PROSOCO First Cut with Densifier allows contractors to grind and densify concrete in one easy step. “If they’re grinding wet, it’s the way to go.”
First Cut with Densifier at Ace Hardware
At an Ace Hardware in Parkville, Mo., crews from concrete contractor Fleshman Construction were recently tackling a grind-and-polish job. The project was a prototype slated to be rolled out at the hardware retailer’s stores nationwide.
Power-trowel machines were humming, water sources secured. At first glance, this job had all the looks and sounds of a typical wet-grind. But there was something unconventional happening underneath the machinery.
The crews were testing out a new grinding aid and densifying chemical that they were told would greatly expedite their timeline and dramatically reduce downtime, getting them onto their next jobs faster.
They were using a new Consolideck product from PROSOCO called First Cut with Densifier, which allows contractors to grind and densify concrete at the same time, with either a traditional walk-behind grinder or a power-trowel machine. The combination of those two steps into one means a virtual elimination of downtime, with no more crew members standing around waiting for a floor to dry before densification could occur.
For William Saunders of Bledsoe Rentals, an equipment rental and chemical distributor in the Kansas City area, the benefits were immediately apparent.
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First Cut with Densifier
Why all the waiting?
Relatively speaking, the grind-and-polish industry is a new business that surfaced within the last 20 years or so. But it’s caught on in staggering fashion, with more owners and developers realizing the benefits of polished concrete as a flooring topping, and contractors realizing the benefits of wet-grinding to achieve the owner’s desired aesthetic. As the industry has quickly adapted to new technological efficiencies, the issue of waiting for a floor to dry out before densifying has remained.
Concrete contractors have grown accustomed to waiting for floors to dry before getting the machinery back out for the densification process to begin. So, the prospect of addressing this time, labor and cost inefficiency is attractive for contractors and owners alike.
With the new product, a grinding aid and densifier in one, contractors can grind and densify in one step. It’s designed for use on new or existing concrete and can be used with a traditional walk-behind grinder or a power-trowel machine.
Jason Benjamin, another Kansas City-area concrete contractor, recently used First Cut with Densifier with a power-trowel machine on a 15,000-square-foot floor. He said the product saved him between 4 and 5 hours, equal to about a 40% savings out of his project timeline.
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It's not just densifying
First Cut with Densifier acts as a grinding aid to make the grind-and-polish process immensely more efficient. While grinding aids are a relatively new product category to the polished concrete market, customers immediately see the advantages when they watch a demo, said Nick Savage, leader of PROSOCO’s Concrete Flooring business unit.
Jim Todd of Concrete Surface Supply, who was on-site at the Ace Hardware with Fleshman Construction crews, was a believer at first sight.
“We’re using First Cut with Densifier under the power-trowel,” he said. “It’s cleaning, pushing slurry and hardening the concrete at the same time.”
What were his first impressions?
“It makes the floor easier to clean and maintain,” he said. “You’re not getting all that mud into your components. And it’s low on water.”
The product moves slurry solids, generated by wet-grinding, away from the diamond tooling, which enables the diamonds to work more efficiently on the surface, and it makes for much easier cleanup, Todd said.
“If they’re grinding wet, it’s the way to go,” he added.
Saunders with Bledsoe Rentals agreed that the product is a no-brainer, adding that it also increases productivity.
“The production rate with this product over just plain water will probably be anywhere from 20-25% more productive because the diamond is actually hitting the ground,” he said.
First Cut with Densifier is ready to use with no dilution needed, and it works on new or existing concrete floors. The VOC-compliant, non-flammable and non-toxic product is applied with a low-pressure sprayer.
Save time and money with First Cut with Densifier. Available through distributors nationwide. Need a distributor? Call us at 1-888-216-3039.
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