For contractors
How to Price a Garage Floor Coating Job (Contractor's Guide)
Most coating crews price jobs by gut feel and either leave money on the table or scare off the homeowner. Here is a repeatable way to price a garage floor: material takeoff, labor hours, then margin — with a worked example.
- Price = job cost ÷ (1 − margin). That is margin, not markup — confusing the two is the single most common pricing mistake.
- Cost = materials (from your takeoff) + labor hours × crew rate + a mobilization allowance.
- Sanity-check the result against $/sq ft: residential flake floors land roughly $5.50–7.50 per square foot.
The pricing formula
Start from cost and work up to price using your target margin. The formula matters: to earn a 45% gross margin you divide by 0.55 — you do not multiply by 1.45 (that only yields a 31% margin).
Step 1 — Material takeoff
Total the coatings your system needs, rounded to whole kits, plus flake. Rough contractor kit costs (editable to your supplier):
- 3-gal polyaspartic kit ≈ $330–360
- 3-gal 100%-solids epoxy kit ≈ $200
- 2-gal epoxy primer kit ≈ $110
- 3-gal metallic epoxy kit ≈ $270
- Decorative flake ≈ $160 per 50-lb box
Step 2 — Labor hours
Estimate hours from production rates, not a flat day rate. Typical two-person residential crew:
- Diamond grind / prep: ~250 sq ft per hour
- Coating install: ~300 sq ft per hour, per coat
- Add ~3 fixed mobilization hours (load, drive, set up, tear down)
- Blended crew cost: ~$70 per hour
Step 3 — Overhead + margin
Fold your overhead (insurance, vehicle, marketing, software) and profit into a single target margin. Most healthy residential coating shops price at a 40–55% gross margin. We use 45% in the example below.
Worked example: 480 sq ft flake garage
A 480 sq ft garage, premium polyaspartic-topcoat flake system, full-flake look:
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Materials (primer, epoxy base, poly topcoat, flake) | $1,390 |
| Labor (~9 hrs @ $70) | $630 |
| Job cost | $2,020 |
| Price at 45% margin (cost ÷ 0.55) | $3,670 |
| Per square foot | $7.65 / sq ft |
Sanity-check your number
Before you send the quote, divide the price by the square footage and compare to the market. If you land far outside these bands, re-check your takeoff or labor hours:
| System | Typical installed price |
|---|---|
| Epoxy flake | $3–12 / sq ft |
| Polyaspartic flake | $5–12 / sq ft |
| Metallic epoxy | $8–12 / sq ft |
Price every job the same way in 3 minutes
CoatBid does the takeoff, applies your costs and margin, and turns it into a branded proposal the homeowner signs on their phone — so you quote consistently and close in the driveway.
Frequently asked
Price from cost, not gut feel: total your material kits, add labor hours (grind ~250 sq ft/hr, install ~300 sq ft/hr, plus ~3 mobilization hours at ~$70/hr crew), then divide the cost by (1 − your margin). Most residential flake floors land around $5.50–7.50 per square foot.
Most healthy residential coating shops target a 40–55% gross margin. Remember to price off margin (cost ÷ 0.55 for 45%), not markup (cost × 1.45), or you will quietly under-earn on every job.
A two-person crew typically completes a 2-car garage in one to two days depending on prep and the system. Polyaspartic systems can often be installed and returned to service in a single day.