Ranges by system
| System | Per sq ft installed | Typical 2-car (450 sq ft) |
|---|---|---|
| Solid colour epoxy | $4 – $7 | $1,800 – $3,150 |
| Full-broadcast flake | $5.50 – $9.50 | $2,475 – $4,275 |
| Flake + polyaspartic topcoat | $7 – $11 | $3,150 – $4,950 |
| Quartz broadcast | $8 – $13 | $3,600 – $5,850 |
| Metallic | $9 – $15 | $4,050 – $6,750 |
| Polished concrete | $5 – $12 | $2,250 – $5,400 |
A standard Reno two-car garage most often lands between $2,400 and $4,200. Three-car garages run roughly $3,600 to $6,500. Per-square-foot cost drops as area increases, because mobilisation and edge work are largely fixed.
What pushes a quote up
Existing coating removal
Adds 30–60%. Tooling wears fast against resin and the slab underneath usually needs work once exposed.
Significant crack or spall repair
Adds $200–$900 typically. Extensive spalling can be more.
Moisture mitigation primer
Adds $1.50–$3.00 per sq ft. Only needed if testing calls for it, which is exactly why we test.
Coved base
Adds $8–$15 per linear foot. Common on basements and premium builds.
Metallic or custom design
Adds 20–40% over flake. Labour and skill, not just material.
Small floors
A single-car garage costs more per square foot than a three-car. Setup and edge work don't scale down.
How to compare two bids
Price alone tells you very little. These five questions separate quotes that are actually comparable:
- Diamond grinding or acid etch? If the answer is etch, the rest doesn't matter.
- Full broadcast or partial? Partial uses a fraction of the flake and looks identical on day one.
- What is the topcoat? Epoxy topcoat versus polyaspartic is the UV difference and a real cost difference.
- Has the slab been moisture tested? If not, you're carrying that risk.
- What does the warranty exclude? Most exclude substrate moisture, which loops back to question four.
A $1,400 two-car quote in this market is not a bargain on the same floor. It is a different floor: etched instead of ground, partial broadcast, epoxy topcoat. It will look good for a year. Whether that's acceptable is your call, but you should know that's the trade.
DIY comparison
A big-box kit runs $150–$600 for a two-car garage, plus grinder rental if you take prep seriously. The honest comparison is on DIY kits vs professional installation — there are cases where it makes sense.
Where the money actually goes
Homeowners generally assume material is the bulk of a floor coating quote. It is not, and understanding the split explains why the cheap quotes are cheap.
| Component | Share of a typical residential quote |
|---|---|
| Labour — grinding, edging, prep, cleanup | 45–55% |
| Materials — resin, flake, topcoat | 20–30% |
| Equipment, tooling wear, dust extraction | 8–12% |
| Overhead, insurance, warranty reserve | 10–15% |
| Margin | 8–15% |
Labour is the largest line, and preparation is most of that labour. So when a competitor comes in 40% below, the arithmetic only works one way: they are not doing the preparation. There is not enough margin or material cost in the job to find that saving anywhere else.
Worked example: a real two-car garage
A 22ft by 22ft garage, 484 square feet, twelve-year-old slab, sound with two shrinkage cracks and light oil staining. Full broadcast flake with polyaspartic topcoat.
| Line | Cost |
|---|---|
| Diamond grinding including hand-ground perimeter | $780 |
| Crack routing and polyurea fill, two cracks | $180 |
| Primer | $210 |
| Pigmented base coat | $340 |
| Vinyl flake, full broadcast (52 lb) | $290 |
| Scrape, vacuum, flake recovery | $160 |
| Polyaspartic topcoat, two coats | $620 |
| Masking, cleanup, disposal | $140 |
| Overhead, insurance, warranty reserve | $310 |
| Total | $3,030 |
That is $6.26 per square foot, which sits mid-range. Strip out the grinding and use partial broadcast with an epoxy topcoat and the same garage quotes around $1,650. It will look identical for about a year.
Cost per year of service
The more useful comparison is not price but price divided by realistic life.
| Option | Cost | Realistic life | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big-box DIY kit | $400 | 2 years | $200 |
| Careful DIY with rented grinder | $1,100 | 7 years | $157 |
| Budget contractor, etched, partial broadcast | $1,650 | 4 years | $413 |
| Full system, ground, polyaspartic | $3,030 | 17 years | $178 |
The budget contractor is the worst value on the board, and by a wide margin. You pay a professional price for a floor that fails like a DIY one, and you then pay removal costs on top before you can do it properly. Careful DIY genuinely competes; the cheap professional job does not.
Seasonal pricing
Demand in this market peaks in spring and again in autumn, when working conditions are pleasant. Mid-summer and the weeks around the holidays are quieter, and scheduling then often means a faster start date and occasionally a better number. If your timing is flexible, ask.
What we will not do on price
We will discuss scope. We will not discount by reducing preparation, thinning the broadcast, or substituting an epoxy topcoat while still calling it a polyaspartic system. If a budget genuinely does not reach, we would rather tell you honestly that a careful DIY job with a rented grinder is better value than a compromised professional one.
Common questions
Why is there such a wide range?
Because prep is most of the labour and slab condition varies enormously. Two garages of identical size can differ by 60 percent — one is a clean, sound, five-year-old slab and the other has a failed DIY coating over spalled concrete.
That's also why nobody can give you an accurate number over the phone. We'll give a range on a call and a firm figure after seeing it.
Do you charge for the quote?
No. The on-site measure and written quote are free, including a plastic-sheet moisture check.
Quantitative moisture testing — calcium chloride or RH probes — takes 72 hours and does carry a cost on some jobs. We'll tell you before we do it, and we credit it against the install if you proceed.
Is financing available?
We're a small operation and don't run our own financing. Most customers use a home improvement loan or a card.
One practical note: we don't take large deposits. A modest deposit to schedule and the balance on completion is normal. Anyone asking for most of the money up front is worth questioning.
Does a bigger garage cost less per square foot?
Yes, meaningfully. Mobilisation, masking, edge grinding and cleanup are largely fixed costs regardless of area.
A single-car garage might run $9 per square foot where the same system in a four-car space runs $6. If you're coating a garage and a patio, doing both in one visit is cheaper than two trips.
Ready for a floor that survives a Sierra winter?
Free on-site measure, honest assessment of your slab, and a written quote you can hold us to.