Setting proper expectations for your epoxy floor so there are no surprises on install day.
Pulling tape from above the stem walls / drywall — even though we use the most expensive painter's tape on the market, there's a possibility some touch-up will be needed by the homeowner after the floor is dry. This is because epoxy is far thicker than paint, and some homes have cheap paint, no paint/primer, or really old drywall. It doesn't happen every time, but expect that a little touch-up may be needed.
We're not a concrete restoration company — we don't level out large cracks, level concrete, or refloat floors to get rid of divots. We are a concrete coating company: we do handle hairline cracks, chips in the concrete, and similar. 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.
We do clear coat the lip; however, the vertical portion of the stem wall is not covered with the clear coat, as it would drip down, pool at the base, and leave drip marks on the side. We do not refloat or 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 your stem walls are exceptionally high (greater than one foot), there will be some minor pooling of the epoxy at the bottom of the stem wall.
Look closely inside the joints — you'll see hairline 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 epoxy inside them with a brush. These joints are normal and are there to absorb cracking so your floor doesn't crack.
If your garage has sewage caps, there are two types — the plastic black ones and the high-end brass ones. If you have the black plastic ones, we epoxy over them (it looks much better; don't worry, the plumber has a tool to unlock it). We tape off the nicer brass ones.
We call it the sponge — some builders use a felt/sponge material that separates the stem wall from the concrete floor, about 8–10 inches deep. Epoxy doesn't adhere to it; cosmetically it isn't perfect but isn't too bad. Caulking doesn't work well since the sponge sits above the edge in most places. If no sponge exists, the builder almost always leaves a crack between the stem wall and the concrete floor — this acts as an expansion joint absorbing movement, so we do not fill it in, as it would crack again.
Expect a semi-rough finish — you'll be able to feel the chips through the poly clear coat. This is normal: epoxy flooring is anti-slip, and the chips act as the anti-slip agent. These floors are not supposed to be perfectly smooth. If you want another coat of clear coat, we'll charge for material and labor only. Due to hand-thrown chip broadcasting, floors are not perfectly uniform — some areas will be a little rougher than others. That's the nature of epoxy flooring.
We do our very best to clean up after the job is completed. When applying the final coat, we scrape down the chips, blow them into a corner, and sweep up the loose chips, then do a final blow-out of the garage. Even so, it's impossible to avoid a few loose chips ending up in a planter, driveway or street. If you find a few, a broom or hose and 2–5 minutes will handle it. Please expect to see a few loose chips.