Your part of a floor coating job happens before the crew arrives. It is not complicated, but it takes longer than most people plan for. Here is the checklist.
One Week Before
Start emptying, seriously. Everything that touches the floor has to leave: vehicles, tires, bikes, tool chests, the garage fridge, shelving units that stand on the slab, the bag of ice melt in the corner.
Homeowners consistently underestimate this. A two-car garage that has been accumulating for a decade is a weekend, not an evening. If storage is a problem, options include a driveway tarp for the day, a friend's garage, or a portable container for the week.
Wall-mounted items can usually stay if they clear the floor by a few inches. If you are having cove base installed, anything mounted low along the wall has to come off — mention it when booking so it gets scoped.
Tell us about oil stains. Not the small drips, the places where a vehicle leaked for a long time. Deep contamination sometimes needs degreasing ahead of install day, and it is better handled in advance than discovered mid-job.
Flag anything unusual. A floor drain, a sump, a step down into the house, a previous coating, a section of newer concrete, an area that is always damp. All of it affects scope, and none of it is a problem if it is known.
Check the forecast. Slab temperature and dew point matter. A crew that reschedules because conditions are wrong is protecting your floor.
The Day Before
Finish clearing the floor. Nothing left, including the doormat and the boot tray.
Sweep it out. Not for cleanliness — the crew will vacuum thoroughly — but so nothing rolls under equipment.
Clear the driveway. Vehicles out and parked on the street, ideally the night before. The crew needs the apron for equipment and material.
Clear a path. From driveway to garage door, so grinders and vacuums can be wheeled in.
Confirm power. Standard household outlets are usually fine, but a detached garage with no working circuit needs to be flagged. Confirm the crew can access the garage if you will not be home.
Consider the dust. Grinding with vacuum extraction is largely contained, but expect a fine film in the immediate area. If the garage shares a door with the house, tape plastic over that doorway from the inside and move anything precious out of the adjacent room.
Tell your neighbours. Grinding is loud for a couple of hours in the morning. A heads-up the day before goes a long way, particularly in a semi-detached or a tight infill.
Plan around the noise yourself. If you work from home or have a napping child, it is worth being elsewhere in the morning.
Install Day
Be reachable. You do not need to be present the whole time, but the crew may have questions — an unexpected crack, a soft area, a decision about how far up the wall an edge should run.
Keep pets inside. Doors are open, equipment is moving, and there is wet coating on the floor for much of the day.
Do not park on the apron. Even briefly.
Expect a walk-through at the end. Look at the edges, the threshold and the overall finish while the crew is still there.
The full sequence of what happens during the day is in what to expect on install day.
After the Crew Leaves
The waiting period is short but it is not optional:
- That evening: stay off it entirely.
- Next morning: foot traffic is fine. Light items can go back.
- After about 24 hours: vehicles can return.
- First week: no mats, no rubber, no dragging heavy items. The chemical cure continues for several days, and something trapped against the surface can mark it.
Moving back in too fast is the most common way a new floor gets damaged. Everything you took out has been out for days already — another day will not hurt.
What Not to Do Beforehand
Do not acid etch or pressure wash the floor yourself. It does not help and can leave moisture in the slab that has to dry out before work can start.
Do not seal or paint anything. The grinder removes it, which is wasted effort and cost.
Do not patch cracks with hardware-store filler. Most of it has to be ground out anyway, and joint repair is done with a semi-rigid material as part of the job.
Do not degrease with household cleaners right before. Residue can interfere. If there is oil to deal with, mention it and let it be handled properly.
Quick Checklist
- Floor completely empty, including low wall-mounted items if doing cove base
- Oil stains and unusual features disclosed when booking
- Driveway cleared, path from driveway to garage clear
- Power access confirmed
- Plastic over the interior doorway, valuables moved from the adjacent room
- Neighbours notified
- Pets arranged
- Somewhere to put everything for the day
- Nothing scheduled that requires the garage for 24 hours after
That is the whole homeowner side of the job. Everything else — grinding, primer, flake, top coat — happens in a single day.
If you have not booked yet, our garage floor coating page covers the system, our cost guide has published starting prices, and the quote builder gives a number for your size in about a minute.
