Before and after
Dark Stains to Gray Flake
Before: dark stains across a garage slab. After: a gray flake floor with a glossy finish.
Before
After
Slab Lab Coatings installs epoxy floor coatings for homes and businesses across the Twin Cities, from our base in Otsego. A modern epoxy floor is usually built in layers. In our standard system, an epoxy base coat bonds to a diamond-ground slab. A UV-stable polyaspartic topcoat seals it, and the finish can be solid color, flake, metallic or quartz.
You may be here because the old epoxy kit peeled, or the shop floor is worn down to bare concrete. We diamond grind and moisture test every slab, then repair cracks and pits before any coating goes down. The free on-site estimate spells out the system, the mil thickness and the repairs for your floor.
Tell us about the floor. We come out, look at the slab and give you a free estimate.
Epoxy products differ in how much of each coat stays on the floor. A 100 percent solids epoxy has no water or solvent to evaporate. One floor epoxy's data sheet lists 10 to 15 mils wet and the same 10 to 15 mils dry. A mil is one thousandth of an inch.
Water-based epoxy loses its water as it dries. Data sheets for two water-based garage floor kits list about 42 and 53 percent solids by volume. A coat rolled on at 5 to 7 mils dries to about 2 to 3.5 mils. One of those kits says it is not meant for floors with a moisture problem.
Our epoxy base coat is high-solids and self-priming. The more solids a product has, the more of each coat stays on the floor. Your estimate lists the mil thickness of the system we plan for your slab.
Epoxy makes a strong base. Several epoxy data sheets report pull-off tests where the concrete broke before the bond did. Their chemical charts rate floor epoxy well against salt water and gasoline. Floor epoxies can serve as a solid color finish or as the base for flake, quartz and metallic floors.
Sunlight is where epoxy falls short: data sheets typically warn that it yellows or chalks in UV light. Several limit it to interior floors. That is why our epoxy floors get a polyaspartic topcoat that is 100 percent UV stable and will not yellow. Outdoors, a polyaspartic system takes the lead.
For garage epoxy, our full-flake system can use an epoxy or polyaspartic base coat. Most garages are coated in one day, and the garage floor coatings page walks through each step. In a basement, the slab is ground and moisture issues are handled before a basement floor coating goes down. Shops and warehouses get commercial and industrial floor coatings built for heavy equipment and chemical exposure.
Slab Lab Coatings was founded by a former coating inspector. Our jobs start with the prep standards an inspector checks for. Epoxy data sheets often call for CSP 2 to 3, roughness levels defined by the International Concrete Repair Institute. Several name diamond grinding or shot blasting to get there.
The two water-based kits call for etching bare concrete instead. Data sheets that allow acid etching say to neutralize and rinse the slab before coating. Even one kit's data sheet says a sealed floor must be ground or shot blasted first. Ask any epoxy flooring contractor how your slab will be prepared, and to what profile.
Ask about moisture testing. ASTM F1869 is a calcium chloride test, and ASTM F2170 reads relative humidity inside the slab. Each product sets its own limit, and a high reading calls for a moisture barrier primer. Then ask for the mil thickness and the topcoat type in writing.
Free estimates and site visits across the northwest metro and the Twin Cities, about 40 miles around Otsego.
(612) 702-9724Our own photos from recent garage jobs. See more of our work.
Before: dark stains across a garage slab. After: a gray flake floor with a glossy finish.
BeforeAfterBefore: a stained, tire-marked slab with storage along the walls. After: a gray flake floor with a light sheen.
Before
AfterFrom the first call to the final topcoat, here is how it goes.
Call or text (612) 702-9724, or send the form. We look at the slab and put the system, repairs, mil thickness and price in writing.
We diamond grind the slab with dust extraction to open the surface for a strong bond. Then we test the concrete for moisture.
We fill cracks and chips, including salt pits near the door. The coating goes down over sound, smooth concrete.
A high-solids, self-priming epoxy or polyaspartic base coat goes down over the ground slab. This is the layer that bonds to the concrete.
We broadcast polymer flake across the wet base coat until it is fully covered. Then we scrape off the excess for a consistent texture and grip.
A scratch-resistant, UV-stable polyaspartic topcoat seals the floor and hardens in 6 to 8 hours. The crew leaves care instructions and tells you when to park.
Common questions about epoxy flooring across the northwest metro and the Twin Cities, about 40 miles around Otsego. If yours is not here, call and ask.
Polyaspartic and polyurea coatings cure fast and hold their color in sunlight. Our polyaspartic topcoat hardens in 6 to 8 hours, and most garages are coated in one day.
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Metallic epoxy floors with flowing, marble-like patterns, worked by hand so every floor is one of a kind. Quartz epoxy floors give wet, busy rooms a textured, slip-resistant finish.
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Slab Lab Coatings coats warehouse, shop, retail, office and showroom floors to take heavy equipment and chemical spills. Quartz and textured finishes add grip, and we plan the work around your operation.
Learn MoreOur prep follows the standards a coating inspector checks for, because the company was founded by a former coating inspector.
Every slab we coat is diamond ground and tested for moisture first. Cracks and pits are repaired before any coating goes down.
About 75 days a year the temperature swings across freezing in the Twin Cities. Our polyaspartic and polyurea systems are chosen for that and for road salt.
Most garages are coated in one day. One Google review describes a three-stall garage done between 8 in the morning and 2 in the afternoon. Pick your look from two dozen flake blends.
Real reviews from real floor coating jobs, 34 reviews on Google.
Josh was amazing to work with. He personally called after I did the Facebook quote and scheduled an estimate for the next day. He got me on the schedule within 2 weeks. The crew arrived at 8am sharp, and were gone by 2pm doing my 3 stall garage. It’s been 2 months and it’s still the favorite update we’ve done to our house since buying. I can’t recommend Josh and Slab Labs enough for getting your garage floor upgraded.
We were so happy with the new garage floor coating Slab Lab did in our garage. Josh was very informative and helpful every step of the way. The workers, Rey and Alex, arrived on time, were very hard working, courteous, and very skilled in all aspects of the job. They were all so pleasant and easy to work with. The floor is beautiful—no more ugly salt damaged concrete! Thanks, Slab Lab!
Highly recommend. I’ve had the floor in my garage for about a year, and it still looks brand new. If I move, I’ll be calling them again for the next garage.
See 2026 market ranges by system and space, and what moves a Minnesota quote.
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Epoxy vs polyaspartic vs polyurea for Minnesota garage floors: cure time, UV, flexibility, cold-weather limits and market cost ranges, side by side.
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Garage floor coating cost in Minnesota: national and Minneapolis market ranges per square foot, two- and three-stall totals and what salt damage adds.
Read more →Send a few details about your floor, and we will set up a free on-site estimate. If you would rather talk, call or text (612) 702-9724.
Tell us about the floor. We come out, look at the slab and give you a free estimate.