Flake garage floors in Sarasota

When the floor is ready for feet and cars

A flake floor has no return-to-service time of its own. Sika's polyaspartic flake system sheet gives none and refers to the product sheets ¹. The wait follows the base coat and topcoat named in your scope. Our inference is that it follows the last coat, which is our reading, not a statement from the sheet.

The Sikafloor-511 row is the last coat of Sika's polyaspartic flake system ¹, which uses Sikafloor-511 for the receiver coat and the top coat ¹. In Sika's epoxy flake system, Sikafloor-264 carries the flakes and a different product is the clear top coat ⁶. So the Sikafloor-264 row is the flake coat, not the last coat ⁶. Sika lists both systems for commercial floors such as food preparation areas and lobbies, not garages ¹.

Heat shortens the waits. At 86 F the Sikafloor-264 sheet lists foot traffic after about 8 hours⁴, against about 12 hours⁴ at 68 F.

Each layer also has a recoat window. At 68 F, the Sikafloor-261 sheet lists 8 hours minimum, 48 hours maximum², the Sikafloor-264 sheet lists 8 hours minimum, 24 hours maximum⁴, and the Sikafloor-515 sheet lists about 90 minutes minimum, about 24 hours maximum³. The Sikafloor-511 sheet lists a wait of about 4 hours⁵. A missed window means abrading before the next layer.

Ask for the base, the topcoat and the wait for cars in hours, in writing.

What a flake floor is

A flake floor starts like other coatings. This Old House lists the layers as a primer, a base color coat, optional decorative flakes and a clear topcoat ⁷. The flakes are the decoration. The clear coat seals them in.

Sika's polyaspartic sheet describes a clear topcoat made to go over a quartz or flake system ³. The flakes are broadcast, which means they are thrown onto the wet coat. Loose flakes are swept up once it sets ³.

Full coverage or a light scatter

A kit seller sells a light scatter of flakes, and also a heavy broadcast that covers nearly the whole floor ⁸. The seller says heavier coverage hides imperfections better ⁸. That is a sales claim.

Ask to see a sample board in daylight, and a photo of a finished floor with the same coverage.

What flakes cannot do

Flakes are decoration on top of a prepared slab. They do not stop moisture, and they do not close a crack that is still moving.

Repair cracks and spalls before the base coat goes on, and ask how each repair is finished. Test the slab for moisture first too. Building Science explains that ground moisture can rise through a slab-on-grade floor ⁹.

The flakes and the clear coat add some texture. Ask how much, and ask how the floor is cleaned.

The flake steps in order

Slab prep and the moisture test come first, as on any system. See epoxy garage floors for that order.

• Base coat. The colored layer the flakes land in.
• Broadcast. Flakes go onto the wet base coat until it is covered to the level you chose.
• Sweep. Loose flakes come off once the coat sets ³.
• Clear coat. One or more clear coats lock the flakes in place. Sika's sheet also describes repeating the flake and clear steps for a double broadcast system ³.

What flake costs

We found few independent flake prices. A kit seller estimates professional installation of a flake epoxy system at 5 USD per sq ft⁸ to 9 USD per sq ft⁸. That seller sells do-it-yourself kits, so treat it as a vendor figure.

Retail flakes sell for $10 per 1-lb bag ¹⁰. What an installer charges depends on size, prep and how heavy the coverage is.

Compare quotes with the cost guide and the Garage Floor Price Estimator.

Flake details to get in writing

• The flake brand, size and color.
• The coverage level, and a sample to match.
• The base coat and the clear coat, by product.
• How many clear coats there are, and the cure time before cars return.
• The warranty exclusions. A workmanship term is listed here once an installer signs on.

National price ranges for flake garage floor

Flake garage floor in Sarasota Area: cities

• Sarasota

Questions people ask