CSDA Issues Concrete Surfacing and Polishing Standards and Practices
Concrete Surface Texture Standard and Polishing/Grinding Best Practice guidelines set standards for growing industry.
The concrete polishing and surface preparation industry now has vital new resources from the Concrete Sawing & Drilling Association, including a first of its kind, to measure job success.
In response to requests by architects and engineers to resolve consistency issues associated with quality levels achieved by polished concrete surfaces, CSDA has released two technical documents—an industry Standard and a Best Practice.
CSDA Standard ST-115 Measuring Concrete Micro Surface Texture is a collaborative effort between the CSDA Polishing and Standards & Specifications Committees. It identifies approved instrumentation for measuring surface texture and provides a benchmark measurement procedure for contractors and specifiers to follow. The document covers important steps in the production of a quality floor system and gives useful guidelines associated with the testing and inspection of a finished concrete surface.
In addition, CSDA-ST-115 includes a standard process for documenting surface texture readings, a list of industry terms and definitions and a section on codes, symbols and charts to assist concrete polishers.
“The release of this Standard could not have come at a better time,” says Andy Bowman, chair of CSDA’s Polishing Committee. “Some see the polishing industry as an unorganized group in need of consistent language, definitions and universal criteria. Now, CSDA has created a document with defining vocabulary that provides a consistent message throughout the industry. The challenge was to take artistic-minded techniques and adapt them to a more scientific approach. I feel we have achieved that.”
The accompanying Best Practice, CSDA-BP-015 Green Polishing and Grinding Practices, has been devised to help concrete polishing and grinding contractors create a detailed plan for performing their work in a more environmentally-friendly manner. It provides guidelines and recommendations for companies to employ on the jobsite, in the office or in the shop.
“These new documents are the culmination of hard work and dedication shown by members of CSDA’s Polishing Committee. The result is two robust industry documents that polishing contractors can refer to on any job,” says CSDA Executive Director Patrick O’Brien. “One provides the industry with finite rules for measuring the surface texture of a concrete floor system, as well as giving set parameters to create high-quality polished concrete floors with consistency. The other informs and educates polishing businesses about green practices, a constant hot topic within the concrete industry.”
To view either of these new documents, visit www.csda.org and click on Standards, Specifications, Tolerances and Best Practices. For more information, call 727-577-5004 or email info@csda.org.