Two quotes for the same garage can differ by a thousand dollars and both be honest. The gap is usually in what each one includes. Here is how to read that.
What Should Always Be Included
If any of these are listed as an upgrade, ask why.
Mechanical surface preparation. Diamond grinding the entire slab to an open profile. This is the foundation of the job and the largest single labour cost. A quote that prepares the floor with acid etching or a pressure wash is not a cheaper version of the same job — it is a different job with a different lifespan.
Dust containment. Commercial grinders run with vacuum extraction. Your garage should not be coated in concrete dust when the crew leaves, and neither should the inside of your house.
Slab cleaning and degreasing. Removing oil stains and residue before profiling.
Moisture assessment. At minimum a visual and tape test to determine whether your slab needs a different primer. This should not be an optional line item.
Primer coat. The layer that bonds to the concrete and manages vapour.
Full flake broadcast. "100% coverage" or "broadcast to refusal" means flake is thrown until the surface will not accept more. A light or partial broadcast uses a fraction of the material and looks similar in a photograph.
Scraping and back-rolling. After the flake cures, loose material is scraped off and the surface prepared for the top coat. Skipping this leaves a rough floor.
Top coat. The wear layer. For a garage in Calgary, UV-stable polyaspartic.
Masking and protection. Walls, doors, and the driveway apron protected during work.
Cleanup and haul-away. Including the grinding waste.
Warranty in writing. With the term, what it covers, and what voids it.
What Is Legitimately Extra
These cost more because they are genuinely more work, not because of sales tactics.
Crack repair. Hairline cracks are typically handled as part of normal prep. Structural cracks and control joints need routing and filling with a semi-rigid joint material. On a slab with significant cracking this is real time and material.
Cove base. Carrying the coating up the wall creates a sealed, cleanable transition with no dirt trap at the edge. It looks excellent and it is slow hand work — usually priced per linear foot.
Stairs and landings. Each tread, riser and nosing is detailed individually. A short flight of stairs can take as long as a meaningful portion of the floor.
Existing coating removal. Grinding off a failed epoxy or a sealer before the real prep begins. This can add hours depending on how well the old coating is stuck.
Concrete repair. Spalling, pitting, a broken threshold or a deteriorated apron has to be rebuilt first. A coating follows the shape of what is under it — it does not level or repair a damaged slab.
Anti-slip additive. A texture additive in the top coat. Worth it for workshops, wet areas and anyone concerned about slipping.
Moisture mitigation systems. If testing shows high transmission, a heavier barrier system is needed. This is a materials cost with a real purpose.
Floor drains and irregular details. Drains, pits, bollards and floor-mounted equipment all need detailing by hand.
What We Include
Our published prices — from $1,900 for a single car garage, $2,800 for a two-car and $3,900 for a three-car — cover diamond grinding, moisture barrier primer, 100% flake broadcast, UV-stable polyaspartic top coat and the 5-year warranty, installed in a single day.
Crack repair, cove base and stairs are quoted separately after we see the floor. We would rather list them than fold an average into the headline price, because a garage with no cracks would be subsidising one with many.
We chose the 5-year warranty term deliberately. Several companies in Calgary advertise 15 or 20 years. A warranty is a promise to come back, and its value depends entirely on the company honouring it without an argument — so we publish a term we will service on every floor rather than a longer number that reads better in an ad.
The Exclusions Worth Questioning
Some things get excluded that really should not be:
- "Prep as required" with no method specified. Ask whether that means grinding.
- "Moisture barrier optional." On a Calgary slab on grade, this is not an optional component.
- Flake coverage unstated. Ask directly whether it is broadcast to refusal.
- A top coat named only as "clear coat." Ask for the product and whether it is UV-stable.
- A warranty that excludes "delamination." That is the main thing that goes wrong. A warranty excluding it covers very little.
Comparing Two Quotes
Put them side by side and fill in this table for each:
| Line | Quote A | Quote B |
|---|---|---|
| Preparation method | ||
| Primer / moisture barrier | ||
| Flake coverage | ||
| Top coat product | ||
| Install duration | ||
| Cure before vehicles | ||
| Warranty term and exclusions | ||
| Crack repair included? | ||
| Cove base included? |
By the time that table is filled in, the price difference usually explains itself.
Calgary has a competitive market with more than a dozen established installers, several of whom do very good work. Getting two or three quotes is sensible — just make sure you are comparing the same scope.
Next
What a coating costs in Calgary covers the pricing side in more depth, and questions to ask before hiring turns the list above into a conversation. Our full system is on the garage floor coating page, and the quote builder gives you a starting number for your size.
