External honed, white granite with off-white cement, polished concrete mix.
Concreter’s mistake a lucky break for Geocrete clients
Polished concreting specialist Paul Warner was called in to deliver a honed finish to a Melbourne concreting job gone wrong, and his clients couldn’t be happier with the results.
Paul, who founded Victoria’s leading polished concrete company Geocrete in 2001, explains that the concreting mishap turned into a stroke of good fortune for the East Bentleigh home owners.
“The clients had originally chosen an exposed aggregate finish for the concrete areas surrounding their home, but due to a hot day, the concreters weren’t able to expose any aggregate. I was then contacted by the concreter to hone the surface to avoid a costly demolition of the job. In the end, the clients much preferred the honed look I created and were very happy with how the project turned out!”
Honing is a process where concrete is ground to expose the underlying aggregate and give the surface a smooth, matt finish that has high traction and slip resistance for all-weather use. Once sealed, it is extremely durable, and resistant to wear, stains and dirt penetration.
“Honed concrete brings the beauty and style of polished concrete to the outdoors. It’s easy to clean and feels great under foot, as opposed to exposed aggregate, which has to be pressure cleaned and whose abrasiveness is the cause of many a bleeding knee amongst kids playing on concrete.”
The house is set amongst landscaped gardens, and the honed concrete pathways bring a ‘wow’ factor to the design. Paul’s clients had chosen an off-white concrete, which contrasts beautifully with the sparkling grey granite aggregate that appears to ‘pop’ out of the concrete. A prominent feature of the garden is a large honed concrete staircase. “It was an extremely difficult job, as the steps had to be vertically grinded and the edges meticulously sculptured in a gentle bullnose radius to prevent sharp lines.”
Paul said he often shows the project to potential clients, as his work can be viewed from the front footpath without intruding on the owners. “The owners were so happy with my work and the stress and money I saved them by avoiding having to demolish the original concreting job that they insisted that I am always welcome to showcase the project to potential clients.”
Paul said that honed concrete is a premium and new design option for outdoor concrete areas; most are done in coloured stipple, clay pavers, stencil concrete, or exposed aggregate. “Honed concrete is something new and different that many people haven’t seen before. It’s a beautiful, durable and practical choice for outdoor entertaining areas, pool surrounds and even driveways.”
Honed finishes are achieved by grinding using a 30 grit diamond, producing a scratch that once sealed gives slip resistance. This is a simple one stage process, compared with the 15 stages involved in creating Geocrete’s signature Geoshine™ polished concrete internal floors.
