Concrete floor polished at long last!

Yesterday the polishing of the floor was finished. I had assumed that was it for the floor so was all excited to go and see a shiny beautiful floor done. I was so disappointed to turn up and see that it was filthy, and worst of all the cracks are still visible. They aren't 'cracks' any longer as they have been filled, but you can still see where the cracks were. It's probably something that will only stand out to me, well hopefully anyway! Even worse - a new crack has appeared that runs from the outer dining wall all the way across the room to the corner of the living room. Bummer.

I went back this morning to take some photos as yesterday afternoon the polisher was still finishing up, and am much happier with it today. Amazing what a nights sleep can do!

Rumpus room with cupboard on left looking towards passage

Kitchen/Dining standing at hallway door

Kitchen, dining and living standing at WIP door

Kitchen/dining from master bedroom door

Living room to kitchen, air lock door to right

Close up of kitchen floor

crack in hallway

crack near master bedroom

Strange 'X' shape in living room 

The final coating of the sealer will happen when the floor gets buffed, which won't happen until after the professional cleaners go through, so not until just before handover! Such a long time to wait. I was very pleased to hear from the polisher that he has used an eco product to seal the floor though. We had mentioned this to him back when he did the original grinding before frameworks started, and he gave me the impression then that it wasn't really doable, so a very nice surprise to hear that he managed it after all.

Stu met with the septic man to discuss placement and so on today. Works are supposed to start this Thursday. I dread to think of the mess they are going to make to the remainder of the block.

It's all happening now

Not a lot happened at the house after lock up due to everyone experiencing difficulties in getting equipment to the house. The polisher finally came towards the end of the week, but managed to get bogged and not get his heavy equipment unloaded. The HWS people also turned back. We have ordered another 6 trucks worth of recycled concrete to reinforce the driveway and hopefully this should make things easier. This should be happening at the start of the week, hope it doesn't get put off like it did last time.
We had a meeting with our builder on Saturday, and there is a lot about to happen.
Early this week the plumber is finally going to do some drainage work around the house which should also help a bit, and Glen thinks that the excavator may be used to lift the polishers heavy equipment into the house too. The water tanks should hopefully get connected by the end of this week as well, will be great seeing some of this water collected.
The tiler is ready to start doing some screeding and the painter is ready for everyone else to be done!
Meanwhile Dan the fit out man has been working there all weekend, and has managed to put architrave, skirting and cupboard doors up in the girls bedrooms and laundry, and also do the doors in our section, and the skirting and architrave in our room and the WIR. I am really surprised at how different this makes the rooms look. He won't be able to finish the fit out until the concrete has been finished.
So providing the access issue can get sorted, the next few weeks are set to be pretty busy.
We now have to pick our garage door type, and do up some drawings on how we want our cupboards to be set out.
Managed to get a couple of lights yesterday, and are getting closer to a decision on the remaining lights. This lighting decision is really doing my head in, and so far has been the only thing I haven't enjoyed choosing.
Rather then tracking mud through the house today I walked around with only my socks on. It's a pretty cold day and my feet didn't even feel chilled! Looks like our thermal mass is doing its job :D

Polishing is finished!

Yay! We have a floor!! The colour has come up pretty good, but don't just trust me...see for yourself

Part of the kitchen floor

Glen from KB told me that after the plaster is done then the polisher will come back again, but that won't be changing the colour, just giving it a bit more shine I think.
Unfortunately, the crack is still pretty obvious. I looked the other day, and due to the bright sunlight couldn't see it at all, and got so excited thinking it was gone. But nope, still present. At least it is only in the passage. I so hope that no more appear.
We are meeting Glen on Thursday to discuss a few things, and find out when the frame will be starting.

A little about Thermal Mass

The reason we have decided to use polished concrete for a lot of our flooring is for it’s use as Thermal Mass.

Materials with high thermal mass, like concrete, help to stabilise temperatures within the house. On hot days, our flooring will help to absorb heat, releasing it slowly during the night with the use of cool breezes which should then transport the heat out of the house. On cold days if there is any winter sun available, because the slab is exposed it absorbs what heat it can and releases it in the evening. This should help us to cut down on our energy bills for both heating and cooling. Thermal mass effectively acts as a temperature battery, soaking up the heat when there is a lot of thermal energy available and releasing it slowly later on.

It’s not just the floor which will help with our temperature control, there are several other factors very important to utilise thermal mass effectively.

House design and orientation is a key factor which had to be considered. We had to make sure that our house was oriented  well so that we receive winter sun, yet shaded effectively (with the use of eaves as well as curtains and blinds) so that summer sun is kept out. With design, window placement was very important so that we can catch any available breezes, have them run through our house and exit again. Our design has also incorporated a double layer of windows in the living area, so we can open up both levels of windows at once. The hot air will naturally be drawn out the higher windows, whilst the lower windows draw cooler air in.

Finally, we are required to be active agents in assisting the process. In summer, we need to make sure all blinds are pulled to keep the sun from heating up the floor and absorbing unnecessary heat, and then at night, open all windows to catch any available breezes to assist with removing what heat has been absorbed. In winter the opposite is in effect, we have to ensure our slab is exposed to as much sun as possible during the day in order to gain the warmth needed for the house in the evening.

This is a basic explanation, for more detail check out the Alternative Technology Association website www.ata.org.au