Dive Brief:

• Two bodies within the concrete industry are backing a new standard, ST-115, that uses a texture measurement to standardize polished concrete surfaces rather than a measurement of the gloss.
• The Concrete Sawing and Drilling Association (CSDA) and the American Concrete Institute (ACI) Committee 310 are the supporters, recommending that ST-115 be used in specifications and used to measure results.
• Instead of measuring the gloss of a polished surface, ST-115 references a texture meter for assigning grades and includes instructions on how to make the measurements.

Drive Insight:

ST-115 puts the polished concrete industry in line with the metal and plastics industries, which have standards for measuring texture to separate one grade from another. Concrete went through earlier evolutions when techniques shifted from wet to dry polishing, and this is another update.