Epoxy Floor Installation in Cincinnati, Step by Step
Color comes near the end. First we measure, then our crew sands and grinds the concrete and fills every crack, hole and divot. Garage, basement and commercial floors across Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.
How an Epoxy Floor Gets Installed, and Who Installs It
An epoxy floor is made on site: thin layers that grip the concrete you already have. How long they last depends more on the slab work done first than on the color added last, and that slab work is exactly what a store-bought kit leaves to you. Our guide to what each layer of an epoxy garage floor does covers the system itself; this page covers the work.
Epoxy Flooring Cincinnati has been serving Greater Cincinnati since 2019, and we’re licensed and insured. We measure and price every floor, then install it with our own crew.
Comparing concrete coatings in Cincinnati, or quotes from epoxy contractors? Use the nine steps below as a checklist; any installer should be able to explain each one.
For finished looks, see garage, basement and home, commercial and warehouse floors.
The Epoxy Installation Process, Step by Step
What happens at your floor, in order. The preparation in steps 2 to 4 matters most.
Measure and Talk It Through
FreeWe measure the space, look over the concrete and talk through what the floor has to handle and the look you want: flake, metallic or solid color under an epoxy, polyaspartic or polyurea top coat. You get the price in person and a written warranty before any deposit; ask us for the warranty terms on the system you choose.
Check the Slab Before Anything Else
AssessLoose paint, old coating, soaked-in oil, pits and cracks all change the plan. We check cracks for movement and tell you before coating if one is still moving, since no coating holds shifting concrete together; on hillside lots, clay-rich soil over shale can move. On a basement floor, we check the slab for moisture before recommending a system.
Sand and Grind It Smooth
PrepSanders and grinders take off old coating, surface stains and the weak top skin that coatings struggle to grip, leaving flat, open concrete for the first coat to bite into. Skip this and even a good coating has little to hold on to.
Fill Cracks, Holes and Divots
RepairJoints are cleaned out and cracks, holes and divots filled so the finished floor is flat. Older slabs take longest: half the homes in the city of Cincinnati were built by 1952, half of Newport’s by 1947, and concrete that age carries pits, patches and cracks. Newer suburban slabs usually need less.
Mix Your Color
ColorColor is mixed for your floor: a flake blend and chip size, one or several metallic pigments (blue, red, silver, bronze and more), or a single shade of 100%-solids epoxy. Glitter, mica or a non-slip additive can go in. Screens only approximate color, so decide with us; to experiment first, try the Floor Studio or the color charts.
Lay the Base Coat in Sections
CoatThe base coat goes down one section at a time, so each area is worked while the material is fresh. It grips the prepared concrete and carries your color.
Add the Flake or Work the Pigment
LookWhile the base is wet, flake is scattered over it by hand, or metallic pigment is worked by hand into a marbled pattern, which is why no two metallic floors match.
Seal It With a Clear Top Coat
SealA clear top coat locks the look in and becomes the surface you walk and park on. Epoxy, polyaspartic and polyurea are all available; they cure at different speeds, so we explain our pick for your floor. See epoxy vs polyaspartic.
Photos, Clean-Up and Hand-Back
DoneYou get before, during and after photos, the crew clears out its dust and debris, and we tell you when the floor can take feet, furniture and the car. That timing comes from the system and the season, not a sales pitch.
Step One Is Free
Call and the phone rings the installer directly. Send the form and we’ll call you back to set up the free visit.
Same Steps, Different Floors
The method holds from a garage to a warehouse. What we watch for changes.
Garage Floors
Ohio and Kentucky codes slope a garage’s parking area toward a drain or the door so liquids run out, and the coating follows that slope. The strip inside the door takes the salty melt and hot tires, so prep matters most there.
Garage floor coatings →Basement Floors
A basement slab can hold moisture from below, so we check it before recommending a system. A coating won’t keep water out or stop a flood or sewer backup, but a sealed floor mops clean and ends concrete dust.
Basement epoxy flooring →Shop, Showroom and Warehouse Floors
Same steps on a restaurant, showroom or warehouse floor, just bigger. Settle the return-to-service time for your system before booking, and ask about a non-slip additive where floors get wet.
Commercial floors → Industrial floors →Scheduling Around Greater Cincinnati Weather
Coatings react to temperature. Cold concrete slows the cure, and CVG averages about 100 nights a year at or below freezing, mostly November through March; humid summer air meeting a cooler slab needs care too. So ask us about cure times for your floor in your season.
Winter also shapes the finished garage floor’s job. Cincinnati salts and brines hills and bridges first, Kentucky’s District 6 crews treat Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties, and the slush rides home in your wheel wells. Want the floor done before salt season? Book the measure-up in early fall. More in Cincinnati’s climate and epoxy floors.
What Customers Noticed About the Work
Three of the 59 Google reviews, word for word: the prep, the updates, the clean-up.
“Nick was prompt and very responsive. Our epoxy floor in our basement laundry room was done in a reasonable amount of time and it’s beautiful! They even ground down imperfections and sealed cracks. We definitely recommend!!”
“Nick and Bryant did a fantastic job on our garage floor. Nick sat down with me and laid out the plan with the colors to achieve the look that we wanted. He then described the process and timeline necessary to complete the work. He sent pics throughout the process to keep me informed. The metallic epoxy turned out great! Almost looks like a natural matte finished marbled look.”
“They did an amazing job. They were very thorough, took their time, and cleaned up after themselves very nicely. Finished product is amazing. My friends are going to create a TikTok of our bar/floor. I would give them 10 Stars if I could. Highly recommend 👍”
Where We Install, and Typical Prices
Ohio and Northern Kentucky
Ohio: Cincinnati, Mason, Fairfield, Blue Ash, Loveland, Sharonville, Springdale, Lebanon and Hamilton. Northern Kentucky: Florence, Erlanger, Newport and Fort Thomas.
All service areas →Typical Prices, Not a Quote
- 2-car garage, flake with a polyaspartic top coat: about $2,000–$5,000 (about $5–$10 per sq ft)
- Solid-color epoxy: about $3–$6 per sq ft
- Metallic epoxy: about $6–$12 per sq ft
- Crack patching: about $25–$250; resurfacing a badly damaged slab: $3–$7 per sq ft
We quote each floor after seeing it.
What moves the price →Epoxy Installation Questions
Short answers about install day.
It depends on the floor’s size, how much repair the concrete needs and the system, so we set out the timeline when we quote. Ask us for the walk-on and drive-on times for the system you choose before you book.
Not straight on top. Anything loose is ground off so the new coats bond to sound concrete. Already peeling? See repair and recoat.
Yes; basements come up often in our Google reviews. We check a basement slab for moisture before recommending a system. Epoxy won’t keep water out of a basement, but a coated floor is far easier to clean if water gets in.
Yes. Epoxy Flooring Cincinnati is licensed and insured and has been serving Greater Cincinnati since 2019. You get a written warranty before any deposit; ask us for the warranty terms on the system you choose.
No, color is part of that visit. For a head start, preview finishes in the Floor Studio or browse the color charts, then make the final choice with us.
Choose a Look Before Step One
Try flake, metallic and solid colors on a room like yours, and bring your favorite to the measure-up.
Open Floor Studio →