What is the difference between epoxy and polyaspartic floor coatings?
They are different resin families, and in most Baton Rouge garages the answer is both. Epoxy builds thickness cheaply — it goes on heavy per coat and costs less per gallon — but a clear epoxy topcoat ambers where sunlight reaches it, and vehicles have to stay off for three to seven days. Polyaspartic is UV stable, so the finish you paid for is the finish you keep, and it takes vehicles back in roughly 24 to 48 hours. It costs more per gallon and has a pot life measured in minutes, which demands a crew that can keep a wet edge. A flake epoxy system runs $6 to $9 per square foot and a polyaspartic or hybrid build $7 to $12. The common build here is an epoxy base carrying the thickness with a polyaspartic topcoat carrying the wear and the UV.
Epoxy vs. polyaspartic, line by line →Polyaspartic coatings →
Can a garage floor coating work in Baton Rouge humidity?
Yes — but only on a slab that has been tested first. Most homes here sit on slab-on-grade concrete, and ground moisture drives vapor up through the floor. Put a coating over a slab pushing more vapor than the primer can handle and it blisters or delaminates months later, usually in the dampest part of the floor. The fix is not exotic: measure the slab with calcium chloride or in-situ RH testing, and if the readings run high, use a moisture-tolerant or vapor-mitigating primer rated for what was measured. Coatings that fail in this climate almost always fail because that step was skipped, not because coatings do not work here.
How Louisiana humidity affects concrete floors →Moisture testing before epoxy →
How is concrete prepared before a floor coating is applied?
Mechanically — diamond grinding, or shot blasting on larger commercial floors. Grinding opens the surface so the coating has a profile to key into, removes the worn cream layer, and takes off old paint, sealer, or adhesive rather than burying it. An acid-etch packet is not equivalent: it cannot cut through oil, tire rubber, or a previous coating, and it is the single most common reason a DIY floor lifts. Prep is also the line item cheap quotes remove, so if one bid is dramatically lower than the others, ask specifically how the slab is being prepared.
Garage floor coatings →DIY kit vs. professional →
Can cracks be repaired before a garage floor coating is installed?
Yes, and they should be. Hairline shrinkage cracks get routed slightly and filled. Wider or spalled cracks are cut out, filled with a structural repair material, and ground flush so nothing telegraphs through the finish. Control joints are either honored or filled depending on whether the slab is still moving. Significant crack or spall repair typically adds $200 to $800 to a garage. The one case that gets assessed before anything is promised is a crack with a height difference between the two sides — that means differential movement, and the cause gets addressed before a coating goes over it.
Concrete sealing and resurfacing →
Can a coating be applied over an existing painted or coated floor?
Not over it — the old film comes off first. A new system bonds to whatever it touches, so coating over porch paint, an old sealer, or a thin DIY kit just transfers that layer's weak bond to your new floor. There is an easy home check: splash a cup of water on the slab. If it beads and sits, something is sealing it. If it soaks in and darkens the concrete, you are likely on bare slab. Removal is real labor and it belongs on the quote as its own line item rather than being absorbed into a round number.
What a failed DIY floor costs to undo →
How long does a garage floor coating project take?
Most residential garages are one to two days of work: grinding and repair on the first day, primer and base coat with the flake broadcast wet, then scrape, vacuum, and topcoat. The install is rarely the long part — return to service is. Clearing the garage completely is the step homeowners underestimate, especially where shelving, a freezer, or a workbench has to come out, so that gets planned before the crew arrives rather than the morning of.
The full install sequence →
When can I park on a newly coated garage floor?
Foot traffic is generally fine about 24 hours after the final topcoat. Vehicles depend on the system: a straight epoxy build needs roughly three to seven days to reach full chemical cure, while a polyaspartic topcoat usually takes vehicles back in 24 to 48 hours. The distinction matters because parking early is one of the most common ways a good floor gets damaged — a hot tire on a coating that has not fully cured is what causes hot-tire pickup. Get both windows, foot and vehicle, in writing before the work starts.
Why polyaspartic returns to service sooner →How long a coating lasts here →
Are coated concrete floors easy to maintain?
Much easier than bare concrete, but not maintenance-free. A sealed floor stops the dusting cycle where sweeping raw concrete just makes more of what you swept up, and spills sit on the surface instead of soaking into the pores. The routine is simple: keep grit swept or blown off, because sand under a tire is what abrades a topcoat; wipe spills rather than letting them sit; and use a neutral cleaner instead of harsh solvents or acidic products. You get the specific cleaning chemistry to avoid as part of the handover.
Will a coating hide every concrete imperfection?
No, and any installer who says otherwise is setting up a disappointing reveal. A full flake broadcast hides a great deal — it is the most forgiving finish for a repaired or blemished slab, which is exactly why it is the most common residential choice. A solid color hides the least, and a metallic pour follows the surface closely enough that the floor needs to be genuinely flat first. Repairs ground flush will read as one continuous plane, but a coating follows the contour of the slab underneath it. If the floor has a low spot or a settled threshold, that gets addressed as repair work rather than covered up with resin.
How much does a garage floor coating cost?
Most flake systems run $6 to $9 per square foot installed. On a whole-project basis that is roughly $2,500 to $5,500 for a two-car garage and $1,500 to $3,000 for a single-car. A polyaspartic or hybrid build runs $7 to $12 per square foot, and metallic or custom decorative work is priced on its own scale at $9 to $15+. Significant crack or spall repair typically adds $200 to $800. Very small jobs carry a project minimum of about $400 to $700, because the crew, the equipment haul, and the material batch cost the same whether the floor is 120 square feet or 400. These are planning ranges — where a specific floor lands depends mostly on slab condition and the system you choose.
Full Baton Rouge cost breakdown →Garage floor coatings →
What happens during a quote visit?
We walk the slab and read it: crack and joint mapping, spalled edges and thresholds, stains and prior coatings, how the floor meets the drive apron, and moisture readings. We ask how the space actually gets used, because a garage that holds a workbench and a deep freeze wants a different specification than one that holds two cars. What you get back is a written scope stating the prep method, the repair work, the system and mil build, the finish, and the return-to-service windows for foot and vehicle traffic. A quote that answers those in writing is one you can compare fairly against anyone else's.
Request an on-site quote →
Do you handle commercial epoxy flooring?
Yes — shops, warehouses, showrooms, kitchens, and production space. Commercial work runs $4 to $12 per square foot, and the per-foot price drops as the floor gets larger because mobilization and setup spread across more area. The specification changes with the demand on the floor: forklift lanes and impact zones need a higher build or a mortar system, wash-down and food-service areas need integral cove base and an aggressive slip-resistant broadcast, and showrooms are led by appearance with a UV-stable topcoat where daylight reaches the floor.
Commercial epoxy flooring →Commercial kitchen flooring in Louisiana →
Can a commercial floor be planned around business operations?
Usually, through phasing. The floor is divided into zones and worked one at a time, often on nights or weekends, so part of the space stays operational throughout. Fast-cure polyaspartic makes this far more practical, because a zone can be back in service in hours rather than days. Phased and after-hours work is the most common cost adder on a commercial quote, and it should appear as a visible line item so you can weigh it against what the downtime would have cost you.
How phased commercial installs run →
Which areas do you serve?
Red Stick Concrete Coatings serves Baton Rouge, Prairieville, Gonzales, Denham Springs, Zachary, Central, Baker, Walker, Port Allen, Addis, Brusly, St. Gabriel. If your project is nearby but not on that list, ask when you call — if you are within about an hour of Baton Rouge, we probably cover you.