Concrete Grinding & Surface Preparation in Gilroy CA - a slab ready to bond
Peeling paint, old glue or a slick slab won't hold a new coating. We grind it flat and clean so the next floor has something to grip.
- Licensed and insured.
- Free estimates at your property.
- We respond within 1 business day.
Does my concrete need grinding before epoxy or a new floor?
Concrete grinding and surface preparation in Gilroy, CA means working a slab down with diamond grinders, one step at a time, until it's flat, clean and open enough for a coating or new floor to grab hold. On most floors it's the first part of the job, done before any color goes down.
You're probably here because you want epoxy or another coating in your garage, basement or shop, and someone told you the slab has to be ground first. They're right, because most coating trouble starts underneath, with moisture, old finishes or rushed prep. The price mostly turns on the floor's size, how many passes it needs and what's stuck to it now, like paint, sealer or tile glue. The schedule turns on how dry the slab is, since the coating can't go down until the concrete is ready. We're based in Gilroy and take jobs up and down the valley and over toward the coast. For your own numbers, the written estimate I leave you spells out each step your floor needs.
How do you know if your concrete needs grinding first?
Old coating peeling up
Paint or old epoxy that flakes off in patches, often where the tires sit, usually never bonded well or got pushed off by moisture from below. Coating over it just glues the new layer to something that's already letting go, and the peeling only spreads the longer it sits.
Glue or tile left behind
Black or yellow glue lines, carpet pad residue or old tile still stuck to the slab will keep any new coating from reaching the concrete. All of it has to come off first, and old tile gets checked before anyone grinds it, which we cover in the questions below.
Water beads on the slab
If a few drops of water sit on top instead of darkening the concrete, the slab is sealed or troweled so smooth that a coating has nothing to bite into. That won't change on its own, and a coating rolled over a surface like that is the kind that lifts later.
How our concrete grinding and surface preparation works
I plan the grind around what's going on top, because a thin epoxy and a thicker overlay each want the concrete opened up a little differently. We check the slab's moisture early, so the coating date fits the concrete and not the other way around. Then our crew works the floor down in steps. The first pass gets it as flat as we can, the way you'd plane a board before you sand it, and each pass after that takes out the scratches the last one left. Not every floor needs every pass, so I'll tell you how many steps yours needs and why. We finish by cleaning the floor down to bare, open concrete so the next coat goes onto something sound.
Grinding usually leads into something else. If you'd rather keep the bare concrete look and just protect it, concrete sealing goes on right after the prep. If the slab is too worn or pitted for grinding alone to fix, concrete resurfacing and overlays put a new wearing surface over the old one, and the grind is what gives that overlay something to hold onto.
Light grind before a coating
This suits a sound slab that's bare or lightly sealed and getting epoxy or a sealer. A pass or two opens the surface so the coating can bite, without taking off more concrete than the job needs.
Heavier grind for old finishes
This suits floors with paint, old epoxy, glue or high spots that need knocking down. It takes more passes and coarser diamonds, which is why it costs more, but leaving old finishes under a new coating is where a lot of failures start.
Get a written grinding plan for your floor
We reply within one business day to set up a visit. I come out, look at your slab and leave you a free written estimate with each step spelled out, and there's no obligation.
- Based in
- Gilroy, CA 95020
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 8 AM–11 PM, Sat–Sun: 6 AM–10 PM
What happens when you call us about grinding in Gilroy?
Here's how a grinding job runs from your side, from the first call to walking the finished floor with us.
Call or send a message
Call (669) 205-6336 or use the form, and we'll get back to you to set up a visit. It helps to know the floor's rough size and what's on it now.
I come out and check the slab
I look at the concrete, ask about old flooring and any damp spots, then walk you through your options. You get a written estimate with each step spelled out, so you can see where the money goes before you decide anything.
We prep, coat and walk it
Our crew grinds the floor, puts the new surface down and walks the finished job with you before we pack up. If the slab isn't ready for a coating yet, I'll tell you instead of coating it early.
Why Gilroy homeowners call us to grind their concrete
The estimator walks your floor
I come out for the estimate and walk the floor with you, and our own crew does the work with me or our lead installer on site. The person who sized up your slab is the one answering for how it's prepped.
In business since 2013
I learned concrete floors working for an installer here in the valley, then started this business in 2013. That's 13 years of seeing which floors hold up and which ones lift, and most of the difference was in the prep.
Licensed and insured, ask anyone
We're licensed and insured, and you can ask about both at the estimate. Ask anyone else bidding your floor the same thing, for the reasons in the hiring section below.
Call before you pick a color, so the prep fits the coating, or send us your floor's details.
Hiring for floor grinding and coating work around Gilroy
In California, an unlicensed person can take on minor work only up to $1,000, and only when the job needs no permit and they employ no one on it. Anyone without a license who bids more than that, brings on workers or does work that needs a permit is subject to legal action. The state's contractors license board tells owners to make sure of both before hiring someone unlicensed for a small job. A grinding job takes heavy machines and usually a crew, so ask whoever you're considering about their license before they quote your floor.
Around here we grind a lot of garages with peeling paint or tired sealer, and older houses where tile or carpet glue is still stuck to the slab. We see the same mix on jobs in Morgan Hill and Hollister, and we handle it the same way, by finding out what's on the floor before the grinder touches it.
Questions about concrete grinding in Gilroy
What causes a new floor coating to blister or peel on concrete?
Moisture in the slab is a common cause, because if the concrete hasn't dried to an acceptable level, water can collect under the coating and cause blisters, discoloration, a failed bond or mold. That's why coating makers generally require a moisture test before installation on concrete. We check moisture early so the coating date waits on the slab.
How do I know if my old floor tile has asbestos before grinding?
You can't tell by looking, and the EPA says so too, so the way to know is a sample taken by a trained, accredited asbestos inspector before the tile is disturbed. That test goes first on the schedule, ahead of any grinding. It's a normal step in a careful job, not a reason to panic.
How is concrete grinding dust kept down inside a house or shop?
The federal safety rule for walk-behind floor grinders calls for a machine that feeds water to the cutting surface or one that uses the dust collection system its maker recommends. Indoors or in a closed space, a HEPA-filtered vacuum picks up loose dust between passes. It's fair to ask any crew how they handle dust, and I'll walk you through how we'll do it on your floor.
How much does concrete grinding cost in Gilroy, CA?
A medium grind of a concrete floor in California usually runs about $3.20 to $4.50 per square foot, and that's the going rate for the grind, not the coating that goes on after it. Where your floor lands depends on its size, how many passes it needs and whether paint, glue or old epoxy has to come off first. The written estimate breaks it down step by step.
How long does it take to prep a concrete slab for epoxy?
The grinding depends on the floor's size and how many passes it needs, but the slab's moisture usually decides when the coating can go down. If a moisture test is needed, each sensor has to settle in the concrete for 24 hours before a reading can be recorded, so plan that day ahead of your coating date. I'll lay out the order of steps for your floor at the estimate.
What moisture reading should my slab pass before a coating?
The limit comes from your coating, since floor installers list typical limits for different readings, such as relative humidity inside the slab and moisture content, so ask which reading and limit your coating calls for. Testing relative humidity inside the concrete is one method coating makers accept. A reading only speaks for the day it was taken and the spots tested, which is why we think about when and where to test.
Concrete work that often follows a grind
Concrete Sealing
Concrete sealing suits a ground slab you want to leave bare, closing the pores so oil, water and garage spills have a harder time soaking in.
Concrete Resurfacing & Overlays
Resurfacing makes sense when a slab is too pitted, scaled or patched to look right after grinding, laying a fresh cement layer over sound concrete underneath.
Cities where we grind and prep concrete floors
Gilroy Epoxy Floors & Concrete Coatings is based in Gilroy, CA, and the 12 cities below have their own pages on our site, from Santa Clara down to Salinas. If your city isn't on the list, call and ask.
Get your slab checked before you coat
Have the floor's rough square footage, what's on it now and the coating you have in mind handy, and the first call goes a lot faster.