What an epoxy flooring proposal should include
The prep method, first and in plain words. Diamond grinding rather than acid etching is the single biggest reason a floor lasts, and the homeowner has read enough horror stories to look for it. Then the system, layer by layer: what the base coat is, what the flake is, and what the topcoat is, with the reason a polyaspartic top matters for hot tires and sun. Put the square footage on the page and say it is confirmed on site.
State the cure times, because that is what the client plans their week around: walk on it tomorrow, park in three days. Add the moisture test on day one and what happens if the slab fails it, the warranty in years and what it excludes, and what you need from them, usually an empty garage by seven in the morning. A before and after photo of a similar floor sells the flake blend better than any description.
How to price epoxy flooring
Residential coatings are priced per square foot with the steps broken out. In 2026 a full flake system with a diamond-ground slab, an epoxy base, a full broadcast, and a polyaspartic topcoat runs about $6 to $12 per square foot installed, which puts a two-car garage of 400 to 500 square feet between $2,500 and $5,500. A solid-color epoxy without flake runs $4 to $7 per square foot and belongs on a different quote. The sample prices a 450 square foot garage at $7.75 per square foot: $1.75 for the grind and crack repair, $2.25 for the base coat, $1.25 for the flake broadcast, and $2.50 for the topcoat, for a base of $3,488.
The add-ons follow the slab. A moisture vapor barrier primer runs $1 to $2 per square foot and is required above 5 pounds on a calcium chloride test, so the sample lists it at $1.50 and off by default, to be turned on after the day-one reading. Stem walls and the step coated to match run $8 to $15 per linear foot; the sample uses $12 across 60 feet. An anti-slip additive in the topcoat is $100 to $250 and the sample has it on, because the garages that see rain and snow need it. Heavy pitting, old coating removal, and oil-soaked slabs add $0.50 to $2.00 per square foot and deserve a look before the number goes on the page.
A minimum of $1,500 to $2,000 per job keeps a single-car bay from eating a crew day, and commercial and warehouse floors are priced lower per square foot at much larger areas, on their own template. Check these ranges against the two or three coating companies whose vans your customers already see.
How to price the optional items
The anti-slip additive is on by default because it is inexpensive, most garages need it, and the client who turns it off has made a choice they understand. The vapor barrier is off by default at its real price, because it depends on a test you have not run yet; the page says so, and the day-one reading decides it. Stem walls are off with the footage editable, since not every garage has exposed wall to coat. The total moves as they toggle, and a change order adds the vapor barrier after the test if the reading calls for it.
Mistakes that lose epoxy jobs
Skipping the moisture test, or not mentioning it. A slab that fails at 8 pounds will lift any coating in a year, and the proposal that never mentioned moisture is the one that pays for the redo. Quoting acid etching as prep. Homeowners search for it now, and a bid that says grinding wins on that word alone.
Quoting from the square footage alone. Two garages of 450 square feet can be a day apart in prep if one has a chipped old coating and oil stains. Look at the slab or ask for photos. No cure times on the page. The client who parks on it on day two and leaves tire marks does not remember that you told them on the phone.
Deposit and payment
Thirty percent at signing covers the material, which is ordered in the client's flake blend and is not returnable. Collect it by card the moment they sign and the job is on the calendar. The balance is due after the walkthrough on day three, requested from the proposal so the client pays by card or you record the check, and the signed scope and the payment stay on one record.
Sending it and following up
Send the proposal the same day you see the garage, with the flake sample the client picked named in the line. Fourteen days is the right expiry; most people decide within a week. A reminder goes out on day three and day seven, and you can see whether they opened it and lingered on the warranty or the price. When the moisture test on day one calls for the vapor barrier, a change order adds it with its own signature before the base coat goes down.
Questions
- Epoxy or polyaspartic?
- Both, in the order the sample uses. A 100% solids epoxy base bonds to the ground concrete and carries the flake; a polyaspartic topcoat resists UV yellowing and hot tires and cures fast enough to park in three days. All-polyaspartic systems exist and cost more; name your system so the client can compare.
- How much does an epoxy garage floor cost per square foot?
- About $6 to $12 per square foot in 2026 for a full flake system with a diamond-ground slab, an epoxy base, and a polyaspartic topcoat, or $2,500 to $5,500 for a typical two-car garage. Solid-color epoxy without flake runs $4 to $7. Heavy repairs and moisture add on top.
- Should I test for moisture before quoting?
- Test on day one before the grind and say so on the proposal, with the vapor barrier as an optional line the reading decides. Testing at the quote visit is better still if you can, since it removes the surprise. Either way the client should read the word moisture before they sign, not after the floor lifts.
- What if the concrete is cracked or pitted?
- Non-moving cracks, pits, and spalls are filled and ground flush as part of prep, and the sample includes that in the grind line. Structural cracks that are still moving will telegraph through any coating; say that in the terms and tell the client if you find one so the warranty stays honest.
- How long before the client can park on it?
- Foot traffic the morning after the polyaspartic topcoat and cars after 72 hours, which is the number on the sample's timeline. Put it in the proposal and say it again on the last day, because tire marks from parking early are the most common warranty call and are not covered.
- Do I need a deposit for a garage floor coating?
- Yes, thirty percent at signing, because the flake blend and the topcoat are ordered for that job and cannot go back on the shelf. It also filters out the homeowner collecting bids for a project they are not ready to do, and it puts the job on the calendar the moment they sign.
