Concrete Coatings FAQs
Honest answers to the questions homeowners and facility managers ask us most. From polyaspartic vs epoxy to warranty terms to install day timing, the answers below are the same answers our crew gives in person.
Every Floor. Every Customer. Every Time.
These aren’t perks or upgrades, they’re standard on every concrete coating we install across Kentucky and Indiana.
Lifetime Residential Warranty
5-Year Commercial Warranty
Family Owned & Operated
One Day Installation
Same-Day On-Site Estimates
Certified in-house crews
Proven Results, Built on Experience
The numbers speak for themselves. Three decades in the trade, tens of thousands of floors, and millions of square feet of coatings later, Sullivan’s has seen every slab, every condition, and every challenge Kentucky concrete can throw at us.
BRANDS WE'VE COATED
Years of Industry Experience
Floors Completed
Million Square Feet Coated
BRANDS WE'VE COATED
Answers to the Questions We Hear Most
The questions below come from real consultations, real phone calls, and real emails. If your question is not on this page, the FAQ block at the bottom of every service page covers system-specific questions, and our team is one phone call away for anything else.
General Questions About Sullivan’s
Where is Sullivan’s based?
Sullivan’s runs out of two locations. Our headquarters is at 1801 West Main Street in Louisville, Kentucky. Our second location is at 1776 East RC Morris Drive in Salem, Indiana. Both locations are working offices with crews and trucks dispatching daily.
What service areas do you cover?
We install across 11 cities in Kentucky and southern Indiana. Kentucky cities: Louisville, Elizabethtown, Bardstown. Indiana cities: Columbus, Bloomington, Madison, New Albany, Lawrenceburg, Franklin, Salem, Jasper. We also cover the broader counties surrounding each city. If you do not see your address listed, call our Louisville or Salem office and we will confirm in 30 seconds.
Is Sullivan’s family-owned?
Yes. Shannon Sullivan founded the company to build something his sons could grow into and run themselves. Today, Shannon and his sons work in the business together every day, and every member of our crew is a Sullivan’s W2 employee. No subcontractors. Ever.
Are you licensed and insured?
Yes. Sullivan’s is fully licensed and insured for both residential and commercial work across our entire service area.
Are you BBB accredited?
Yes.
Do you offer senior or military discounts?
Yes. Sullivan’s honors a senior discount and a military discount on every install. Mention either when you book your on-site consultation and we will apply it to your estimate.
How fast can you give me an estimate?
Same-day in most cases. Our crews dispatch from Louisville and Salem every working day, and most addresses inside our service area can be visited within hours of the initial call.
Do you offer free estimates?
Yes. Every estimate is a free, on-site consultation. We come to your property, measure the slab, evaluate the existing concrete, and give you a real number before we leave.
Polyaspartic vs Epoxy and System Questions
Why does Sullivan’s use polyaspartic instead of epoxy?
Polyaspartic is engineered to outperform epoxy in every measurable way that matters for a coated floor. It is roughly 10 times stronger than epoxy. It does not yellow under UV exposure. It does not lift under hot tires. It cures in hours instead of days. And the warranty terms reflect the chemistry — we back residential installs for life because the system holds up for life.
What is the difference between Sullivan’s three systems?
We install three systems: flake floors, grind and clear, and polished concrete. Flake floors use a decorative chip blend over a polyurea base, sealed under a polyaspartic top
coat. Grind and clear skips the flake and uses a polyaspartic clear coat over diamond-ground concrete. Polishing is a mechanical finish — diamond grinding through progressively finer grits with a chemical densifier, no top coat at all.
Which system is right for my space?
The right system depends on the slab, the environment, the look you want, and the budget. Garages and patios are almost always a flake floor. Modern home shops and warehouses lean grind and clear. Retail showrooms, restaurants, and architectural residential spaces lean polished concrete. We walk through the right call during the on-site consultation.
Do your systems require a primer coat?
No. Sullivan’s polyurea base coat bonds directly to properly prepared concrete. There is no primer step, no overnight cure, and no extra day on your calendar.
Can your coatings be installed over old or damaged concrete?
In most cases, yes. Diamond grinding handles surface contamination, old paint, and old failed epoxy. Our Crack Repair add-on handles existing slab cracks. Heavy oil saturation deep in a slab can occasionally be a problem, and we will flag any specific concerns during the on-site consultation.
Cost, Pricing, and Financing Questions
How much does a Sullivan’s floor cost?
Cost depends on square footage, the system you choose, the condition of your slab, and any add-ons like crack repair or cove base. We do not provide phone quotes because the variables matter too much. The free on-site consultation produces a real, written estimate before we leave the property.
Why do you not list pricing on the website?
Honest pricing requires seeing the slab. A 600-square-foot garage in good condition is a different number than a 600-square-foot garage with five visible cracks and 20 years of oil staining. Posting a flat price would either underprice the harder jobs or overprice the easier ones, and we are not interested in either.
Do you offer financing?
Yes. We offer 0% financing for qualified buyers through our financing partner. The financing application happens during or after the on-site consultation, and approval is typically fast. Affordable monthly payments make a premium floor accessible without the up-front cost.
Are senior and military discounts on top of any financing?
Yes. The discount is applied to your estimate before any financing is calculated, so the monthly payment is lower than it would be at full price.
Install Day and Scheduling Questions
How long does a Sullivan’s install take?
Most residential installs are completed in a single day. Floor prep, base coat, flake broadcast, and polyaspartic top coat all happen on the same day. Walkable that evening, drivable in 24 hours. Commercial installs depend on square footage and operational complexity, and we confirm the timeline during the on-site consultation.
What do I need to do to prepare for install day?
Clear the space the morning of install. Move out vehicles, tools, furniture, or anything else that will be in the way. The crew handles everything else, including final slab prep, cleanup, and a walkthrough at the end of the day.
What about weather? Do you install in winter?
Yes. We install year-round. The slab does need to be dry on install morning, so we monitor the forecast in the days leading up to install and reschedule if a wet slab is in the cards. Rescheduling is part of doing this right and does not affect your warranty.
Can you install over a freshly poured slab?
Not immediately. New concrete needs to cure for a minimum of 28 to 30 days before any coating goes down. We will confirm the cure timeline during the on-site consultation if you are working with a new build.
Do you handle weekends, overnights, or 24/7 facility schedules for commercial installs?
Yes. Phased and after-hours scheduling are standard for commercial work. We work weekends, overnights, and section-by-section schedules where part of the floor stays operational while we install the rest.
Warranty and After-Install Questions
What is the warranty on a Sullivan’s residential install?
Lifetime residential warranty. Every residential floor we install is backed for the life of the slab. The warranty paperwork is handed to you at the final walkthrough.
What is the warranty on a Sullivan’s commercial install?
5-year commercial warranty covering workmanship and the integrity of the coating system. Real warranty paperwork is handed to your facility manager at the final walkthrough.
What does the warranty actually cover?
The warranty covers workmanship and the integrity of the coating system itself — peeling, lifting, delamination, and chemistry-related failure. The warranty does not cover damage from major slab movement, foundation settling, or impact damage that breaks the slab beneath the coating. We will explain any specific exclusions during the on-site consultation.
How do I take care of my floor after install?
Sullivan’s polyaspartic floors are extremely low-maintenance. Sweep regularly. Damp mop with mild soap and water as needed. Avoid abrasive cleaners and harsh solvents. We hand you a one-page care guide at the final walkthrough.
What if something goes wrong with the floor after install?
Call the office. We answer warranty calls the same way we answer sales calls — same family, same crew, same accountability. If the issue is covered under warranty, we make it right.
Color, Customization, and Aesthetics Questions
What colors are available for flake floors?
Sullivan’s offers a wide range of decorative flake blends. The full set is on our Color Chart page, with the most popular blends featured. We can also custom-blend a flake mix for a specific space if a stock blend is not the right call.
Will the flake colors fade over time?
No. The polyaspartic top coat is UV stable and does not yellow, chalk, or fade under direct sunlight. The flake colors and the clear top coat read identical on year ten as they do on install day.
Can I see colors in person before I commit?
Yes. Mention it during the on-site consultation and we will bring physical color samples for you to compare in your space, in your lighting, alongside the existing finishes you are matching.
What gloss levels are available for polished concrete?
Three standard gloss levels: satin, semi-gloss, and high-gloss. Different finish levels for different environments. We walk through the right level for your space during the on-site consultation. The full breakdown lives on the Polishing page.
Can I match my floor to a specific design or color scheme?
In most cases, yes. Flake blends offer the most customization. Grind and clear and polished concrete are more constrained because the natural concrete is the finish, but the gloss level on polishing and the grind level on grind and clear can both be tuned to fit a specific aesthetic.
Commercial-Specific Questions
Do you handle large-format commercial installs?
Yes. Our crew handles installs from a few thousand square feet to projects in the tens of thousands. The system, the warranty, and the standard of finish stay the same regardless of square footage.
Are your systems FDA-compliant or food-safe?
Our polyaspartic systems are widely used in food-service and food-processing environments because they cure to a non-porous, fully cleanable surface. Compliance with specific federal or state food-safety codes is jurisdiction-dependent, and we recommend confirming the exact requirements for your facility with your local health
authority. We will work with you and your inspector to make sure the spec meets the requirement.
Do you install cove base?
Yes. Cove base is the seamless 4-inch coved transition between the floor and the wall. We install it as an add-on with our flake and grind and clear systems in commercial environments where hygiene, water management, or code compliance matter. We do not install cove base in residential spaces because it is engineered for commercial conditions.
Do you work with general contractors and architects on new construction?
Yes. We coordinate with GCs, architects, and project managers on new builds and major renovations. Spec packets, submittal documentation, and project timelines are all part of the commercial workflow.
What is the difference between commercial and residential warranties?
Residential installs carry a lifetime warranty. Commercial installs carry a 5-year warranty. The difference reflects the operational stress on commercial floors — a residential garage and a 24/7 distribution center put very different demands on a coated surface, and the warranty terms account for that.
Still Have a Question We Have Not Answered?
The FAQ on every service page covers system-specific questions in more detail. For anything else, our office is one phone call away.
Ready to Get Started?
Schedule your free on-site estimate today. Our crew will walk your slab, recommend the right system for your space, and give you a same-day quote backed by Sullivan’s lifetime residential or 5-year commercial warranty.