From a mirror-gloss mechanically polished floor to a soft microcement render, here are the indoor concrete finishes we work with, and where each one shines.
Concrete is not one look. Indoors, the finish you choose sets the whole feel of a room, from a mirror-gloss mechanically polished floor to a soft, seamless render. It comes down to the finish, the level of stone you expose and the gloss you choose, and whether you are working with a new pour or an existing slab.
Here are the indoor options we work with, and the OzGrind page for each so you can go deeper. If you just want the classic look, start with our polished concrete service.
Six finishes cover most indoor projects, from a mirror-gloss mechanically polished floor to a soft, seamless render or a light refresh of the slab you already have. What is right for you comes down to the look you are after, the condition of your slab, and how much traffic the floor will see. Here is what each one is and where it shines, with a link to the OzGrind page for the detail.
Ground, densified and polished into the slab itself for a hard, light-reflective floor that shrugs off decades of traffic with almost no upkeep. The premium indoor finish, and our most popular for open-plan homes, showrooms and warehouses.
See Mechanically Polished Concrete
Ground back, then finished with a topical sealer. A great-value way to get the polished-concrete look indoors, with a choice of sheen and the option to shift the colour with the sealer.
See Grind & Seal
A thin cement-based overlay laid over your existing floor for a smooth, seamless, contemporary finish without exposing the aggregate underneath. Ideal when the slab below is not suited to polishing.
See Concrete Overlay
A tough, easy-clean flake coating built for garages, sheds and workshops, in solid colours or a decorative flake finish. For living areas indoors we do not recommend epoxy, and it is not our first pick outdoors either, but for a garage floor it is hard to beat.
A handcrafted finish created during the pour: experienced concreters trowel movement, clouding and tonal variation into the slab, then we lightly polish, densify and seal it. Every floor is one of a kind.
See Burnished Concrete
A lighter, cost-effective polish for larger commercial and industrial floors, warehouses, factories and retail slabs, where you want a clean, even sheen across a big area without the cost of a full grind and exposure.
See Surface PolishIn Queensland, ground floors get wet: burst pipes, storm water and, in flood-prone streets, the real thing. Carpet, laminate and timber usually end up in a skip after an inundation. A sealed concrete floor is different, there is nothing to delaminate or rot, so once the water is gone the floor is cleaned, checked and back in service.
Our hybrid concrete flooring system is designed for exactly this: a resilient, sealed concrete finish for ground floors and flood-prone homes that handles moisture and the odd inundation without needing replacement. If your block backs onto a creek or your street has flooded before, it is the floor we recommend first.
See Hybrid / Flood-Resistant Floors
How the six indoor options compare on the things people ask about most.
| MPC | Grind & Seal | Microcement | Hybrid | Epoxy | Surface Polish | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Relative cost | $$$ | $$ | $$$ | $$ | $$ | $ |
| Seamless (no joins) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Longevity | Decades | 7+ years, reseal | Long, sealed | Decades | 7+ years | Decades |
| Scratch & wear | Highest | Low | Medium | High | Low | High |
| Slip resistance | OK | Good | Good | Good | Good | OK |
| Durability | Excellent | Good | Good | Good | Good | Excellent |
| Easy to clean | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Resists staining | Poor | Excellent | Good | Good | Excellent | Poor |
| Changes appearance / covers slab | Refines the slab | Refines the slab | Covers fully | Refines the slab | Covers fully | Light refine |
| Works on existing slab | Yes, if suitable | Yes | Yes, ideal | Yes | Yes | Yes |
A guide only. The best finish depends on your slab, the look you want and the traffic the floor will see. We will recommend the honest best fit when we quote.
Two more indoor jobs that sit alongside the finishes above.
A hard-wearing, easy-clean floor for the garage, from solid-colour epoxy to a decorative flake finish that hides tyre marks and dropped tools.
Explore Garage Flooring
Bringing tired terrazzo and natural stone floors back to life with mechanical grinding and polishing for a fresh, even, low-maintenance surface.
Explore Stone & TerrazzoTell us about your space and whether your slab is new or existing. We will come back within 48 hours with honest advice on the right indoor finish and a no-obligation quote.
No obligation. We usually reply within 48 hours.
The main indoor finishes are mechanically polished concrete, grind and seal, a microcement overlay, hybrid flood-resistant floors, epoxy and a lighter surface polish.
Mechanically polished concrete is the toughest and longest-lived. Because it is polished into the slab and hardened with a densifier, it holds its finish under decades of traffic with very little upkeep.
Yes. A grind and seal refines the slab you already have, while a microcement overlay resurfaces it completely for a fresh, seamless finish.
A mechanically polished floor is polished into the slab itself, so the shine comes from the concrete. Grind and seal gets its gloss from a topical sealer on top. Polishing lasts longer under heavy traffic; grind and seal is better value and offers more colour choice.
For a garage, shed or workshop, yes, a flake epoxy floor is hard to beat. For living areas inside a home we do not recommend epoxy and would steer you to a polished or overlay finish instead. Epoxy is also not our first pick outdoors. For the spaces it does suit, see garage flooring.
Concrete holds temperature well and pairs beautifully with underfloor heating, so it need not feel cold. Like any hard floor it can carry sound, which rugs, soft furnishings and window coverings settle quickly in a lived-in room.
