Ground Floor: Satin Gloss Geoshine™. White Quartz with white oxide and off-white base.
External Pool: Hone & Seal Finish with anti-slip additive. White quartz 95% & Basalt 5% with white oxide and off-white base.
Lower level, mancave: High Gloss Geoshine™. Basalt with double black oxide with grey base.
Basement & Garage: High Gloss Geoshine™. Surface Polish, Basalt with standard grey base.
A Concreter’s Mecca
Five polished concrete finishes transform a Heidelberg home where concrete is more than a flooring choice – it’s the defining feature of the architecture.
Some jobs start with a tender. This one started with a neighbour walking over for a look.
Paul Warner was finishing a job nearby when Rob, a concreter and owner of a striking Heidelberg home, came over to see his work. Impressed, Rob took Paul’s portfolio home that night. What followed was a series of conversations about mix designs, finishing techniques and the possibilities of polished concrete.
With his own concreting company, Quantum Concreting, Rob had already made concrete the centrepiece of his home. He wanted the floors polished to the same exacting standard as the rest of the build, and recognised that Paul had the specialist expertise to achieve it.
Paul was happy to share his knowledge. He loves his craft and enjoys helping others – as he puts it, it’s how his mother raised him.
Those conversations led to Paul being engaged to polish the ground floor, the beginning of a project that would grow to encompass five distinct finishes across the home’s multi-level interior and exterior spaces.
Five finishes, one home
The Heidelberg home is Paul’s largest and most beautiful high-end residential polishing project in five years. Each finish was chosen to suit its setting, from the luminous tones of the main living area to the dramatic, mirror-like gloss of the private lounge and basement.
Ground floor
White quartz and white oxide in an off-white base create a refined, light-filled finish. Mechanically polished to a Geoshine™ satin finish, this is the most expensive mix available, delivering a subtle sophistication that complements the home’s architecture.
Private lounge
Downstairs, a double-black mix of basalt and oxide over a grey base creates a dark, mirror-like surface. Rob loves high-gloss finishes, and the private lounge was the ideal space to push the finish to its max.
Basement and garage
Basalt over a standard grey base gives this expansive area a deep, reflective finish. The Geoshine™ high-gloss surface polish brings a liquid-like sheen to the floor, giving the garage the feel of a luxury showroom.
Pool surround
Hone and seal on white quartz with a touch of basalt creates a finish that complements the ground floor without repeating it. An anti-slip additive from Geocrete’s sister company, Alchemy Construction Chemicals, provides additional grip when the surface is wet. Paul favours this finish for outdoor areas because it is more comfortable underfoot than exposed aggregate, which can be harsh on bare feet and knees.
Cantilevered alfresco bench | Surface polish
A cantilevered concrete bench is a statement in both design and engineering. Its projecting end has no support beneath it, making the design and construction particularly demanding. Valued at an estimated $40,000-$50,000, it is the kind of feature that makes sense in a concreter’s own home: ambitious, technically demanding and uncompromising in its use of concrete.
Concrete as architecture
For Paul, the floors were only part of the story. This was a concreter’s mecca, a home in which concrete had been embraced with extraordinary conviction.
Off-form concrete walls, floating concrete steps and an exposed concrete ceiling between the ground-floor levels make concrete an architectural feature throughout the home. The ceiling alone is an expensive and technically demanding element to execute well. The floating steps and detailed off-form walls demonstrate the same attention to structure, finish and detail that defines the floors.
Yet the house never feels cold. Stone-clad walls, soft furnishings and curtains temper the raw, imposing character of the concrete, creating a considered balance between industrial strength and domestic warmth.
The family’s hospitality was just as memorable. Rob, his wife Paula and their adult children welcomed Paul with coffee, home-cooked meals and conversation. The professional relationship had become a friendship, founded on a shared appreciation for good workmanship.
When the trades change places
A surface polish is among the most demanding concrete finishes to execute well. The final result depends heavily on the quality of the original pour and finish, making the concreter’s skill every bit as important as the polisher’s.
Having seen Rob’s expertise firsthand, Paul engaged him to pour and finish the 280 m² shed floor at his Kyneton property. The roles had reversed: the specialist who had first come to Rob’s home to polish his floors was now trusting Rob with a substantial concrete project of his own.
It was a fitting next chapter for a working relationship founded on respect for each other’s craft.
The family’s verdict
We had an outstanding experience with Paul from Geocrete. From start to finish, his professionalism, attention to detail and dedication to quality was exceptional. He transformed our concrete floors into a stunning, polished surface that exceeded our expectations. His workmanship is top notch, and it’s clear he takes pride in his work. We highly recommend Geocrete to anyone looking for high quality, polished concrete work.
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