How a Kratos floor gets built

Grinding, repair, base coat, flake and topcoat, run in the same order and to the same standard whether it is a two-car garage or a warehouse floor. Here is what actually happens at each step, and what to expect if you book an install.

A diamond grinder running across a concrete garage slab, dust visible in side light

A coated floor is only as good as what happens before the coating goes on. Most of the difference between a floor that lasts fifteen years and one that peels in eighteen months comes down to four things: how the concrete was profiled, whether cracks were chased and filled instead of coated over, whether moisture was tested for, and whether each layer was given the time it needed to bond before the next one went down. None of that is visible in the finished floor. All of it is visible in how the floor holds up.

The sequence below is the same one we run on every job — residential garages, patios, warehouse bays and retail floors alike. The scope changes with the project. The order and the standard do not.

01 / THE SEQUENCE

Six steps, expanded.

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  • 01

    Inspect

    We walk the slab, check for cracks, expansion joints and prior coatings, and test for moisture before anything is scheduled.

    A tech walks every square foot of the slab, photographs cracks and control joints, and runs a moisture test rather than guessing at it. Prior coatings get checked for adhesion — a floor that already has failing epoxy on it changes the prep plan. You get a written scope before a date is booked, not after. Skip this step and you find out about a moisture problem or a structural crack after the coating is already down, which is a far more expensive place to discover it.

    Same visit
  • 02

    Grind

    Diamond grinders open the concrete pore structure. No acid etching — it does not create a mechanical bond that holds up in Arizona heat.

    A planetary diamond grinder runs the full floor, cutting away the top layer of cream and laitance to open the concrete pore structure so the coating has something to mechanically key into. You will hear the grinder and see dust pulled by a HEPA vacuum shroud — most of it stays contained. Acid etching is the shortcut competitors use instead: it is faster and cheaper, but it only lightly roughens the surface chemically and does not hold up once an Arizona summer starts cycling the slab through 40-degree daily swings. A floor that was only acid-etched is the most common cause of peeling we get called to fix.

    ~1–2 hrs
  • 03

    Repair

    Cracks are chased and filled, spalled areas patched, and control joints addressed so they do not telegraph through the finished coat.

    Cracks are chased out with a grinder to a clean, uniform channel, then filled with a flexible polyurea repair compound that moves with the slab instead of fighting it. Spalled or pitted areas get patched level. Control joints are addressed so they read as a clean line in the finished floor instead of an uneven ridge. Skipping this step means every one of those cracks telegraphs straight through the base coat, flake and topcoat, and shows up on day one instead of getting ahead of it.

    ~1 hr
  • 04

    Base coat

    A pigmented polyaspartic base goes down while the ground profile is clean and dry, giving the flake a surface to bind to.

    A pigmented polyaspartic resin is rolled across the ground, repaired, and vacuumed slab while the profile is still clean and dry — this is the layer that gives the floor its base color and gives the flake something to bind into while it is still wet. Timing matters here: too long between grinding and base coat and dust or humidity can compromise the bond. This is also the point where the crew confirms color and finish match what you picked at the estimate before the flake goes down and locks it in.

    ~1 hr
  • 05

    Broadcast

    Vinyl flake is broadcast to full refusal by hand while the base coat is still wet, for even coverage with no bare patches.

    Vinyl paint chips are broadcast by hand into the wet base coat to full refusal — meaning flake keeps going down until the surface will not accept any more, which is what gives an even, no-bare-patch finish instead of a thin, spotty scatter. This is the step that sets the texture and color blend of the finished floor. A rushed or underfilled broadcast is one of the most visible signs of a corner-cut install, since bare patches in the base coat show clearly once the topcoat goes on.

    ~30 min
  • 06

    Topcoat

    A clear polyaspartic topcoat locks the flake in and carries the abrasion, chemical and UV resistance for the life of the floor.

    Once loose flake is scraped and swept off the cured base, a clear polyaspartic topcoat is rolled over the full floor. This is the wear layer — it locks every flake chip in place and carries the abrasion resistance, chemical resistance, gloss and UV stability for the life of the coating. It is also the fastest-curing step in the process, which is why polyaspartic systems can be walked on the next day instead of the multi-day wait a slower-curing epoxy topcoat needs. Too thin a topcoat here is the difference between a floor that holds its gloss for years and one that dulls and scuffs within months.

    ~1 hr

02 / PREP

Why prep decides everything

  1. 01

    Grinding, not acid etching

    A diamond grinder mechanically opens the concrete pore structure so the coating keys into the slab instead of sitting on it. Acid etching only lightly roughens the surface chemically — it is faster and cheaper, and it is the single most common reason a competitor's floor peels within a year or two in Arizona heat.

  2. 02

    Crack chasing

    Cracks are chased out to a clean channel with a grinder, then filled with a flexible polyurea compound that moves with the slab instead of fighting it. Skip this and every crack telegraphs straight through the base coat, flake and topcoat.

  3. 03

    Moisture testing

    Concrete slabs on grade constantly push water vapor upward. We test for it before quoting, and add a moisture-mitigating primer when the reading calls for it, so the coating does not blister or delaminate from underneath months later.

A crack in a concrete slab being filled with polyurea repair compound, a moisture test dome nearby

03 / INSTALL DAY

What you should expect on install day

  1. Morning

    The crew arrives, protects adjacent surfaces, and runs the diamond grinder across the full slab.

  2. Midday

    Cracks are chased and filled, dust and debris are vacuumed, and the slab is checked for dryness before anything wet goes down.

  3. Afternoon

    The base coat goes down, flake is broadcast to full refusal by hand, and loose flake is swept once it has set.

  4. Next day

    The clear topcoat is rolled once the flake layer has cured. You can walk the floor.

  5. 48 hours

    The floor is ready for vehicle traffic — timing shifts with temperature and humidity, so we give you exact times at scheduling.

Foot traffic is fine at 24 hrs. Vehicle traffic waits until 48 hrs, since cure speed shifts with temperature and humidity — we confirm exact timing when we schedule your install.

04 / QUESTIONS

Process questions

01 How long does a garage floor coating take?

Most two-car garages are ground, coated and flaked in a single day. You can walk on the floor the next day. Vehicle traffic waits a bit longer — ask for the exact return-to-service window when you get your quote, since it depends on temperature and the system used.

02 What if my slab already has cracks?

Most residential slabs have some cracking, and it does not disqualify a floor from being coated. Cracks are chased out and filled with a flexible repair compound before grinding, so they are far less likely to telegraph through the finished coat. Structural cracks or significant slab movement get flagged before we quote, not after.

03 What is moisture vapor mitigation, and do I need it?

Concrete slabs on grade constantly move water vapor up through the surface. If a coating goes down over a slab pushing more vapor than it can handle, the coating can blister or delaminate from underneath. We test moisture before quoting and add a mitigating primer when the reading calls for it.

04 How soon can I park in the garage after installation?

Foot traffic is fine well before vehicle traffic — the coating needs longer to cure to the point it can handle a parked car's weight and heat without marking. We give you exact times for both when we schedule your install, since cure speed shifts with temperature and humidity.

05 / GET A NUMBER

Get a number, not a pitch.

  1. 01

    Send photos or book a visit

    Whichever is faster for you — both work.

  2. 02

    We measure and inspect

    Slab condition, cracks and moisture, on-site or from your photos.

  3. 03

    You get a written quote

    A firm number and an install date, not a range that moves later.

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