Concrete Floor Stripping & Removal in Pittsburg CA - Bare Concrete Ready to Recoat
Old coating peeling, paint flaking or glue left after you pulled the flooring? We take it down to clean concrete a new floor can grip.
How do you strip an old coating off concrete in Pittsburg?
Concrete floor stripping and removal in Pittsburg takes the old epoxy, paint, sealer or glue off your concrete by grinding, shot blasting or chemical stripping, so a new coating has clean, bare concrete to bond to.
Most people call because the old floor is peeling or they're ready for new epoxy floor coatings, and either way I want to know what's on the slab before anyone talks colors, because most floors that fail went wrong before the first coat. The price and the schedule turn mostly on how big the floor is, what's on it and how many layers, which method that calls for and whether anything needs testing before we start, and your written estimate lays that out for your floor. We're based in Pittsburg and work in many cities around it, including Antioch, Concord, Brentwood and Walnut Creek, on garages and homes as well as shops headed for commercial and industrial epoxy floor coatings.
How do you know an old floor coating has to come off?
Most stripping jobs start with something you can see from the doorway. These are the signs that tell me the old coating has to come off before anything new goes down.
Coating flaking off in patches usually means it lost its grip, and a new coat on top would follow.
Coating lifting where you park, often in the shape of a tire, means the bond under it has let go.
Bubbles or blisters under the coating often point to moisture coming up through the slab.
Old paint worn patchy will show its outlines through a fresh coat unless it comes off first.
Black or yellow glue left from carpet, tile or vinyl has to come off and may need testing.
Sealer that's gone cloudy or yellow and won't clean up is usually breaking down and ready to strip.
If old glue turns up under flooring you've pulled, call before anyone sands or scrapes it, because that's the floor I'd want tested first.
What happens when you call us to strip a floor in Pittsburg?
I handle the visit and the estimate myself, and our own installers do the stripping. Here's how a job usually runs from your first call to the walk-through.
Call or send a message
Call or use the form and we'll get back to you to set a time for me to come out. It helps to tell us roughly how big the floor is and what's on it now.
I check the slab myself
I look for moisture and old coatings, and if a coating or glue might hold lead or asbestos, we stop and get it tested before anything else. You get a written estimate with the method I'd use and what it covers, so you know the price before we touch the floor.
Our crew strips the floor
Our own installers take the coating off, and I'm on the job for the prep because that's where most floors go right or wrong. The new system goes down only once the slab is clean and dry.
We walk the finished floor
When the job's done I walk the floor with you so you can look at it up close. The work is backed by our satisfaction guarantee.
Get a written estimate for stripping your floor
Send the form and we'll reply within one business day to set up a free on-site estimate. I come out, look at the floor and give you a written estimate, with no pressure and no obligation.
- Call
- (925) 318-8041
- Hours
- Mon–Fri: 7 AM–11 PM, Sat–Sun: 8 AM–10 PM
Stripping methods, dust and cleanup on the job
Most of what we take off is old epoxy, paint, worn sealer and the glue left after carpet, tile or vinyl comes up. Grinding and shot blasting cut the coating off mechanically, while a chemical stripper softens it, and that's rarely the whole job, because the residue, moisture and softened coating still have to come off before a new coating will bond reliably.
Grinding and blasting make fine concrete dust, so ask any crew how they catch it, because the answer tells you how they plan to handle the mess. In testing by NIOSH, the federal worker safety research agency, every dust shroud it tried, a cover around the tool that pulls dust into a vacuum, cut dust exposure by at least 90%. Its guidance also calls for cleanup without dry sweeping or compressed air.
What comes up has to go somewhere. Here in Pittsburg, the processing facility on Loveridge Road lists concrete and mixed construction and demolition debris as items it accepts, and lists paint among the hazardous waste it won't take, so paint scrapings and broken concrete aren't the same load. Anything that might hold asbestos stays out of the pile until it's been tested.
Questions about stripping concrete floors in Pittsburg
What is the best way to remove an old coating from a concrete floor?
Diamond grinding often suits a floor that has to stay flat, shot blasting can be the efficient choice on a large open area, and chemical stripping can help with a thin coating the machines reach poorly. That's how one tool seller's guide sorts them, and it's close to how I pick, by how big the floor is, how it's laid out and what's on it. I'll tell you which one I'd use on your floor, and why, at the estimate.
Should old floor coating or tile glue be tested for asbestos before it's removed?
Yes, if there's any chance an old coating or glue holds lead or asbestos, it should be tested before anyone grinds or blasts it, so we stop and get it tested first. The Bay Area Air Quality Management District names asbestos-containing resilient flooring, like old vinyl tile and sheet flooring, and mastic, the glue under some of it, in its asbestos rule, and that covers the material once sanding, sawing or shot blasting turns it to powder. If asbestos is found, the Air District has to be notified at least 10 business days before a renovation that removes 100 square feet or more, or 72 hours ahead with an extra fee on a home with four or fewer units.
How soon can a new coating go on after the old one is stripped?
After chemical stripping, one coatings company's guide says to neutralize the surface and then let the concrete dry 24 to 48 hours before the new coat goes on. A ground or blasted floor skips the stripper, but it still has to be clean and dry before anything goes down. I check the slab before we coat it.
Do I need a licensed contractor to strip a concrete floor in California?
You do unless the job is $1,000 or less, needs no permit and the person doing it employs no one on the project, which is the Contractors State License Board's minor work exemption. If the old coating or glue turns out to hold asbestos, ask whether the contractor holds an asbestos certification, since certified contractors can remove asbestos only within the license classifications they already hold. We're licensed and fully insured.
How much does it cost to strip a concrete floor in Pittsburg?
The cost depends on your floor, and you get a written figure after I've seen it in person. A thin, worn sealer comes off with less work than a thick epoxy with a few coats on it, glue and mastic take more than paint, and a floor that needs testing first adds a step before we start. Clearing shelving or racks out of a shop also adds to the job.
What causes a new floor coating to peel after the old one was removed?
Usually it went wrong before the first coat, with leftover coating or residue under it or moisture coming up through a damp slab. That's why I check for moisture and old coatings before we quote, and why our crew preps the concrete before the new system goes down.
Floors that usually come after stripping
Epoxy Floor Coatings
Once the old coating is off and the slab is clean, a new epoxy coat is the usual next step for a garage or a basement floor at home.
Commercial & Industrial Epoxy Floor Coatings
Shops and warehouses that strip a worn floor usually need a tougher system next, one built for forklifts, carts and spills that would wear a lighter coating thin.
Call about stripping your old floor
Call (925) 318-8041 or use the estimate form with the rough size of the floor, what's on it now and whether there's old tile or glue, so I come out knowing what to look for.
Mon–Fri: 7 AM–11 PM, Sat–Sun: 8 AM–10 PM