mineral / Cementitious / Cast Concrete
Honed concrete floor, various grit finishes (100mm slab with 1-2mm honed surface)
Coarse-ground concrete finish recommended for external areas; provides slip resistance with a consistent appearance.
Atlas code
MIN-CEM-CC-007
At-a-glance signals
Coarse-ground concrete finish recommended for external areas; provides slip resistance with a consistent appearance.
Overview
Executive summary
Honed concrete is a coarse-ground finish that provides a matte surface and improved slip resistance, often used externally to maintain continuity with polished internal floors.
Best when…
- Exceptional durability (50+ years lifespan with proper maintenance)
- High thermal mass for passive heating/cooling
- Low maintenance requirements
- Slip-resistant surface (especially at lower grit levels)
- Customisable appearance through grit selection
- No VOC emissions from finished surface
- Fire resistant (non-combustible)
- Termite and pest resistant
- Suitable for all Australian climate zones
- Can be repolished to restore appearance
- Compatible with hydronic heating systems
- Cost-effective over lifecycle
Top advantages
- 01 Exceptional durability (50+ years lifespan with proper maintenance)
- 02 High thermal mass for passive heating/cooling
- 03 Low maintenance requirements
- 04 Slip-resistant surface (especially at lower grit levels)
- 05 Customisable appearance through grit selection
Top limitations
- 01 High initial installation cost ($50-100/m²)
- 02 Cold underfoot without heating in cool climates
- 03 Hard surface (uncomfortable for prolonged standing)
- 04 Can crack if substrate moves or settles
- 05 Requires professional installation
Technical
Physical ·9
- Density
- 2500 kg/m3 Typical density for normal-weight concrete classes.
- Specific gravity
- 2.4
- Porosity
- 12 %
- Water absorption
- 5 %
- Hardness
- 7
- UV resistance
- Excellent // No degradation from UV exposure
- Chemical resistance
- Good // Resistant to most household chemicals when sealed
- pH tolerance
- 3-11
- Surface roughness
- 0.5 µm
Mechanical ·7
- Tensile strength
- 2.2-4.1 MPa Tensile strength for normal-weight concrete classes.
- Compressive strength
- 20-50 MPa Typical compressive strength classes for structural concrete.
- Flexural strength
- 4.5 MPa
- Shear strength
- 5.5 MPa
- Poisson's ratio
- 0.2
- Impact resistance
- High // Qualitative assessment
- Creep resistance
- Moderate // Time-dependent deformation under load
Sustainability & Health
Embodied carbon & energy ·7
- Embodied carbon
- 320 kgCO2e/m³ Cradle-to-gate for 100mm slab. Value is per m³ of concrete; per-kg ≈ 0.13 kgCO2e/kg (density 2500 kg/m³).
- Carbon footprint
- 320
- Embodied energy
- 2.2 MJ/kg
- Water footprint
- 180 L/kg
- Recycled content
- 15 %
- Renewable content
- 0 %
- Circular score
- 65
Compliance & Fire
Fire performance ·5
- Combustibility class
- Non-combustible // AS1530.1
- Fire resistance level
- 120/120/120 // FRL (AS3600-2018 for 100mm slab)
- Flame spread index
- 0
- Smoke dev. index
- 0
- Heat release rate
- 0
Cost & Lifecycle
Capex & lead time ·6
- Material cost (range)
- 50-100 // AUD/m²
- Material cost (per unit)
- 75
- Lead time
- 1-2 weeks // Typical scheduling time
- Lifecycle cost
- 150
- Annual maintenance
- 2
- Market availability
- Widely available // Throughout Australia
Service life & durability ·3
- Expected lifespan
- 50
- Maintenance interval
- 12
- Warranty period
- 10
Layer D
Where it's used
Residential flooring (living areas, kitchens, bathrooms)
Commercial spaces (retail, offices, showrooms)
Industrial facilities (warehouses, factories)
Outdoor areas (patios, driveways, pool surrounds)
Passive solar design elements
Thermal mass applications in climate zones 4-8
Public buildings (schools, libraries, healthcare)
Hospitality venues (restaurants, hotels)