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Buyer's guide

Six questions to ask any epoxy contractor. Including us.

Ask these six and you'll know more about floor coatings than most people bidding on yours. We answer every one below, in writing, because a contractor who clears this list has nothing to hide from it.

1. "How do you prep the floor: mechanical or acid etch?"

Prep decides whether your coating lasts. Industrial coatings research attributes up to 80% of coating failures to inadequate surface preparation, and on a job prep eats close to half the labor hours. Epoxy holds on mechanically. It keys into open concrete pores, so a floor that was never opened up has nothing to grab.

Acid etching, the method DIY kits include, can't cut through sealers, curing compounds, or oil, and it leaves a salt residue in the pores that works against the bond. Coating manufacturers spec mechanical prep for modern resinous floors instead.

The answer to listen for: mechanical prep (diamond grinding, also called scarification) to a measurable profile ICRI 310.2R. A properly ground floor feels like 80-grit sandpaper under your hand.

Our answer: we diamond-grind every slab under dust control. No exceptions, no etch-and-hope.

2. "What happens if my slab runs damp?"

Moisture is the quiet killer of basement coatings. Epoxy is nearly vapor-proof, so moisture pushing up through a damp slab builds pressure under the new floor until it blisters or lets go wholesale.

Damp concrete is normal in this region, especially below grade, and the fix exists: moisture-tolerant primers and systems built for slabs a standard epoxy would blister off of.

The answer to listen for: a plan, not a shrug. What changes about the system if the basement runs damp, and does that show up in the quote or in a surprise phone call later.

Our answer: we test the slab for moisture before we quote and spec the system to match it. If your basement needs the moisture-tolerant build, it's in the quote from day one.

3. "Exactly what goes down, and how thick in total?"

"Epoxy" covers everything from 3-mil garage paint to 40-mil industrial systems, and a quote that just says "epoxy" is hiding behind the word. Rust-Oleum's own spec sheet lists its garage kit at about 52% solids and 3 to 3.5 mils dry per coat. A professional full-broadcast flake floor is a 20 to 40+ mil assembly. Same word, ten times the floor.

The answer to listen for: named products and a total mil build, written into the quote.

Our answer: 100% solids epoxy base, Torginol flake broadcast to refusal, and a UV-stable topcoat, with the build spelled out on paper.

4. "Who actually installs my floor?"

Some outfits sell the job and hand it to whoever answered a subcontract listing that week. The person quoting your floor and the person mixing on it should answer to the same name.

Our answer: the family crew. Third generation, same standard since 1964.

5. "What does the warranty cover, in writing?"

Materials and labor, or just materials? What's excluded? Many "lifetime" warranties quietly exclude moisture, cracking, and hot-tire marks, which covers most of the ways floors actually fail. We wrote a whole guide on reading coating warranties.

Our answer: a written workmanship warranty covering the things prep controls, adhesion, peeling, and delamination, with labor included, and the exclusions stated before you sign.

6. "Can I talk to two past customers?"

Reviews are nice. Conversations are better. A contractor proud of his floors keeps a short list of people happy to take that call.

Our answer: yes. Ask and we'll connect you.

We put this list on our own website because we clear it. If another bidder clears it too, you're choosing between two good floors. That's a good problem.