Project example: a 3-car polyaspartic garage floor in Hidden Meadows — a workshop slab with cracks and oil

The scenario

A home in the hills has a three-car garage of about 32 by 22 feet. The third bay has long been a workshop, with a vise bench, a drill press and years of drips on the concrete. The other two bays hold the cars.

The slab has hairline cracks and one longer crack that crosses the middle bay. The installer checks that neither side of the longer crack sits higher than the other, which would call for a concrete professional rather than a coating.

The owners pick polyaspartic flake because the door faces the afternoon and they want the floor back in use soon. The installer plans an early start with smaller batches, since fast-cure products have less working time on a hot afternoon.

The oily bay gets extra degreasing and grinding passes before any primer goes on, and the owners ask whether the bench and the drill press can go back the same week. The honest answer is that machines go back only after the data sheet's time for the product and the temperature of those days, and that heavy feet on a fresh floor are better set on protective pads.

Hidden Meadows sits at 1,496 feet, higher than central Escondido, so the installer checks the day's forecast rather than assuming the valley's numbers; the working time of a fast-cure product depends on the actual slab and air temperature.

What the job involves

1. The household moves the cars and the bench contents out and the installer maps cracks and stains.
2. A larger grinder runs over the slab, with extra passes in the oily bay.
3. Cracks are cut, filled and ground level, and the long crack's edges are checked with a straightedge.
4. A moisture check is made on bare concrete and the primer goes on.
5. The polyaspartic base coat is rolled in batches and flakes are broadcast to full cover.
6. The polyaspartic clear top coat is applied and the garage stays closed for the time on the data sheet.

Materials and prep

• Walk-behind diamond grinder, dust collector and degreaser
• Flexible crack filler and a penetrating primer
• Polyaspartic base and clear coat, flake blend
• Rollers, squeegees and spiked shoes

Add-ons often paired with this job

• Extra crack or joint repair (per repair area) — +$50–$200. A second repair area on the long crack beyond the first.
• Custom flake blend — +$100–$300. A blend of colors chosen to match the house.

Why it is done this way

A large garage is a bigger bet on prep than on product. Three bays mean three times the cracks to find and more chance that one of them is moving.

Two surcharges apply: cracks, and the extra passes for the oil. Both are per square foot, and both go away on a clean, sound slab.

The arithmetic matches the home page calculator: the system rate with each surcharge added to it, multiplied by the area, then the flat lines. A household can enter 704 square feet and tick the same boxes to see the range.

What would change the price

• A moisture test reads high and the primer line is added.
• The long crack turns out to be moving and a professional is called.
• The oily bay needs a deeper grind.
• The household chooses epoxy flake and saves on material.
• The third bay is left uncoated.