What's so green about polished concrete?

Want a green flooring option that is cost effective and beautiful? It's well within the realm of possibility with polished concrete. Using the existing slab keeps products such as floor coverings, and coatings not just out of landfills but, requires no large shipments, less packaging and little to no production waste. Choosing not to cover you slab with another floor covering can even help your next project qualify for LEED points.

The categories that will help your project earn LEED certification are the following.

1. Low/No VOC's: Breath easy! Polished concrete will not release any volatile chemicals into the air, contaminating your space. That's good news for both the work atmosphere and our earths atmosphere.

2. Reusing original materials: Already have a concrete slab? Refine it and score some LEED points. Polished concrete up-cycles a plain slab to an artfully finished slab.

3. Energy saving: Less lights better lighting. Polished concrete can have be highly reflective. Mirror like reflection can be achieved with a good polish. This will help amplify lighting. Couple the reflective quality of polished concrete with good ambient lighting and you are on your way to using way less energy to brighten your space.

4: Optimization of energy usage: Improvement is the new black. On your next renovation aim to reduce your carbon foot print by using less power. Heating, cooling and lighting your space by taking advantage of polished concrete's thermal mass and reflective qualities.