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  Kieran Ray February 28, 2014 at 4:52pm

  For the best advice go over to www.pavingexpert.com there is loads of information on polished concrete there.
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  Amanda Broughton February 28, 2014 at 4:59pm

  Hi Kieran. I often use paving expert, and did a search and looked in their index, but can't find anything there except loads of ads for suppliers which wasn't what I was looking for. Unless I'm looking in the wrong place!
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  Kieran Ray February 28, 2014 at 5:37pm

  I'll have a look when I'm on the computer as it will be easier and post a link to a page. Have you tried the brew cabin? It's paving experts forum. There's a few guys on there that know there stuff about polished concrete.
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  Simon Smith February 28, 2014 at 8:53pm

  Polished concrete is a very hard wearing surface. whatever you do make sure you find a really good experienced contractor and check their references. Concrete when used as a decorative finished surface is very easy to do slightly wrong and there are no fixes other than rip it up and start again.

  Be wary.

  There is a chap on the brew cabin called 'the rock concreting' who seems to know his onions and specializes in exposed agg. I don't know him and can't recommend him but if you looking for contractors he might be worth a chat.

  www.therockconcreting.co.uk
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  Paul Doyle February 28, 2014 at 10:50pm

  Hi There,

  I am a landscape gardener, working in belgium where it has been popular for some time now.The possibilities are endless for this product in a design capacity.It works out ata bout 70 euro a sq m over here. does it scratch? Id honestly say iv never notice it scratched, and trust me id remember if it did.But that also depends on what you mean by scratched? by the polishing machine or by a chair for example.The first time is saw it Iwas taken aback about how almost natural it looked.when its dry it can look dull/ dusty/needing a sweep kinda look , like a lotta dark stone. when its wet it looks fantastic but I also found it slippy; colleagues tell me that this is normal in the beginning. Iv just bought a house here and will probably use it as my hard material, thats how much I like it.

  I would also echo simons points above , about getting the right company in to do the work. Over here you do everything as a gardener. there are no specialists as such like back in England, save for tree surgeons and this concrete work.I know the guys I work with wont touch it and they are some of the best Iv ever worked with.My advice is to go and see a job by the company you plan to use; its the only way to be sure they know what their doing.Maybe this helps you along and best of luck with it. if you click on the link below, of a freind of mine ,you can see a pic of it used in a city garden in brussels click-projecten-priv-image001.1. its class :-)

  http://www.florissteyaert.be/nl/pagina/3-4/prive.html

  Paul
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  Amanda Broughton March 5, 2014 at 11:13am

  Hi Paul

  Thanks for the feedback. That was very helpful. I have had an estimate from a specialist supplier over here for £100-110 sq m. I totally agree about getting a specialist in! Sadly, some clients insist on their builders carrying out landscaping work whilst having their houses extended or renovated, and more often than not, it is carried out badly.Interesting to hear how its done over in Belgium. One of my main confers was regarding the slippery surface, which was why I wondered if any one had had any direct experience.

  Thanks again

  Amanda
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  Amanda Broughton March 5, 2014 at 11:17am

  Thanks also to Simon for your feedback. I shall check out the link. Amanda
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  axeljk March 5, 2014 at 7:53pm

  Hi Amanda,this is a subject I have a lot of interest, and some experience in. The term polished concrete is used to describe many different finishes, from concrete that has been ground and polished, to Venetian plaster. do you have a picture or link to the look you are after?