Quote check
Is this quote comparable to the other one?
Price alone does not show whether two coating quotes describe the same work. A lower quote may omit preparation, testing or edge details that another quote includes. This page derives the line items relevant to YOUR slab, then turns observable gaps into questions you can ask.
Comparability
45%
Not comparable. Too many of the lines this slab requires are unstated to set this quote beside another one.
Ask these, in this order
Missing items come first, followed by details worth confirming even when a quote looks thorough. Written answers make the scope easier to compare; they do not prove workmanship or price fairness.
- What test did you run, what did it read, and what limit does the product you are using publish?
- What profile are you taking the slab to, and with what machine?
- How many mils, or which manufacturer build sheet are you following?
- How are you preparing the perimeter the machine cannot reach?
- Are cracks chased open and filled, or filled flush?
- How are the saw cuts treated, and with what product?
- What day can I walk on it, and what day can I park on it?
- Is the coating saw-cut into the slab at the door, or does it just stop?
- What containment goes up, and what happens to the dust that is collected?
- Does the warranty cover delamination, and what voids it?
Required scope for this slab
Each line below is required because of something you told us about the floor. Missing means we can see it is absent from the quote you described. Confirm it marks an item this tool asks about even when a quote looks thorough, because it is hard to inspect once the floor is coated.
| Line item | Status | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Quantified slab moisture test, with the readings written down | missing | A quantified reading compared with the product's own limit is the evidence the moisture page uses to decide whether to coat. A quote without it leaves that risk with you. |
| A named surface profile and the method used to reach it | missing | The profile is what the coating keys into, and it is hidden under the finish once the job is done, so it needs to be stated before the work starts. |
| A stated total dry film thickness, or a stated product build | missing | Without a stated thickness or build, two quotes for an epoxy floor cannot be compared on material, and there is nothing to hold anyone to. |
| Hand preparation at walls, columns and thresholds | confirm it | A walk-behind machine leaves a band at the walls (this site assumes four inches) that has to be prepared by hand. An edge left unprepared is a weak point along the walls. |
| Chasing and filling static cracks before coating | confirm it | A crack coated over without treatment can show through the finish, and by then it is under the coating rather than open to repair. |
| Flexible treatment of movement joints, over backer rod | confirm it | A joint filled with rigid material does not stop the slab moving, and the movement can crack the floor somewhere else. |
| A written date you can drive on it | confirm it | Foot traffic and vehicle traffic can be days apart on a data sheet, and driving on the floor before its vehicle time can mark it. |
| Termination at the garage door threshold | confirm it | The door threshold takes sun, water and traffic, and a coating that simply stops there leaves an exposed edge. |
| Dust containment and post-preparation clean-down | confirm it | Grinding dust can travel beyond the room being prepared, so the quote should say what containment goes up and where the collected dust goes. |
| A written warranty naming what is and is not covered | confirm it | Read what the warranty excludes. If it excludes delamination caused by slab moisture, the moisture test is your protection, so ask for it as a line item. |
Why a verbal number is not a quote
A number said out loud commits nobody to a profile, a thickness, a product or a sequence. If the floor fails, there is nothing to point at, and when the price moves mid-job there is nothing to hold. It is not a question of trust: an itemised quote protects the contractor as much as it protects you, because it establishes what was agreed before the machine went on the floor.
If a contractor will not put a profile and a thickness in writing, that is information. Those two numbers are what they are selling.
How the cheap quote gets cheap
A low quote can reflect a genuinely efficient scope, a different product system, or omitted work. Preparation deserves particular scrutiny because it is hidden by the finish and inadequate preparation can cause premature loss of adhesion.
- Acid etch instead of grinding. In this site's model etching suits only a thin sealer on bare concrete.
- One pass instead of two over a sealed slab. Sealer left on the surface is a bond breaker.
- Skipping the edges. An unprepared edge band is a weak point along the walls.
- No moisture test. The risk moves to you, and if the warranty excludes moisture-caused delamination, so does the cost.
- A thinner film than discussed. It may be hard to detect without a gauge, and it reduces material use.
Each of those has a question on this page attached to it, and none of them needs technical knowledge to ask.
The narrative version of this checklist
How to read a quote walks through the four facts a comparable quote states, and a six-question checklist, in prose.
Biggest swing factor Whether a surface profile is stated. Without it the preparation, the part hidden under the finish, is undefined.