We grind every slab, test it for moisture before the price is final, and write the coats and thickness into the quote.
Dubuque Epoxy Flooring has spent 20+ years putting epoxy flooring, polyaspartic coatings and polished concrete into garages, basements, shops and commercial buildings across Dubuque, IA. We grind every slab open, test it for moisture before the price is final, and build a floor system to suit the way that slab is actually used.
The floors we install range from flake garage systems and metallic basement finishes to urethane cement in food plants and static-dissipative coatings in electronics rooms. Each one starts the same way: we map the cracks, spalls and old coatings already on the concrete, and we say plainly when a slab needs repair or replacement before anything should go on it.
Our written proposals name the product line, the number of coats and the finished thickness, so you can hold the finished floor up against the quote. They also spell out what the coating warranty leaves out, with moisture at the top of the list, before you agree to anything.
What we do
Epoxy, polyaspartic and polished concrete floors for Dubuque homes, shops and plants
Ground, moisture-tested epoxy garage floors with flake and a salt-resistant topcoat, specified in writing by coat count and thickness.
Ground, densified and polished concrete floors for showrooms, offices, warehouses and homes, with a test grind before the finish is chosen.
Fast-curing, UV-stable polyaspartic floor coatings for garages and commercial floors, installed over a ground and moisture-tested slab.
Basement floor epoxy over a ground, moisture-tested slab, with sump pits and floor drains checked for past water before we coat.
Marbled metallic epoxy floors for basements, showrooms, salons and offices, poured over a flat, ground and moisture-tested slab.
Diamond grinding and shot blasting that strip old coatings and open concrete to a measured profile, with dust captured at the machine.
Crack, spall, pitting and salt-scaling repair for garage, basement and shop floors, with an honest call on when a slab needs replacing.
Epoxy and polyaspartic floors for shops, offices, clinics, gyms and service bays, scheduled around your hours and specified in writing.
Heavy-duty epoxy and urethane cement floors for plants, warehouses and shops, built to the loads and chemicals on the floor and phased around shifts.
Static-dissipative and conductive epoxy floors for electronics work, labs and server rooms, grounded and tested to your resistance range.
Vinyl flake epoxy floors with a full chip broadcast and clear topcoat, in blends and chip sizes chosen to hide wear and add grip.
Urethane cement and epoxy kitchen floors with coved bases, slope to drains and wet-area texture, planned around the Food Code.
We have been preparing and coating concrete for more than twenty years, on everything from one-car garages to production floors. That time has taught us that most coating failures start under the coating, in a slab that was not ground, not tested or not ready, and our process is built around catching those problems before the first coat goes down.
No slab of ours gets an acid wash. We open the surface with a diamond grinder or a shot blaster to a measured ICRI concrete surface profile and capture the dust at the machine, so the coating grips real texture rather than a rinsed, half-etched surface a cheaper crew hoses toward the floor drain.
Every quote waits on a moisture test, whether the slab is in a basement or a garage, and whatever year the house was built. A coating laid over a damp slab blisters and lifts, so we find the vapor problem while it is still a line item rather than after the floor fails and the warranty excludes it.
Coating schedules here follow slab temperature and the dew point spread at the surface. Dubuque Regional Airport averages 144.1 nights a year at or below freezing, so an unheated garage in midwinter is told to wait for spring rather than being coated on a cold slab that never fully cures.
Brine and rock salt ride in on tires here from November through March. Our garage systems are chosen with a chemical-resistant topcoat and a broadcast that sheds slush, so the floor holds up to that wet, salty grit rather than dulling and softening the way a thin store-bought coating does by the second winter.
Each proposal lists the product line, the coat count and the finished thickness in mils. That lets you compare quotes on equal terms and check the finished floor against what was sold, rather than taking a contractor’s word that a thin single coat is the same as a built-up system.
A garage job starts with a walk-through, a moisture test and a map of every crack and spall. On install days we grind the slab, repair the damage, lay the base coat, broadcast flake if the system calls for it, and finish with a topcoat. We give you written walk-on and drive-on times before you park on the new floor.
An attached garage shares air with the house, so we seal the door to the living space and run dust-captured grinding. For attached garages we offer low-odor products as a comfort and re-entry choice, never as a legal requirement in Iowa. A detached garage gives us more ventilation but often less heat, which shapes the cure schedule.
Garage slabs are often poured without the under-slab vapor retarder a basement gets, and IRC R506.2.3 allows that exception. We start with an ASTM D4263 plastic sheet test and move to calcium chloride or relative humidity testing when the result calls for it, so the system is chosen around the moisture actually in the slab.
A garage built in the last few years is not automatically drier than one from the 1950s. Newer slabs can still be releasing water from the pour, and some sit over damp soil with no vapor retarder below. We test the slab whatever year the house was built, because the age of the house does not tell you what the concrete holds.
Cracks, spalls and pitting get mapped and filled before the coating, using repair materials matched to the coating system. When a slab has heaved, settled badly or broken into loose pieces, we tell you it needs to be replaced rather than coated, because a coating will only follow the movement and crack again.
Calcium chloride and rock salt deicers soak into bare concrete with the meltwater, and repeated freeze-thaw cycles can then scale and flake the surface. A sealed, coated garage floor keeps that brine on top where it can be squeegeed out. Where scaling has already started, we grind past the damaged layer before anything is applied.
Epoxy and polyaspartic both need the slab within their temperature range and above the dew point, or they cure soft, cloudy or with amine blush on the surface. Heated garages can be done in any month. In an unheated garage in deep winter, we will tell you to wait for spring rather than coat a slab that cannot cure properly.
Hot tire pickup happens when a warm tire softens a thin coating and pulls it off the slab as you drive away. It is most common with thin, low-solids paints rolled onto a slab that was never ground. A ground slab with a 100% solids epoxy base and a polyaspartic topcoat gives the bond and thickness that resist it.
A store-bought kit usually means a thin water-based epoxy over an acid-etched slab, with no moisture test and no crack repair. A professional floor uses diamond grinding, a high-solids base coat, a full broadcast and a topcoat, built to a stated thickness. The difference shows up in the first salt season, when thin coatings tend to peel at the tire lines.
Garage floor pricing turns on square footage, the condition of the slab, and the system you choose. Old paint, deep spalls and moisture problems all add preparation time. A full flake system with a polyaspartic topcoat costs more than a single solid coat, and the written quote shows exactly which one you are paying for.
The first question on any basement floor is how much moisture is moving through the slab. We use ASTM F1869 calcium chloride tests or ASTM F2170 relative humidity probes, and compare the reading with the product’s limits and the ASTM F710 thresholds. That answer decides whether the basement can be coated, primed first, or left alone.
Sump pits, drain tile and floor drains are how a basement manages water, and the coating has to stop cleanly at each one. We terminate the coating at the pit rim and drain body without covering inspection points or blocking flow, and we look at each one for signs of past water before choosing a system.
Many Dubuque basements sit under houses built well before 1960, and their floors carry decades of paint, patching, sealer and black tile adhesive. Coatings do not bond to those layers. We grind through them to sound concrete, test what is underneath, and handle old adhesive with the care its age calls for.
The North End saw repeated flash flooding, with water reaching basement furnaces and water heaters, before the Bee Branch Creek was daylighted. Along the river, the John C. Culver Floodwall and its 17 floodgates protect most of the city. A coated floor is easier to clean after water, but it is not flood protection and does not keep water out.
White powder on a basement floor is usually efflorescence, salts carried up by water moving through the concrete and left behind when it evaporates. It is a sign of moisture movement, and it breaks a coating’s bond from below. We treat it as evidence, test the slab, and grind it away only after the moisture behind it is understood.
When testing shows vapor emission above what a standard epoxy tolerates, but no active water, a moisture-mitigation primer can be the answer. It is a dense epoxy layer built to hold back vapor under the finish coats. It is not a cure for seepage or hydrostatic pressure, and we use it only where the readings support it.
If a basement has taken on water, the coating waits. The slab has to be cleaned of silt and residue, dried, and tested again, because concrete holds water long after the surface looks dry. FEMA Technical Bulletin 2 describes flood damage-resistant materials, and we use that as the frame for what a flood-prone floor should be.
A laundry area needs a coating that handles spilled detergent and a floor drain, while a workshop needs resistance to dropped tools, oil and solvent. Home gym floors take heavy weights and sweat. We match the system and the texture to each room, so one basement can carry more than one finish where it makes sense.
Most coating warranties exclude failure caused by moisture vapor transmission or hydrostatic pressure under a basement slab. We explain that exclusion before you sign, because it is the most common reason basement coatings lift. It is also why the moisture test is part of our written scope instead of an optional extra.
EPA lists every Iowa county as radon Zone 1, and radon testing and mitigation in Iowa require a state credential under Iowa Code chapter 136B. We hold no such credential and never sell a floor coating as radon work. A coating is not waterproofing either, and seepage has to be handled before we coat.
A vinyl flake broadcast is the most common garage finish, with colored chips thrown into the wet base coat and locked under a clear topcoat. Smaller chips give a tighter, granite-like look, while larger chips read bolder. A full broadcast hides slab imperfections and adds texture, and partial coverage shows more of the base color.
Metallic epoxy uses pigments that move in the wet coating to create a marbled, flowing finish. It takes a flat, ground slab, careful mixing and an installer who works the material while it is still wet. Because every pour moves differently, we show you samples and explain that no two metallic floors come out identical.
Polished concrete is the slab itself, ground in stages and hardened with a lithium silicate densifier rather than coated. The depth of the grind decides how much aggregate shows, from a cream finish with almost none to a full exposure of the stone. Older slabs can surprise you, so we grind a test area first.
High gloss looks sharp but shows dust, scratches and tire marks quickly. Satin and matte topcoats hide everyday wear better and suit garages and shops that see real use. The sheen comes from the topcoat, so it can be chosen separately from the base color and flake blend.
A quartz aggregate broadcast adds color and grip at the same time, with colored sand locked between epoxy layers. It is common in commercial kitchens, locker rooms and ramps where a smooth floor would be slick. We set the grit size and topcoat thickness to the slip resistance you need, rather than adding texture as an afterthought.
A solid color floor without flake suits shops, utility rooms and commercial spaces where a clean, uniform surface is the goal. It is also easier to mark with safety lines. A solid floor shows dust and scratches more than flake, so we pair it with the right sheen and texture.
Epoxy yellows, or ambers, under ultraviolet light, which shows on floors near garage doors and windows. Polyaspartic and polyurea topcoats resist that much better. Where a floor sees direct sun, we put an ultraviolet-stable topcoat over the epoxy to keep the color true.
Saw-cut lines can divide a floor into tiles or border a showroom, while a logo or lettering can be set into a shop or dealer floor. These details are cut and coated as part of the system. We plan them before grinding starts, since joints and cracks often decide where lines can go.
A commercial floor carries more traffic, more chemicals and tighter schedules than a home garage. We assess the slab, the loads and the cleaning program, then specify the system and thickness in writing. Schedules are built around the business so the work fits between deliveries, shifts and opening hours.
Manufacturing floors take oil, coolant, hydraulic fluid and dropped parts every day. We match the coating’s chemical resistance to the fluids actually used on the floor, and build thickness where carts and impacts concentrate. Oil-soaked concrete has to be cleaned and tested before coating, or the bond fails.
Food plant floors are washed down every shift with hot water and cleaners. That cycle of heat, moisture and chemicals tests any coating. We build those floors with sloped areas to drains, coved bases where walls meet the floor, and a texture that keeps workers on their feet when the floor is wet.
Urethane cement handles thermal shock, hot water and harsh cleaners that would soften a standard epoxy. It also tolerates more moisture in the slab during installation. For food plants, breweries and kitchens with steam and hot washdowns, we specify urethane cement where an epoxy would fail early.
Warehouse and distribution floors take forklifts, pallet jacks and heavy racks. The coating needs to resist wear at turning points and stay bonded at joints where wheels cross. We specify the build and the joint treatment to the traffic, and phase the work so aisles stay open while sections cure.
Farm shops and equipment dealer service bays see mud, fuel, hydraulic oil and heavy machines. Deicing salt comes in on the equipment through winter. We build those floors with a chemical-resistant topcoat and a texture that handles a wet floor, so the shop stays easy to clean.
Kitchens inside the city are inspected by the City of Dubuque Health Services Department under a DIAL contract, against the 2017 FDA Food Code. Section 6-201.13 asks for coved junctures between the floor and walls, and 6-201.11 allows antislip floors in wet areas. We plan the coving, texture and drains to fit that code.
Brewery floors see spilled product, hoses, hand trucks and frequent washing. Tasting rooms need to look good while holding up to the same spills. We often split those spaces, putting urethane cement in the production area and a decorative flake or quartz system in the front, so each floor fits its job.
Office, clinic and showroom floors have to look finished first and resist wear second. Polished concrete, metallic epoxy and solid color systems all suit these spaces. We plan the work to keep the business open, and choose low-odor products where people are working nearby.
Iowa and Wisconsin jobs fall under the federal 40 CFR 59 Subpart D architectural coatings rule, which binds the manufacturers. Illinois has its own limits in 35 Ill. Adm. Code Part 223, so we pick products for Illinois jobs to meet them. Low-odor products are a comfort choice elsewhere, not a legal requirement.
Plants, warehouses and shops often cannot shut down for days. We phase the work around shifts and use overnight and weekend windows when a line cannot stop. Fast-curing polyaspartic and urethane cement systems help a section return to service sooner, and the schedule is agreed in writing before work starts.
Dubuque Epoxy Flooring provides epoxy-flooring throughout the greater Dubuque area, with the same crews and the same standards on every job.
Good to know
The price depends on the square footage, the condition of the slab, and the system chosen. A garage with old paint, deep spalls or a moisture problem costs more to prepare than a clean, sound slab, and a full-flake polyaspartic system costs more than a single solid color coat. We measure, test and map the floor first, then give a written price that names the product line, the coats and the finished thickness.
Most of the time goes into preparation: grinding, crack and spall repair, and cleanup of the dust. The coating schedule then depends on the system and on the slab temperature, since a cold slab cures slowly. We give you the walk-on and drive-on times for your specific system in writing, so you know when to move the cars back in.
The City of Dubuque's list of projects exempt from permits names painting, tiling, carpeting and similar finish work, as well as non-structural slabs on private property. A coating over a sound slab is surface work, but a job that grows into structural repair or slab replacement is a different question. When that happens we check with Inspection and Construction Services before the work starts.
Iowa requires contractors to register with the state under Iowa Code chapter 91C, through the Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing, and Dubuque does not license flooring contractors itself. Ask for a written scope that names the product, the coats and the thickness. On Wisconsin jobs, ATCP 110 sets the rules for written home improvement contracts, and Illinois has its own consumer rights form for home repair.
Epoxy builds thickness and bonds well to a ground slab, which makes it a strong base coat. Polyaspartic cures faster, works in a wider temperature range and holds up better to sunlight, which makes it a common topcoat over flake. Many of our garage systems use both, and the proposal says which product goes where.
Sometimes, but not before we know where the moisture comes from. We test the slab with methods such as the ASTM F2170 relative humidity probe and check the sump pit and floor drain for signs of past water. A slab with moderate vapor emission may take a moisture-mitigation primer, while a slab with active seepage needs the water problem fixed first, because no coating stops it.
A smooth, high-gloss coating can be slick under water, snowmelt or oil. Grip comes from what is broadcast into the floor and the topcoat chosen over it, such as a full flake broadcast or a quartz aggregate, and we specify that texture in the proposal rather than promising a nonslip floor in general terms.
Yes, when the slab can be kept within the product's temperature range and above the dew point. Heated garages, basements and commercial buildings are coated all year. An unheated detached garage in January is usually too cold for a proper cure, and we will tell you to wait for spring rather than coat a slab that cannot cure.
The biggest exclusion is moisture. Most coating warranties do not cover failures caused by moisture vapor transmission or hydrostatic pressure coming up through the slab. Other common exclusions include damage from impact, chemical spills outside the product's rating, and slab movement. We go through the exclusions with you before you sign, not after a problem shows up.
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