Frequently asked questions about resurfacing concrete floors…

“We recently had two contractors visit our plant and each provided a quote to resurface the floor with an epoxy coating. One gave us a very good price, and the other was quite a bit higher.

I’m not sure which epoxy floor coating will do the job for us, but each contractor says they have had success with the product they use.

I’d like to know how we make sure we make the right selection. Both contractors say their work and products are the best out there.”

Well, the best way to ensure that you get the right concrete floor resurfacing system is to not make a determination of a system that’s going to be used in your facility by taking a recommendation from the actual floor coating installer.

You want to go to the manufacturer, have the manufacturer make recommendations based on a variety of criteria, and then they will let you know which floor coating system will give you the best performance.

A manufacturer can get you a variety of floor coating systems, depending on the area, of course, and then you can make your decision from there. But it is usually never best to let the floor coating installer make the decision on what the system should be.

You should bring the concrete flooring system recommended by the manufacturer to the installers to get apples to apples comparison of floor coating quotations. Ask Installer A, “Give me a price on this”.

To Installer B, “give me a price” on the same exact thing. The manufacturer doesn’t want to recommend concrete resurfacing products that will fail, where you may have problems in the future.

The manufacturer, at the end of the day, is not looking to actually sell anything, he’s just looking to educate you about the different concrete resurfacing materials available and give you the right product, and if that happens to turn into a sale, so be it.

And the worst thing that the manufacturer wants to avoid, is to have you come back with a floor coating failure, because an improper industrial concrete floor coating was installed and it didn’t hold up.

That failing coating system may work wonderfully in the correct environment. So that’s why I would stay away from taking a recommendation from the installer.

“As far as pricing goes, how do you compare apples to apples of the floor coating products?”

Well, prices can be varied even on the same flooring system. But the only way you’re going to know from a low price to a high price, if one’s the right price or the wrong price, is to get a three-part floor coating specification from the manufacturer.

That three-part specification is going to very clearly define the floor coating and resurfacing products, the application rates, and the steps to install that coating system.

With a concrete floor coating material specification you have an installer who says “I’m charging you to do these exact things”. So that’s why getting a three-part specification from the manufacturer is extremely important.

“How can the customer be assured that the specification, let’s say it’s a quarter-inch system, is the amount that’s being put down?”

Always ask the manufacturer, “Who do you recommend?” At the end of the day the manufacturer knows that when an installer is recommended, that installer wants to keep on being recommended.

So how the installer keeps getting recommended? He does a quality job, he has good office techniques, he has good salesmanship, he charges a reasonable price for the services rendered and he does exactly what he is asked to do.

So if it’s a quarter inch floor, he provides them a quarter inch floor. If you ask for 3/8 of an inch that is specified by the manufacturer, he gives you 3/8 of an inch.

After the floor coating is applied and looks good there’s really no way to tell how thick that floor is unless you’re going to do some kind of destructive core test to verify the thickness. Nobody does that.

It’s one of the things that a manufacturer should do – tie the relationship together where everybody wins. When you tie the manufacturer together with a quality installer and someone who either owns, manages or is in charge of maintaining a facility you’ve knit together a good team.

We want to set this relationship up to where everybody works well together. Everybody wins at that point and time.

Related videos – You may also be interested in:

	Tools to use when applying a floor coating.
	Floor coatings protect concrete floors and provide longevity.
	An easy way to recoat and change the color of an existing epoxy coating.
	How to go from cracks and spalls to even and smooth with concrete floor paint.
	How to avoid shutting down any size facility during a floor coating installation.
	What to do after an installer quotes on your concrete floor resurfacing floor coating project.
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