How to quote a garage floor epoxy job (with a simple price formula)

Most garage floor quotes go wrong in one of two ways. Either the price is a guess made on the driveway, or the quote takes so long to put together that the homeowner has already booked someone else. A simple formula fixes both. You get a number you can stand behind, and you can produce it in minutes.

Start with an accurate area

Measure the floor, not the house listing. Run a tape along both walls and multiply. Note anything that changes the usable area, like a step down into the garage, a bump out for the furnace, or built in shelving that will stay. A typical two car garage in the GTA lands somewhere around 400 to 600 square feet, but sizes vary a lot, so always measure.

Write down the linear footage of any stem walls you plan to coat and the length of cracks or control joints you will fill. Those become separate line items.

The simple formula

Here is a formula that works for most residential jobs:

• Price = (Area x Base rate) + Prep adjustments + Add ons
• Then compare the result to your minimum job price and use whichever is higher

The base rate is your price per square foot for a given system, such as full flake, metallic, or a solid colour with a clear topcoat. Each system gets its own rate because the materials and labour are different.

What goes into your base rate

Your base rate should cover four things. If any of them is missing, you are working for less than you think.

• Materials: primer, base coat, flake or pigment, topcoat. Use the coverage rates from the product data sheets and add a little for waste.
• Labour: crew hours for grinding, repairs, coating and cleanup, multiplied by what each hour really costs you, then divided by the square footage of a typical job.
• Overhead: insurance, vehicle costs, grinder diamonds and equipment wear, phone, software and marketing, spread across the jobs you do in a year.
• Profit: a deliberate margin on top. Profit is what pays for slow months, new equipment and growth.

Recheck these numbers a few times a year. Material prices move, and your crew gets faster with practice.

Adjust for the condition of the floor

Two garages with the same size can need very different amounts of work. Build a short list of prep adjustments so you price them the same way every time.

• Heavy oil or chemical staining that needs extra degreasing
• An old coating or sealer that has to be ground off
• Spalling, pitting or salt damage that needs patching
• Moisture concerns that call for a moisture mitigating primer
• Very uneven slabs that need extra grinding

Price each adjustment per square foot or per linear foot so it scales with the job.

Add ons worth listing separately

Line items make your quote easier to understand and easier to say yes to. Common ones include stem wall coating, crack and joint filling, cove base, anti slip additive, extra topcoat for heavier use, and moving items out of the garage. Showing them separately also lets the homeowner choose, which feels better than a single take it or leave it number.

A worked example

The numbers below are placeholders to show the math, not market rates. Use your own costs.

• Garage: 22 feet by 22 feet = 484 square feet
• System: full flake with a clear topcoat at a base rate of R per square foot
• Prep: old sealer to remove, priced at P per square foot
• Add ons: 40 linear feet of stem wall at S per foot, and 30 feet of crack repair at C per foot

The quote is 484 x R, plus 484 x P, plus 40 x S, plus 30 x C. If that total falls below your minimum job price, quote the minimum. That is the whole formula. Once your rates are set, the only things that change from job to job are the measurements and the condition.

Put it in writing, the same day

A clear written quote should show the area, the system and colour, the prep included, each add on, the total with HST, the deposit you need, how long the floor needs to cure before foot traffic and before parking, your warranty, and how long the price is valid. Homeowners compare quotes side by side, and the one that is easy to read usually looks like the safer choice.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Using one rate for every system
• Forgetting prep on floors with old sealers or heavy staining
• Leaving out travel time for jobs far from your base
• Quoting verbally and promising to send something later
• Not stating what is excluded, like moving belongings or repairing structural cracks

Make it faster

If you quote more than a few garages a week, set your rates once in a tool and let it do the math on site. Poxio, an app from 22G Media with a free forever plan, does exactly this: enter the size, pick the system and colour, add extras, and send a quote your customer can sign from their phone.