Over the past 13 years preparing countless concrete floors across Perth, we’ve discovered some very important lessons:
Good preparation can be the deciding factor of success for any floor coating project.
And we mean that literally. We’ve had gorgeous coatings go bust within a matter of months because the prep work was rushed, and we’ve been on jobs that resulted, due to someone else’s terrible preparations, in stripping off everything and starting all over.
Let’s share what we’ve learned from actual hands-on experience and hard lessons learned and shortcuts that never work.
Why Floor Preparation Actually Matters (More Than You Think)
Last month, Lawrence got to visit a warehouse in Malaga where the previous coating was peeling off in sheets. The owner had chosen to go for what looked like a good deal — fast-prep work at a fraction of the cost.
Eighteen months later, instead of a resilient floor, they are dealing with a total restoration project that’s costing them three times the cost of doing it the right way the first time.
That’s where the majority of floor coating companies will tell you “preparation is key” and leave it at that point.
We feel you ought to have that opportunity to have it figured out. The reality is, concrete is a strangely funny material to work with. It seems solid and stable, but beneath that grey surface is a bunch of information.
Moisture content, surface contaminants, and different hardness levels – these aren’t just some fancy buzzwords we can jump around.
They are actual variables that determine whether your coating will stay put for ten years or ten months. Preparation is a must to avoid paying twice for your floor.
Getting the Assessment Right (Because Guessing Doesn’t Cut It)
We must know what we are dealing with before we even consider contacting a floor with our grinding equipment. And no, eyeballing it doesn’t work — we discovered that the expensive way early on. What we test for:
- The moisture content: High moisture kills coatings. We once caught a hidden water problem that went undetected and would have caused complete failure. Delaying that project saved thousands of dollars for the client.
- Hardness of concrete: Last week in Cannington, a floor tested nearly double our expected hardness. We adjusted the grinding approach on the spot instead of wasting the whole day.
- Surface contamination: Spots of oil, old coatings, adhesive residue, surface laitance. All of that has to be completely gone. The guidelines from Safe Work Australia dictate proper dust control when grinding concrete due to crystalline silica exposure.
Uncleaned particles are impeding the ability to bond properly. Learn more about why cleaning must take place before any coating goes down.
Getting these assessments right lets us plan the proper preparation approach for your particular floor. Skip this step and you’re basically guessing — and guessing with floor coatings gets expensive fast.
How We Actually Prepare Floors (The Real Process)
Here’s what actually happens on the job – no fluff, just methods that work.
Diamond Grinding – Why We Go Dry
We exclusively use dry diamond grinding for solid reasons. No water means no waiting for floors to dry. Dust control is better with proper HEPA filtration – captured at the source, not turned into muddy slurry. You get a more consistent surface profile because the diamonds cut cleanly.
Some companies say wet grinding is “less dusty”. It just moves the problem from airborne dust to a wet mess.
Getting Surfaces Level
Not all concrete floors are level. Last year in Joondalup, we combined targeted grinding of high points with self-levelling compound in low areas. The trick is knowing when to grind and when to build up.
A car showroom needs perfection. A warehouse with forklifts? Different priorities.
Crack and Joint Repairs
Occasionally we find damage that wasn’t apparent initially – hairline cracks, failing joints, worse surface spalling. We apply rapid-set Polyurea compounds that set rock hard in minutes. Issues get fixed without delays. The compound gets ground flush so it disappears under the coating.
The Queensland Building and Construction Commission’s Standards and Tolerances Guide specifies that concrete finish must be suitable for documented applied finishes, which is exactly why proper surface preparation matters before any coating goes down.
“Our staff are ‘very knowledgeable and thorough’ and ‘take great pride in their work’,” Bernard said. Cutting corners on repairs shows up later.
Common Problems We See (And How to Actually Fix Them)
After 13-plus years preparing floors across Perth, our experience has been that almost every problem can arise. These three tend to arrive most frequently, and if you don’t deal with them properly, they will ruin your coating. In short, this is what we deal with and how we really fix every kind of problem.
Three problems that come up regularly:
- Level-looking uneven surfaces: Your eye misses differences. We seek them out using laser levels. Grind highs, fill lows. Sometimes “level enough” works fine.
- Old coatings: Chemical strippers leave residues that ruin new coatings. We grind them off mechanically. Only method that lasts.
- Repairs that show through: Our rapid-set Polyurea doesn’t shrink. Ground flush before coating. Checked twice because you can’t fix it later.
The difference between a good preparation job and a great one? Identifying these issues early and correcting them the first time. Miss them in prep, and you run into your problem after the coating goes down when fixing them costs a whole lot more.
Maintaining Your Floor After It’s Prepared and Coated
Once we put our share of work down, and if your floor’s coated, maintenance is actually quite straightforward. Kaleena, a residential client, said she now “only has to mop once a month instead of every few days.”
These floors are more durable and simpler to live with. Frequent sweeping or dust mopping keeps grit from scratching the surface. Spills should be cleaned up reasonably quickly — not because the coating can’t handle them, but because why leave a mess there?
And an annual inspection will catch any small issues before they turn into big ones. And if something is damaged – because life happens – quick repairs prevent small problems from spreading.
Why Professional Preparation Is Worth It
Another client, Michael, expressed the feelings that the “finished product just blew me away” and that it “looks fantastic.” Great to hear, but here’s the thing — the finish is only that good due to everything that went on before the coating went down.
You can have some of the world’s best coating products (We at iCOATWA use Citadel USA products, which are genuinely top-tier), but if the preparation is bad, it won’t help. The coating will fail. Maybe not immediately, but it will fail.
We have spent 13 years learning to do preparation right because we grew tired of watching floors fail when corners got cut. Shot blasting for the big industrial jobs. Diamond grinding is used in most commercial and residential work. Proper moisture testing.
proper hardness testing. Proper repairs. It’s not exciting work. Nobody photographs grinding equipment to flaunt to mates. But it’s what separates a floor that endures from a floor that fails.
The Difference Between Good Enough and Actually Good
Something we tell every potential client: there will always be someone doing it cheaper. Always. The question is whether cheaper now means more expensive later. Professional preparation costs more than the quick approach. It takes longer. It takes more testing, more equipment, and more expertise.
But it’s the only method that truly works consistently. We’re a family-owned business — we have been since we started in 2012. Our reputation is built on referrals and repeat customers, not on being the cheapest option.
When people recommend us to their friends or business associates, it’s because the floor we prepared and coated five years ago still looks great and is still performing properly.
That is what proper preparation does. It’s not glamorous. It won’t get you excited. But it’s what really matters when you want a floor that works.
Getting Professional Advice
If you’re thinking of floor coating or something, or you want to learn how to prepare a floor appropriately, let us know and we’ll be happy to help. No hard sell, no pressure, just frank advice regarding what your floor requires based on 13 years of experience preparing concrete floors across Perth.
Sometimes that is even telling people that their timing isn’t right, because moisture levels are too high. That sometimes means explaining that the fast solution they are thinking of won’t fit their unique circumstance at all.
Sometimes it’s just walking them through what preparation looks like so they know what they’re paying for. Preparation lays the groundwork for everything after that.
Take care of that, and you’re setting yourself up to have a floor that’ll still be performing years down the road.
