3 systems fit this space, ranked
PARKADE & STRATA FLOOR COATINGS
Strata floors are a maintenance decision made by a council, which makes them different from every other floor on this site: the question is not what looks best, it is what the building will still be happy with in fifteen years and what it costs to keep clean in the meantime. Parkades, storage rooms, corridors and amenity spaces each answer that differently, and one of them is not our work at all.
- What we recommend
- Commercial
- Installed cost
- $6–$14/sq ft
- Days on site
- 2-5 days
What we'd spec, in order
- 01First choice
Solid Colour Industrial Build
The parkade and storage room default. Seals the slab against road salt, stops concrete dusting into stored belongings, and takes line marking for stalls and numbering installed into the coating rather than painted on.
$6-$14/sq ft · 2-5 days
- 02
Polished Concrete
Lobbies, corridors and amenity rooms. No film to peel, no recoat cycle to budget for, and it survives sand and grit tracked in better than any coating.
$6-$14/sq ft · 3-5 days
- 03
One-Day Polyaspartic Build
Where the phasing is tight. A section of parkade goes down and back into service inside twenty-four hours, so residents lose a stall for a day rather than a week.
$10-$15/sq ft · 1 day
What actually matters here
A Suspended Deck Is Not a Coating Job
This is the honest boundary of what we do. A parkade deck suspended over occupied space, a lobby, storage, or another parking level, is a waterproofing problem before it is a wearing surface problem, and it needs a traffic-bearing membrane system designed to move with the structure and keep water out of the concrete and off the reinforcement. A decorative or industrial coating over a suspended deck is not the same product and will not do that job. If your parkade has occupied space below it, ask for a membrane specification and treat any quote that offers an epoxy instead as a warning sign.
On-Grade Parkades Are a Coating Job
A slab-on-grade parkade, which describes most of the smaller Okanagan strata buildings, has no waterproofing requirement and every reason to be coated. Road salt tracked in over a winter is the main enemy of the concrete, and a sealed floor stops it reaching the slab entirely. The other reason is dust: an uncoated parkade slab sheds fine concrete dust continuously onto every vehicle parked in it, which residents notice and complain about without ever knowing what causes it.
Phasing Around Residents
Nobody in a strata can lose their parking stall for a week, so parkade work is phased into sections that can be closed, coated and returned. Notices go out with dates, stalls get temporarily reassigned, and each section is a complete floor with a proper termination at its boundary rather than a raw edge left in traffic. A polyaspartic build turns each section into an overnight closure, which is usually worth the material premium in resident goodwill alone.
Line Marking That Stays
Stall lines, numbering, visitor bays, accessible stalls and pedestrian routes all go into the coating rather than on top of it, at the same level as the surrounding floor, so there is no edge for a tire to lift. Painted or taped marking in a parkade needs redoing every few years and always looks it. Installed marking is done once. Renumbering later is possible but means grinding, so the layout gets confirmed with the council before the base coat goes down.
What a Council Actually Needs to Approve It
A strata council needs three things to make a decision: a fixed written price, a phasing plan with dates, and a clear statement of what the floor will need over the next fifteen years. We provide all three as part of the quote, including the honest maintenance schedule rather than a warranty slogan, because a council that can answer questions at an AGM is a council that can approve the work. We are also happy to present it in person, which usually saves a meeting cycle.
Parkade & Strata Floors. FAQ
Can you coat an underground parkade?
An on-grade parkade, yes: a solid industrial build at $6 to $11 per square foot, phased so parking stays available. A suspended deck over occupied space needs a traffic-bearing waterproofing membrane rather than a coating, which is a different specification and a different trade, and we will tell you so rather than quote the wrong product.
How long does a parkade section take?
One day per section with a polyaspartic build, two with an epoxy build, plus overnight cure. Sections are sized to what the building can absorb, typically eight to twenty stalls at a time, and the schedule is set with the property manager so notices can go out well in advance.
Why is our parkade slab dusting onto residents cars?
Because the paste layer at the top of the slab has worn and is shedding. Tire traffic and winter grit abrade it continuously, and every pass lifts fine concrete dust into the air, where it settles on vehicles. Coating or densifying the slab stops it permanently. Sweeping more often does not, because the dust is being generated rather than tracked in.
Is polished concrete suitable for a strata lobby?
It is one of the best choices available. There is no film to wear through, so grit and sand tracked in from outside burnish it rather than abrading it away, and there is no recoat cycle for the strata to budget for. Add walk-off matting at the entry and the floor will outlast several cycles of anything else.