Epoxy Flooring in Parkersburg, IA

Much of the epoxy flooring we quote in Parkersburg goes on concrete poured after May 25, 2008. That day an EF5 tornado destroyed 288 of the city's 830 houses and moderately to heavily damaged 100 more. The south side of town was flattened. In the years since, 265 houses have been built, and more than 90% of them have tornado safe rooms. Those homes now have slabs with more than 15 Iowa winters on them.

What 15-plus winters do to a garage slab

A slab poured around 2009 or 2010 is past the new-concrete stage. It is fully cured and usually still flat and sound. It has also seen many seasons of salt and freeze-thaw. Here is what we often find on a garage floor of that age:

• Light scaling or pitting in the first few feet inside the door
• White salt rings that come back after every wash
• Oil or fluid stains where the car parks
• Hairline cracks near control joints and corners

That is a good point to coat. The damage is usually shallow enough to grind out and fill. A coating applied now stops it from going deeper.

Safe rooms and basements

With most rebuilt homes in town carrying a safe room, we get asked whether those floors can be coated. In most cases they can. A safe room floor is concrete like any other, and a coating makes it easier to keep clean and less dusty when you are storing water, supplies or chairs in there. We do not alter walls, doors or anchors. We only prepare and coat the floor surface.

Basements get a moisture check first. A dry slab can take a solid color, flake or metallic finish. A damp one gets a primer rated for moisture.

The older half of town

Parkersburg has been here since the 1860s. It incorporated in 1874 and lost most of its business district in the great fire of 1893. The homes that came through 2008 range from older two-story houses to mid-century ranches. Their floors are a different job from the rebuilt side: older paint, more cracks, settled corners. Our crack and floor repair work is usually part of the quote.

Older basements here may also carry several layers of paint or sealer from past owners. We grind those off rather than coat over them. A new coating is only as strong as whatever it sits on, and old paint lets go long before a bonded epoxy does.

Timing a job around the seasons

Spring and early fall are the easiest months to coat in Butler County. The slab and the air sit in a comfortable range and cure times are predictable. In late fall we lean on polyaspartic, which handles cooler temperatures. In a heated garage or basement we can work through winter. We check slab temperature on the day and will move the date rather than install on a floor that is too cold.

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Picking a system

• Garage Floor Coating for daily-driver garages off Highway 14 and Highway 57
• Epoxy Flake Floors where you want texture and help hiding salt film
• Polyaspartic Floor Coating for fast turnarounds and cooler-weather jobs
• Basement Floor Epoxy for finished lower levels and storage rooms
• Shop & Commercial Floor Epoxy for shops in town and on nearby farms
• Concrete Crack & Floor Repair for older slabs on the north side