Tips for older garage and basement slabs near downtown, and for newer homes too. Call or text a few photos of the floor, and the estimate is free.
Madison is the state capital and the Dane County seat, a city of about 270,000 on the isthmus between Lake Mendota and Lake Monona. Homes here span many decades, so a garage or basement slab in Madison can be old and patched or close to new. That spread is why each floor is looked at and moisture-tested before it is priced.
Many homes near downtown Madison are decades old, and their garage slabs show it. You may find patches, oil that has soaked in, or old paint. Paint and sealers have to come off before a new coating goes down, since the new coat grips only as well as whatever sits under it. Diamond grinding strips them and opens the concrete so the new coat can bond. If the home was built before 1978, have old floor paint tested for lead before it is ground.
An older basement slab may not have a vapor barrier under it. White powder on the floor, damp spots, or a musty smell all point to water vapor coming through. Before any coating, the slab needs a real moisture test, such as a calcium chloride test or an in-slab humidity probe. A sheet of plastic taped down overnight can hint at damp, but it gives no number you can compare to a product limit. If the numbers come back high, a moisture-tolerant primer goes down first, or the job waits until the water source is fixed.
Basements often hold a gas water heater, a furnace or a dryer. Many coatings and primers give off fumes that can catch fire. Pilot lights and burners need to be off while those products go down and until the fumes clear, and fresh air should keep moving through the space. Keep kids and pets upstairs until the product sheet says the floor has cured.
A detached garage with no heat can be too cold for many coatings from late fall into spring. Each product lists the slab and air temperatures it needs to cure. If the garage is colder than that, wait for a warmer stretch rather than bringing in a portable heater.
Garage Floor Coating · Polyaspartic Floor Coating · Basement Floor Coating · Concrete Repair & Crack Filling · Commercial & Industrial Floor Coating · Decorative Flake & Metallic Coating
Prices for each are on the cost guide.
53703, 53704, 53705, 53711, 53713, 53714, 53715, 53716, 53717, 53718, 53719, 53726
A coated garage floor usually runs $4 to $8 per square foot, or about $2,000 to $4,500 for a two-car garage. The condition of the slab moves the price more than anything else, so a firm number comes after the floor is measured and checked.
Paint and sealer get ground off first. If the paint is already peeling, it has lost its grip.
Yes, with care. Pilot lights and burners are turned off while solvent-based products go down and until the fumes clear. The room gets fresh air, and people and pets stay out until the product sheet says the floor has cured.
Often, if the cracks are stable. They are cleaned out and filled before the coating goes on. A slab that has heaved or has cracks that keep growing may need concrete repair first, and that is priced after the slab is measured and checked.
