A garage coating that's peeling
When a coating lifts in sheets or bubbles under hot tires, patching rarely holds for long. We take the whole failed layer off so the new coat goes onto concrete, not onto the old problem.
Concrete Floor Stripping & Removal in Monterey CA - a clean slab ready for its next floor
Peeling epoxy, worn sealer or a coating you're just done with? We take it off down to clean concrete so your next floor holds.
- Licensed and insured.
- Free quotes on site.
- We reply within 1 business day.
What stripping an old floor coating involves
Concrete floor stripping and removal in Monterey takes an old coating like epoxy or sealer off your slab, by machine or with a chemical stripper, so the concrete is clean and ready for a new seal or a new floor.
Most people call when a coating is peeling, bubbling or worn through, or when they want a new floor and the old layer is in the way. Garages and basements are the usual homeowner calls, and shop owners call when the old system on a working floor is done.
What you'll pay and how long it takes come down to the size of the floor, how thick the old coating is, which method suits it and whether anything needs an asbestos check first. I come out, measure and test the slab, so the estimate gives you your own figure instead of a guess.
Prep comes first here
Most floors that peel or bubble were rushed before the first coat went on. Stripping is the prep, so we treat getting down to sound concrete as the real job.
Straight talk about simpler options
I want you to understand what you're paying for, so if a slower, cheaper method or a smaller job suits your floor better, I'll tell you before we start.
My lead installer runs the job
Our crew does the work with my lead installer running the job, and I'm on site checking in, so the person who looked at your floor sees how it's going.
How we strip a concrete floor and why
The first thing I ask is how soon you need the floor back and what's going down next, because those two answers pick between grinding, shot blasting and a chemical stripper. Shot blasting fires small steel shot at the slab to wear off the coating and a thin skin of concrete with it, which leaves a rough, clean face that new epoxy floor coatings grab onto. A stripper softens the old layer so it scrapes up, which can make sense when a machine is more than the job needs.
Before anything comes up, we look hard at what's there. If the old material could hold asbestos, we have it checked first, because once that dust is in the air you can't put it back. While the machines run, we close off the work area and collect the dust as we go, since grinding and blasting throw plenty of it. Strippers aren't trouble-free either, because some, like methylene chloride, can build up dangerous vapors in a closed room with little fresh air.
Shop floors get the same steps on a bigger scale, and stripping is often day one of a commercial or industrial epoxy floor coating, because a floor that has to take a beating can't start on a coating that's already letting go. When we're done, you're left with bare, clean concrete ready for whatever comes next.
When a concrete floor needs stripping
Switching to a different floor
Going from epoxy to polished concrete or another finish? The old coating has to come off first, because very little bonds well to a layer that's already letting go.
A business floor changing use
A new tenant or a new use often means a floor with someone else's coating, spills and patches. Stripping gets it back to one consistent slab before the next system goes down.
Tired sealer on basements and patios
Worn sealer gets blotchy and slick over time. Taking it off lets you reseal, recoat or leave the concrete bare, and you get to make that choice looking at clean concrete.
Get an estimate for stripping your floor
Tell us your floor size, the coating on it and what's going down next. We reply within one business day, then I come out, test the slab and give you an estimate, free and with no obligation.
Licensed, insured and guaranteed
We're licensed and insured, and the work is backed by our satisfaction guarantee, so you know who stands behind it from the first pass of the grinder to the final sweep.
Based in Monterey since 2013
I started this business here in 2013, and we work across the peninsula and the cities around it, up through Salinas and over to Watsonville, plus plenty in between.
An estimate you can compare
Your estimate comes in writing, so you can set it next to anyone else's and see the method, prep and cleanup you're actually paying for.
Concrete floor finishes and prep examples
These examples show bare ground concrete, fresh coatings and finished floors, so you can picture what might go down once the old layer is off.
Questions about stripping a concrete floor
Here's what Monterey homeowners and business owners usually ask before we take an old coating off their concrete.
How much does concrete floor removal cost in Monterey?
Flooring removal across the US usually costs about $2.50 to $4.40 per square foot. That's a national figure for general flooring removal, not our price. Your number turns on the floor's size, how thick the coating is and the method that suits it, and I'll give you your own figure once I've seen the floor.
What's the fastest way to remove epoxy from a concrete floor?
Diamond grinding and shot blasting are the fastest ways to get epoxy off, but they cost more up front. Chemical stripping usually costs less to start and takes longer, with more hand labor. If you need the floor back fast, the machine is usually worth it, and if the first cost matters most, a slower job can make sense.
How long does it take to strip epoxy off a garage floor?
One national guide puts a typical 1,000-square-foot area at about one to three days, including cleanup and getting the slab ready for the next floor. A big floor or a thick coating lands toward the longer end, and the method moves it too. Most garages are smaller than that, and I'll talk timing with you once I've seen yours.
Do I need a permit to strip a concrete floor in Monterey?
The City of Monterey issues building permits, so its building office is where that gets settled. When you apply, you declare that you've contacted the Monterey Bay Air Resources District about asbestos rules, at 831-647-9411. We check with the city or county building office before we start, and if a permit's needed, we handle the paperwork with you.
Does a Monterey home need an asbestos survey before removing flooring?
Yes, the air district's rules call for a third-party California Certified Asbestos Consultant to inspect before work starts, whatever the building's age, and without a survey every suspect material is treated as asbestos. The federal renovation rules, by contrast, exclude residential buildings with four or fewer units. If stripping disturbs 160 square feet or more of regulated asbestos material, the air district also has to be notified.
Who can remove asbestos flooring in California?
For asbestos work of 100 square feet or more, California requires the C-22 Asbestos Abatement classification or a passed asbestos certification exam, and a state unit registers contractors for that much material with more than 0.1% asbestos. Ordinary floor prep falls under the state's flooring contractor classification. If a survey finds asbestos, ask whoever handles that part which one they hold.
Floors that often follow a removal job
Tell us about the floor you're stripping
Call (831) 204-4420 early, because any asbestos check happens before the old floor comes up, and your schedule shouldn't wait on it.