Setting proper expectations for your epoxy floor.

Pulling tape from above the stem walls / drywall – even though we use the most expensive painters tape on the market – there’s a possibility some touch up will be needed by the home owner after the floor is dry – this is due to epoxy is way thicker than paint – some homes have cheap paint, no paint / primer, or just really old drywall – doesn’t happen all the time – but expect a little touch up may be needed.

We’re not a concrete restoration company – we don’t level out large cracks / level concrete / refloat floors to get rid of divets, etc… we are a concrete coating company – we do handle hairline cracks, chips in the concrete, etc. if you have an older home – typically 50-70 years old – you may need a concrete restoration company to handle major issues prior to the epoxy coating.

It is important to allow sufficient drying time for your floor to ensure lasting results. In 48 hours, the floor will be dry enough to place items back into the garage. It will take 72 hours before it is safe to park a car on the floor.

Clear coat on stem walls:

We do clear coat the lip, however the vertical portion of the stem wall is not covered with the clear coat as it will drip down and pool at the base and have drip marks on the side.

We do not refloat / smooth out stem walls – we only do minor concrete repair on the floor, the epoxy and chips hide most imperfections on the stem walls.

If you have high stem walls:

If your stem walls are exceptionally high, greater than 1 foot, there will be some minor pooling of the epoxy at the bottom of the stem wall.

If you have the “grooved” expansion joints:

Look closely inside the joints – you will see hair-line cracking – we do not fill-in these hairline cracks inside the grooved expansion joints – as they will re-crack every time the earth moves. We do epoxy inside – brush in. These are normal as the expansion joints are there to absorb the cracking so your floor doesn’t crack.

Sewage caps:

If your garage has sewage caps – there are two types – the ugly plastic black one’s and the high end brass ones. If you have the black plastic one’s – we epoxy over them – looks way better – don’t worry the plumber has a tool to unlock it – we tape off the nice looking brass one’s.

The infamous SPONGE – between stemwall and concrete floor:

We call it the sponge – some builders have that felt / sponge that separates the stem wall from the concrete floor – it’s about 8-10 inches deep – epoxy doesn’t adhere to it – cosmetically doesn’t look great but not too bad – we’ve attempted caulking, etc doesn’t work as the sponge is above the edge in most places – just a heads up.
ALSO – if no sponge exists – the builder almost always leaves a crack – between the stem wall and the concrete floor – this is basically considered an expansion joint as it absorbs the movement between the stemwall and the concrete again we do not fill that in as it will crack again when the earth moves – there for a reason.

Final Coat Texture:

Expect a semi rough finish – you will be able to feel the chips through the Poly Clear coat – this is normal as Epoxy flooring is anti-slip resistant – the chips act as the anti-slip agent. THESE floors are NOT supposed to be smooth. IF you want another coat of clear coat – we will charge for the material and labor only – no exceptions as again these floors are not supposed to be perfectly even / smooth. Also – due to hand thrown chip broadcasting, these floors are NOT completely perfectly uniform – meaning there will be some area’s a little rougher than other area’s – nature of Epoxy flooring. I’m including this information as some people believe these floors are suppose to be smooth – not the case.

Loose Chips:

We do our very best with clean up after the job is completed. When doing the final coat, we scrape down the chips, blow into a corner and sweep up the loose chips. We do a final “blow out” of the garage – again – we do our best to clean up / pick up the loose chips – HOWEVER – it’s impossible to avoid a few loose chips that will be in a planter, driveway and street. If you have a few chips – just use a broom or a hose and take 2-5 minutes to handle.
I get e-mails and text messages with pics of a few loose chips occasionally – please expect to see a few loose chips.

DISCLAIMER: These floors can be slippery when wet – please use caution when floors are wet.