THE SLAB COMES FIRST.

What a GTA garage floor has to handle

Ontario winters bring snow and slush into the garage on every car, and that slush usually carries road salt. When it melts and sits, it soaks into bare concrete, which is one reason uncoated garage slabs pit and flake over time.

Garages also see hot tyres after highway driving, dropped tools, oil and fluid drips, and big temperature swings. A coating system for a garage is chosen with all of that in mind, not just the colour.

Why preparation matters more than the colour

Coatings bond to clean, open, sound concrete. Most garage slabs carry oil stains, curing compounds, old sealers or paint, and a smooth top layer that a coating can't grip well.

Preparation usually means mechanical work, such as diamond grinding, to open the surface, followed by crack and pitting repair and thorough cleaning. The exact method depends on what your slab looks like when we see it.

• Existing coatings or sealers that need to come off
• Cracks, spalling or pitting that need repair
• Oil and fluid staining
• Signs of moisture coming up through the slab
• Drains, expansion joints and the transition at the garage door

Choosing a finish for a garage

Garage owners usually choose between a flake system, a solid colour or a decorative metallic floor. Flake hides dust and small debris and adds texture underfoot. Metallic floors give the deep, marbled show-car look you see in our garage photos. Solid colour keeps things simple and bright.

If you are deciding between finishes, our finish guide walks through the trade-offs, and the Pour Lab on the home page lets you play with metallic colour combinations.

Cold garages and timing

Coatings cure by chemical reaction, and most products publish a minimum slab and air temperature in their technical data sheets. An unheated GTA garage in winter can fall below that range, so timing and temporary heating are part of planning a winter install. We confirm the conditions for your garage when we quote.