checks that the slab is dry enough for their product, fills any cracks and joints, primes the floor and lays the epoxy. Send the installer's specification with your enquiry and we will prepare the floor to it.

Yes, by grinding. Euro Concrete grinds down high spots, ridges and uneven patches so the floor is flat for the new finish. Where a floor needs building up with levelling compound or screed to fill low areas, that is laid by your flooring installer after we have prepared the slab.

Grinding takes material off, so it levels a floor by bringing the high points down to meet the rest. That suits a slab where the problem is trowel marks, ridges, lumps of old adhesive or a floor that is out in places. A floor that dips, or that has to rise to meet a new level, needs material added instead, and the self-levelling compound or screed for that is part of the flooring installer's system. Preparing the slab first gives the compound a sound surface to bond to. Tell us what is going down and send photos of the floor, and we will say whether grinding alone will get it flat.

No. Euro Concrete does not lift, jack or re-level sunken concrete slabs, driveways or paths. We grind and prepare concrete floors so they are flat and sound for a new finish, and for a sunken slab you need a slab lifting or concrete jacking contractor.

Slab lifting pumps grout or foam under a slab that has settled, to raise it back to level. That is a different trade with different equipment, and it is not work we take on. What we do on floors is take material off: grinding high spots and ridges flat, removing coatings and adhesive, and preparing the surface for the flooring going on top. If your floor is sound but uneven on the surface, grinding may be the answer, so send photos and we will tell you. If a floor has cracked and dropped because the ground underneath has moved, have an engineer look at it first.

Euro Concrete prices floor preparation on the area to be prepared, what has to be removed, the standard the next floor needs, and access to the rooms. Send photos, the floor size and the installer's specification, or ring Sean on 086 881 9848, and we will price the preparation.

A resin or epoxy system asks for a more open, cleaner surface than a floor being tiled or carpeted, so the installer's specification sets how far the grind goes. What sits on the slab now is the next factor: a new slab with laitance is quick, while old tile adhesive, paint or a failed coating takes several passes and more diamonds. A larger floor spreads the setting up over more area, so each square metre costs less. Small rooms and corridors are slower, being mostly edge work. Having the rooms empty and power available on the day avoids a second visit.

Euro Concrete Services prepares concrete floors across County Cork for resin, epoxy, tile and timber installers and for homeowners, working out of Cork city and Skibbereen. Ring Sean on 086 881 9848 with the address, the floor size and what is going down next, and he will arrange the preparation to suit your installer's start date.

Coverage runs across the county, from Cork city, Glanmire and Carrigaline to Midleton and Youghal, up to Kanturk and Millstreet, and west to Kinsale, Clonakilty and Bantry. Installers based outside Cork with a floor to fit in the county can book the preparation stage with us as well. Tell us who is laying the finish and when they are due, and send their specification for the surface. Photos of the floor as it is now, with close-ups of anything stuck to it, let us price the preparation before we come.