What we did
This two-car garage in Palatine had older concrete that had never been coated. The slab showed a few cracks and some etching across the surface. The project covered 470 square feet, including the outside edge of the slab at the garage door, plus 40 linear feet of vertical concrete such as curbs, toe-kicks and exposed slab faces along the walls. The homeowner chose a custom Schist flake blend and added aluminum-oxide slip resistance for better traction underfoot.
Prep started with diamond grinding to remove the surface sheen and contaminants and open up the concrete for a proper profile and adhesion. The cracks were cleaned of loose concrete and filled, and surface imperfections were patched. The vertical surfaces were mechanically profiled as well. Next, the crew applied a polyurea base coat and broadcast the Schist flakes to full rejection. Once the base had set, excess flakes were scraped and vacuumed off, and a clear polyaspartic topcoat went down with aluminum-oxide aggregate broadcast into it across all 470 square feet.
The finished garage has a uniform Schist flake floor sealed under a clear polyaspartic topcoat. Because the curbs and toe-kicks received the same system as the slab, the floor-to-wall transition is one continuous seal rather than a hard line where coating stops. The aluminum-oxide texture in the topcoat adds grip, though like any floor it still calls for normal caution when wet, oily or covered in snow. The crew finished with a full job site cleanup.
