SSI is hitting 2010 running............. with 2009 being our most successful year in our 12 year history. Our focus of growth, knowledge and beauty in concrete are stronger then ever.
Growth - In our first quarter SSI has started several large projects in our commercial division among them Mira Mar college polishing for Bomel construction, UCI polishing and deck overlays for Edge Development, UCSD Student housing for Morely Construction, 70,000 ft of joint fill for PHS, stained concrete floors for Danza Del Sol Winery, Bar and Bathroom concrete counter tops for Wine Steals overlooking Petco park as well as 200 square feet of BBQ top and view bars which will sit on the roof top of Montigo Condos.
Knowledge - Creating a strong, creative and well informed team that produces great product for our clients is met with weekly trainings, attendance at world of concrete and ongoing research.
Beauty in Concrete - We continue to shine in our residential division as well, with kitchen coutertops and interior stained floors becoming more and more popular for today's homeowners.
"you guys did a great job for me at Universal Studios, I'll spread the word and hopefully this will lead to many more projects at Driver "Sam Hulesis" - CW Driver
Polished Concrete
it's in the pour
Polished Concrete is a great finish for a wide range of projects because it is low maintenance, rock hard and archaically unique it is used in both the entry ways of office buildings and their ware houses in colleges and museums as well as residentail projects. Polish is one of our favorite finishes when the slab is in good condition it can be a difficult finish if the slab is in poor condition. What is polished concrete? the process of slow grinding the surface of an excising concrete slab with specifically engineered machines and diamond blades. The results can be a beautiful mirror like image showing hidden details in the slab.
Here is where the pour and the slab come into play big time.....The ideal slab is flat, if there are high and low spots you are going to have an uneven floor with areas completely missed by the polishing diamonds. Well just grind more you say keep in mind each pass takes off about 1/8 of an inch of the surface at a very slow pace so more passes equals more time and more money. So if you have a very uneven floor and you want a consistent grind polishing may not be your best choice.
If you want even sand and rock exposure which we agree looks really cool! It must have been cast that way in the pour, this is very difficult for people to understand again the common response just grind more comes out. You may have rock in one area and not the other, you could grind to the bottom of the slab and never hit rock. but remember concrete is a unique and original material scattered rock exposure is a great look!
If you're just starting your project and you know you want polished concrete bring your decorative concrete sub in early to discuss the pour for best results. you can do some very creative things like one of our clients who cast 250 broken wine bottles into their slab.
In closure when choosing a polished finish keep these things in mind so you know what to expect and can be completely satisfied with the en
