Hi all, I have been researching what to replace my dirty carpet with for the bedrooms in my 2nd floor unit. I am looking for a water tight, durable, and low VOC option. Certain types of laminate, vinyl or cork are options, but I am currently considering CONCRETE. The floor under the carpet is already concrete, so I am thinking to rip up the carpet and then polish or paint or ….. the concrete? Has anyone successfully ripped up the carpet or other flooring in their unit bedrooms and made use of the concrete floor?? If so, what did you do and how did you go about getting approval from body corporate etc? And is sound acoustics an issue now? This question applies to people on the second floor or higher..
Thanks in advance for any helpful replies!!
I personally don't think polished concrete would look or function that well in a unit. For starters, usually a polished concrete floor (not always, but most of the time) has stones thrown on top and tinting put into when it Is being laid, so that when it gets polished up it. Gives it that sparkly, interesting look.
also it is leveled to finer scale then normal concrete. Which you might find is the case with the concrete underneath your carpet. It could require a lot of concrete Sanding.
you also would have issues of access getting the machines up to the second story unless you have a lift.
from a cost to value add perspective. Concrete in a unit would come across a bit cold and clinically, timber flooring and carpet are much softer in a smaller area. Your replacement cost for timber, laminate and especially carpet is going to be less then polishing the concrete
Depending on the age of your building, you may find that you could be in breach of the Strata-by-laws or the council issued building approval. In most cases you are required to have and maintain a 50db noise separation between units. A lot of developers used to use carpet/soft floor coverings as part of the this 50db requirement. It is something I always check for now, having been of the wrong end of a new owner ripping up carpet and polishing their floors without strata approval.
BTW: finished polished concete is not low VOC
Modernity Investing
Email MeThanks for your reply. Great information about the sound issues. The polished concrete suppliers I have found offer a VOC free polished concrete. I am also looking at other flooring options, but the room gets water penetrating through open windows during rain (if left open), and therefore polished concrete would help prevent mold and water damage as compared to other flooring.
Thanks in advance for any further replies.
Thank you for this information. Great to get your help.
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