Whether it’s in a basement, a garage, or the main floor of a house, many homeowners have at least some type of concrete flooring in their house. Concrete is a mix of cement and binders that forms a smooth, hard, and durable surface when cured. Concrete lasts for many years, but it needs to be properly attended to prevent cracks, staining, and wear and tear. Part of that care is either sealing or coating your concrete floor with a long-wearing topcoat.
You can coat your concrete floor in numerous ways. Some sealers and stains give it a new color and appearance, while others impact its longevity and do not alter its appearance in any way. These variations in coatings, coupled with the reality that concrete floors can be used in various areas and come in sizes, means that there is also a wide range of costs associated with coating a concrete floor. The national average cost range is $1,150 to $4,000, with most homeowners spending around $2,500 on an epoxy floor coating for a two-car garage floor. The project’s lowest cost is around $400 for a single coat of acrylic sealer on a single-car garage floor. This project’s highest cost is around $12,000 for a highly polished polymer overlay finish on the concrete flooring of a 1,000 sq. ft. loft.
Concrete Floor Coating Cost | |
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National average cost | $2,500 |
Average range | $1,150 - $4,000 |
Minimum cost | $400 |
Maximum cost | $12,000 |
Concrete Floor Coating Cost by Project Range
Concrete Floor Coating Cost by Material
Many different types of coating can be used to protect and enhance your concrete floor. Each one is applied differently, and each one can give your floor both a distinctive appearance and a variety in how it performs long term. Each material has a different price for the material itself and the cost to apply it.
Material | Cost of Material | Cost per sq.ft. Installed |
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Sealer | $30-$50/gallon | $1-$4/sq.ft. |
Paint | $30-$50/gallon | $2-$4/sq.ft. |
Stain | $30-$50/gallon | $2-$25/sq.ft. |
Overlay | $30-$100/gallon | $2-$30/sq.ft. |
Epoxy | $75-$150/gallon | $10-$15/sq.ft. |
Cost to Seal a Concrete Floor
There are several different types of concrete sealers. Concrete is porous, which means that unless those pores are sealed up with some other material, the concrete can absorb liquids and stain. Sealers prevent this by keeping liquids and debris on the surface, where they can be cleaned away. There are three fundamental types of concrete sealers: acrylic concrete sealer, polyurethane concrete floor coating, and concrete floor coating. Polyurethane is the longest-lasting of the three, while polyurea has the fewest VOCs--volatile organic compounds, causing lung irritation and headaches in some people. Acrylic is the lowest price and the simplest to apply. Each sealer has its attribute to consider. In terms of value, polyurethane's long-lasting results give the best value. For those who worry about VOCs or odors, polyurea is the best choice. Those who want to sell quickly on a budget may want to choose an acrylic. All sealers give you a glossy or matte finished, depending on the one you choose. They are not designed to change the floor's color, but you can apply a sealer on top of a stain to change the floor's color. On average, sealers cost between $1 and $4 per square foot, with acrylic being the least expensive at $1 per square foot installed and the polyurea coating cost per square foot being the highest at $4 installed.
Sealer Type | Cost (Materials and Labor) |
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Acrylic | $1-$2/sq.ft. |
Polyurethane | $2-$3/sq.ft. |
Polyurea | $3-$4/sq.ft. |