We spec diamond polished concrete floors all the time! They're incredibly durable, and you don't have to seal them like you do stained concrete floors. Depending on how much polishing you do to the floors, you can vary the amount of aggregate (rocks in the concrete) that show in the floor, and you can also usually choose the type of aggregate you have, colorwise. If you do a topping slab (a thin 2-3" slab on top of the structural slab or a plywood substrate, if you have a basement) you can even color the concrete to look similar to a stained concrete floor, but without all the maintenance hassles.

Hopefully, your contractor hasn't started building the house, yet, because you should really do the polishing before the walls and gyp. bd. go up, otherwise there's usually a ton of aesthetic remediation to do!

A friend of mine had black stained concrete floors, and they were beautiful!! I believe they had a satin finish, wich was just enough. they had a grid imprinted (cut?) into about 3ft tiles, with lots of white accents such as their kitchen cabinets. If i could build my own house one day, i would definitly go this route! Good luck!

Diamond polishing is WAY more durable than any kind of staining and sealing. And it's definitely something you want to plan for before the concrete is poured (so they take some care) and then do the polishing before the walls are put in.

We hoped to do this in our 1970s house - but with all the cabinets, hallways, doors, etc. it wouldn't have come out very well and would have cost a lot more.

I would go for it.

My inlaws have concrete floors with staining and it came out very irregular. Granted, it added charm and character, but there are places that really could have used more attention to the staining process than others.

You can do integral dye with polished concrete (the coloring agent is mixed right with the cement and stuff) to get a color. It will be monotone, rather than the watercolor-y look you sometimes get with stains.

Polishing eliminates the need for sealant, and also it doesn't have to be finished to a mirror shine. Ask about a honed finish if you don't want super shiny.

Also, if you're in to that sort of thing, you can embed little "fossils" to be revealed during polishing - anything metal or stone or ceramic or glass should work - gears and sprockets, marbles, a path of pretty stones...

I've seen it done in retail stores. And if it can stand up to thousands of people, forklifts, and shopping carts, it will definitely keep it's shine in your home.

I am in the process of having polished concrete floors added to my condo througout. They poured a new slab topping and are dying that to give it an acid stained look. Dyes are more environmentally friendly and just as durable. However, they do fade in the sun if not sealed. I disagree with some comments here that diamond polished floors require no sealing. That is not accurate. You do need to seal them to protect from oils and moisture seeping into the concrete. Mine are being dyed, sealed with a penetrating sealer and then polished to 3000 grit, which is the highest shine. You do need to seal, but the sealer will last 5-7 years and can be reeapplied easily. It is low maintenance and looks great. But, the dye will be taken up unevenly over cracks, etc. It is not totally uniform - that is the charm of a dyed concrete floor. Any concrete will have some imperfections and cracks, so be sure you are ready for a more distressed look...some are worse than others. But, it is waterproof and very dog friendly. All you need to do is wipe regulary with a swiffer and buff/polish every six months - reseal every 5-7 years.

I had my concrete basement floor polished about 2 years ago. I hired Smoothcrete Inc. for the job and the floor still looks great! Steve started with 50/100 grit and progressively worked his way up to 3000 grit. After everything was polished, Steve applied sealer to the floor which made it pop and shine! Polished Concrete is a great alternative for basement floors, it's easy to maintain and adds character to my house. My basement floor has been treated with a chemical densifier and ground with progressively finer grinding tools.