What to Expect on Epoxy Install Day: A Fulshear Homeowner's Guide
Most installs wrap up in a single day. The crew handles everything once you're clear — here's the play-by-play and what you need to do on your end.
The night before: what you need to do
The garage needs to be completely clear when we arrive. That means:
- All vehicles out and parked elsewhere for 24–72 hours (depending on the system)
- All items off the floor — nothing stored on the slab, even in corners
- Freestanding shelves and cabinets removed or slid out if they're anchored on the slab
- Overhead storage is fine to leave — we work around it
We also ask that you sweep out loose dirt and debris the night before if possible. We'll do a thorough vacuum before any coating goes down, but starting with a reasonably clean floor helps.
Install day — hour by hour
Crew arrives & walkthrough
We'll do a quick walkthrough of the slab with you — confirm the coating choice, identify any cracks or problem areas we flagged on the estimate, and answer any last questions. This takes 10–15 minutes.
Diamond grinding
This is the loudest part of the day. We run a commercial diamond grinder across the entire slab to open the concrete to a CSP-3 profile. You'll hear it from inside the house. Grinding typically takes 2–3 hours for a 2-car garage. After grinding, we vacuum the entire floor with industrial vacuums.
Crack fill & slab prep
We inject flexible polyurea into every crack, let it cure (fast — 5–10 minutes), and grind flush. Any expansion joints are addressed at this stage. The slab gets a final vacuum before coating begins.
Primer coat
A moisture-tolerant primer goes down first. This is what makes the coating hold on Fulshear's vapor-heavy slabs. The primer needs 1–2 hours to tack before the next coat.
Color base coat & flake broadcast
The color base goes down next. For decorative flake systems, polymer chips are broadcast into the wet coating by hand — evenly across the entire floor. The flake is then rolled into the surface and any loose chips are swept up after it tacks.
Clear topcoat
The polyaspartic clear topcoat goes down last. This is the protective layer — it provides gloss, UV stability, and durability. We leave once the topcoat is applied and looking good. Total crew time on-site: 8–10 hours for a standard 2-car garage.
Do you need to be home?
You need to be there at the start (the 10–15 minute walkthrough), and it's helpful to be available when we finish for the care walkthrough. You don't need to supervise the install. Many of our customers leave for work after the walkthrough and return in the evening to a finished floor.
The main thing: give us a working phone number so we can reach you if anything unexpected comes up (e.g., a problem crack we need to discuss before proceeding).
Cure windows: when can you use it?
- Light foot traffic: Next morning (8–12 hours after topcoat)
- Furniture and boxes: 24 hours
- Vehicles (polyaspartic system): 24 hours
- Vehicles (epoxy system): 72 hours
- Full hardness / chemical resistance: 7 days
The vehicle wait time exists because tire contact points are the highest-stress area on a garage floor. The coating needs the full cure window at those points to achieve its maximum hardness before the sustained weight and heat of a parked vehicle.
Free on-site estimate — we come to you, measure, and give you a firm quote the same day.
Call (832) 449-8510