Commercial epoxy pricing for a kitchen in an operating restaurant
Replacing a kitchen floor sounds like simple math: measure the length times the width (read) and you can get a quote. But once you pull a fryer off the wall, there’s black grease baked into the concrete. Or lift up a mat next to the dishwasher and you’ll see the hairline crack running towards the drain. These things impact the cost of commercial epoxy more than the few additional feet of square footage.
Operating restaurants impose additional constraints because of the hours involved. You might have a cook finishing up at midnight but your prep comes in at 4am to fire up ovens and start loading pans. Everything, including cleaning, grinding, repairs, coating and curing, must happen between these hours or you must break the floor into zones.
Why the cook line typically costs more
The cook line takes heat from the oil and dropped tools, rolling equipment, and chemical degreasing. Even if the floor behind a fryer is dry, the underlying concrete could still have oils and other chemicals trapped inside. If those are not removed properly, the new floor will pull away from the old floor, and bubble up and soften around the legs of the fryer.
This prep will likely require multiple rounds of degreasing, grinding, crack repair, and sealing around equipment pads and plumbing penetrations. A thicker coating with slip resistant aggregate might be required where oil has accumulated. Coving, the process where the flooring turns several inches up the wall, also requires additional labor for the stainless panels, gas pipes, and the narrow strip of space behind the range.
The dish pit brings water and drain work
Around the dish machine, the installers need to account for standing water, soap, heat, and constant foot traffic. A puddle that remains beside a floor drain after closing usually means the floor is sloped poorly. Coating over a depression doesn’t fix the problem, it just adds a puddle.
Fixing the slope, filling a broken drain rim, and creating a smooth transition around a drain cover can all become very expensive line items. Also, the finish must be carefully considered. Not enough aggregate will make the floor slippery for wet shoes near the glassware racks. Too much aggregate makes a rough surface that can mop strings and food scraps.
Check the threshold at a walk-in cooler
The entrance to a walk-in cooler endures heavy use from carts, rolling equipment, and extreme swings in temperature. Loose thresholds or cracking underneath the cooler door must be repaired first. There must also be room for the door sweep to operate without rubbing on the new surface and preventing the door from closing properly.
Water condensation around the frame (you can see this for yourself at https://www.noaa.gov/education) must also be considered. Moisture can prevent proper bonding of the epoxy to the concrete, especially if you’re doing overnight work while the cooler is in use. You may have to isolate the area temporarily, or close a section of the walk-in.
Dry storage may be the easiest area
Dry storage areas typically have fewer problems with grease or water, but the legs of shelving could have rust spots, chips, or old vinyl glue. You have to clear out boxes of food, canned goods, and ingredient bins before you can grind the floor.
If the slab is in good condition, dry storage might be able to get away with a less expensive epoxy system. You might save money on:
What to look for in a detailed quote
A good estimate should break down prep, repairs, coating layers, coving, drain work, and overnight setup. It should also specify who is moving the fryers, disconnecting the equipment, removing the shelves, and protecting the swinging kitchen door from grinding dust. That cheap per square foot price tag can quickly escalate as those items become change orders.
Don’t forget to factor in the cure time. A floor can feel dry under the finger long before a loaded stocking cart or hot fryer is ready to go on top of it. Setting up a temporary equipment staging area in the dining room for a few extra days could end up being cheaper than patching up a floor after it has been damaged by tire tracks.
Patch it now, zone it later
If you’re short on cash, focus on the cook line, dish pit, busted drains, and threshold cracks where water is getting under the slab. Dry storage and a low-use beverage station can often be done at a later date, as long as the current floor isn’t hazardous or difficult to clean.
Plan the budget based on what is needed to prepare the surface, the drain and cove work, and the available hours of work, rather than assuming a single price for commercial epoxy. Zoning allows you to get the most heavily trafficked areas of tile, concrete, and drain channel replaced first, while limiting the downtime of the restaurant.
