The AT&T Center’s polished concrete floors display the team colors of the San Antonio Spurs while providing a durable, light-reflective surface.
The color scheme was achieved by taping off sections of the floor in a herringbone pattern and applying white color hardener and dark gray stain in a multistep process.
The project involved removing 260,000 square feet of epoxy flooring in the main concourses and food service areas. A high-gloss protective coating was applied to the finished polished floor to improve resistance to stains, dirt, and foot traffic.
Polished Concrete time lapse at AT&T Center in San Antonio
Time: 02:22
The construction crew used Consolideck products to prepare, decorate and then protect the floor. See the process and products used from start to finish in this time lapse video.
The AT&T Center, a multipurpose indoor arena and home of the San Antonio Spurs, now permanently displays the team’s colors on its newly polished concrete floors. The project, completed as a recent remodel of the facility, involved removing 260,000 square feet of epoxy flooring in the main concourses and food service areas and replacing it with a graphic representation of the Spurs’ silver, black, and white color scheme. Because of the heavy traffic the floor receives, polished concrete was a practical, low-maintenance solution.
“To minimize downtime, the project had to be completed in four months. It took us an average of 40 workers seven days a week to complete the job on time,” says Rick Stone of K-Stone, a company that specializes in diamond polished concrete.
The most-labor intensive aspect of the job was to strip off the three layers of existing epoxy flooring to create a smooth, clean surface. “We use a stripping agent along with a ride-on tile scraper to help remove the epoxy. Then using a 32-inch propane grinding/polishing machine, we started grinding the floors with 30-grit metal tooling and worked up to 150-grit metals to clean and smooth out the surface,” says Stone.
After the floors were prepped and all the epoxy was removed, hybrid polishing resins were used to remove any scratches and then the floors were treated with a penetrating lithium-silicate densifier. After the densifier dried, the crew polished the floor up to a 400-grit resin. The project also involved hand grinding of over 30,000 square feet of stairs and landings.
Applying the team colors involved a multistep process to create a large-scale herringbone pattern of plain gray (no color applied), dark gray, and white. “We laid out the herringbone pattern with chalk lines, and then we taped off all areas to receive Prosoco’s ColorHard White (a one-step color and hardener),” says Stone. “We needed to open the floor using a mild etching agent so the white would penetrate. We applied one coat of the white using a microfiber pad, and then we removed the tape and taped off the areas to receive the dark gray stain.”
The final steps were to densify and buff the floors and apply a clear, high-gloss protective coating to improve resistance to stains, dirt, and foot traffic.
Stone says the demand for polished concrete has tripled since they started the business over 10 years ago. “In the past two years, we have seen an increase in clients looking for polished concrete, particularly homeowners and educational facilities. Plain polished concrete with no color seems to be the biggest trend. People want the industrial look,” he says.
Polishing contractor:
K-Stone, San Antonio, Texas
Materials used:
Concrete hardener/densifier: Prosoco Consolideck LS
Color hardener: Prosoco ColorHard, in white
Etching agent: Prosoco SafEtch
Concrete stain: Prosoco Consolideck GemTone, in concrete gray
Protective coating: Prosoco Consolideck PolishGuard
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