Frequently Asked Questions

HomeGuide's national range for professionally installed epoxy is $4 to $10 per square foot, or about $1,600 to $5,800 for a two-car garage. Polyaspartic runs $5 to $12 per square foot in HomeGuide's guide. Oil-soaked or painted slabs need more prep, which adds cost. We give a written price after seeing the floor.

They cost more than paint or sealer and less than many tile jobs. HomeGuide lists acrylic sealing at $1 to $2 per square foot and installed epoxy at $4 to $10. The higher price buys a thicker, bonded layer that lasts far longer than a sealer, often 10 to 20 years for solid epoxy according to HomeGuide.

Standard epoxy yellows in sunlight, needs a dry and well-prepared slab, can be slick when wet without texture, and takes days to fully cure. In Ontario the sun issue matters most for garages that sit open in the afternoon and for patios. A UV-stable topcoat and a flake or grit finish handle most of these.

Hot tire pickup happens mostly with thin coatings on poorly prepared concrete. When a tire cools on the floor, it can pull the coating up. A ground slab and a thicker, fully cured system resist it. We also tell you how long to wait before parking so the coating reaches full strength first.

Yes, once the concrete has cured. Coating makers usually ask for about 28 days after the pour, and new slabs often have a curing compound or sealer on top that has to be ground off. We check the slab and its moisture before we schedule.

Plain epoxy is a poor choice outdoors because UV breaks it down. For patios and pool decks we use UV-stable polyaspartic or aliphatic topcoats with grit for traction. HomeGuide puts an epoxy patio of 200 to 400 square feet at $800 to $4,000.

Kits cost about $200 to $700 according to HomeGuide, and many are water-based, which HomeGuide rates at 3 to 5 years. They usually rely on etching, which does not remove oil or old sealer. On an older Ontario slab, a kit tends to peel first where the tires sit.

HomeGuide's national range for a two-car garage is about $1,600 to $5,800 for epoxy and $2,000 to $6,900 for polyaspartic. Heavy oil, old paint and the finish you choose move the number within that range or past it. We give a written price after seeing the floor.

That is usually hot tire pickup on a coating that never bonded well. Hot tires soften thin coatings, and as they cool they pull them off etched or oily concrete. Grinding and a thicker system fix the cause.

HomeGuide says to wait 2 to 7 days before driving on epoxy, while polyaspartic reaches full cure in 24 to 48 hours. Heat speeds curing, and we give you a specific time for your floor.

A smooth gloss coat can be slick with water or oil on it. Full flake floors have built-in texture, and on solid colors we add an anti-slip aggregate to the topcoat.

For most garages, flake floors are more forgiving. They hide dust, tire marks and small chips and have built-in texture. Solid colors look sleek but show every speck, which matters during Santa Ana wind season.

HomeGuide lists decorative flakes, custom colors or patterns at about $0.50 to $2.00 per square foot on top of the base system. Full broadcast uses more chips than partial broadcast.

That depends on topcoat thickness. Two topcoats give a smoother feel for laundry rooms and interiors. One coat leaves more grip for garages and patios.

Vinyl chips are color-stable, and the risk is the topcoat yellowing. We use polyaspartic or aliphatic topcoats that resist UV, which is why flake floors also work on covered patios here.

It cures faster and resists UV much better, and it costs more. Epoxy builds thicker per coat and bonds well to ground concrete. Many of our floors use an epoxy base with a polyaspartic topcoat to get both.

Yes, with care. Heat shortens working time, so we start early in the day, mix small batches and choose a slower-setting formula when it is hot.

HomeGuide lists full cure at 24 to 48 hours. We give you a specific time based on the product and temperature on the day.

HomeGuide describes it as not DIY-friendly because it sets so fast. Mistakes show as lap marks or spots that did not bond, and fixing them means grinding them off.

Plain epoxy fades and yellows in sun, so outdoors we use UV-stable polyaspartic or aliphatic topcoats. Epoxy can still be used as a base under a UV-stable topcoat on covered areas.

Not if it has texture. We add grit to the topcoat or use a textured system, and we recommend lighter colors that stay cooler underfoot.

HomeGuide's range for a 500 square foot pool deck resurfacing is $1,500 to $6,000. Crack repair, removing old coatings and the system you choose decide where you land.

Small cracks are routed and filled before coating. A slab that has heaved or has wide, moving cracks may need concrete repair or replacement first, and we will tell you that at the estimate.

This Old House puts metallic epoxy at $5 to $12 per square foot. Removing old flooring, leveling and slab repair add to that, so we price after seeing the room.

We remove tile and adhesive and coat the concrete underneath. Coating over tile leaves grout lines that show through and a bond only as good as the tile's own.

A high-gloss finish can be slick in socks or when wet. We can add a fine anti-slip additive to the topcoat that keeps the look while adding grip.

It feels like polished stone, firm and cool. In Ontario's warm months many people like that, and area rugs soften it in seating areas.

HomeAdvisor lists commercial and industrial 100% solids epoxy at $12 per square foot and up. Joint repair, contamination and phased scheduling affect the total, so we price from a site walk.

Usually, yes. We split the floor into zones and work nights, weekends or in phases, and faster-curing products shorten the time each zone stays closed.

HomeGuide gives solid epoxy a lifespan of 10 to 20 years. Heavy forklift traffic wears topcoats faster, and recoating the top layer before it wears through extends the life of the system.

Yes. Chipped joints are cleaned out and filled with a semi-rigid filler rated for wheel traffic, then ground flush so forklifts roll across smoothly.