Most garage floor coatings are a few hundred square feet. This one was 1,700 sq ft — a large multi-bay shop in Antigonish, NS — and it went down in a single day in a polyurea system finished with Cabin Fever flake. Coating a garage that size is not simply the same job scaled up. Here is what actually changes, and how a floor that big still comes out as one continuous surface.
Project snapshot: 1,700 sq ft garage floor, Antigonish NS
| Detail | Spec |
|---|---|
| Location | Antigonish, Nova Scotia |
| Area | 1,700 sq ft — large multi-bay garage and shop |
| System | Polyurea coating system with full flake broadcast and clear topcoat |
| Flake colour | Cabin Fever — pine brown, black, slate grey and crisp white |
| Features | Trench drain, multiple overhead doors, coved edges and step detail |
| Install time | 1 day |
| Warranty | 20 years |
What changes when the garage is 1,700 sq ft
A two-car garage forgives a lot. A floor this size does not. The things that separate a good large-format installation from a bad one are all invisible in the finished photo — which is exactly why they are worth explaining.
- The wet edge. The base coat has to stay wet across the entire floor while it is being coated. If the leading edge starts to set before the next pass meets it, you get a permanent lap line straight across the bay. On 1,700 sq ft that means enough people, enough material mixed and moving, and a planned direction of travel — decided before anyone opens a pail.
- Flake density. Broadcasting to refusal has to happen consistently from one end to the other. Uneven broadcast shows up as light and heavy patches under the overhead lights, and it cannot be corrected after the topcoat goes on.
- Material volume and timing. Polyurea has a working life measured in minutes, not hours. Batches have to be sequenced so the crew is never waiting on a mix and never holding a pot that is going off.
- Prep alone is a serious job. Diamond grinding 1,700 sq ft, with dust extraction, plus crack and joint treatment, is most of a day’s work on its own.
- Drains, doors and edges. This shop has a trench drain, multiple overhead door thresholds and a step. Every one of those is a hand-detailed transition, and they are the first places a cheap installation fails.
How a floor this size still goes down in one day
Two reasons: the product and the crew.
Polyurea cures fast. Where an epoxy system would need days between coats — and would refuse to cure at all in a cool, unheated Nova Scotia shop — polyurea lets us grind, prep, base coat, broadcast, scrape, vacuum and topcoat inside one working day. That is the whole reason we build on it. If you want the technical side, we set it out in epoxy vs polyaspartic explained.
The other half is simply having installed more than 4,500 floors. Sequencing a 1,700 sq ft broadcast is a rehearsed operation, not something you work out on the day.
Why Cabin Fever flake suits a shop like this
Cabin Fever layers multi-sized flake in pine brown, dark black, slate grey and crisp white — Granite, Scone and White at 30% each with a 10% Black. Torginol describes it as harmonizing within dark, grounding environments and warm, amber lighting, which is a fair description of a wood-lined shop with a black ceiling and strip lighting. The warm browns pick up the timber; the black and grey keep it from reading orange.
The practical case is just as strong in a working garage:
- It hides everything. Tire marks, sawdust, road grit and the occasional drip disappear into a multi-size, multi-colour broadcast. A solid colour shows every one of them.
- It adds grip. The flake profile under the clear coat gives real texture underfoot — useful in a shop where vehicles come in wet nine months of the year.
- It builds thickness. Broadcasting to refusal creates a substantial, impact-resistant floor rather than a thin painted film that chips the first time something heavy lands on it.
Choosing between a flake and a solid colour? Our guide to flake vs solid colour garage floors walks through it.
Does a bigger garage cost more per square foot?
Usually less. Mobilisation, setup and equipment are largely fixed costs, so spreading them across 1,700 sq ft brings the per-square-foot rate down compared with a single-car garage. What pushes a large floor’s price up is not the area — it is slab condition, moisture, and the amount of hand detailing around drains, doors, steps and coved edges.
For ranges by garage size, see our Nova Scotia garage floor coating price guide. Every quote we issue includes the preparation and repair the slab actually needs.
Built for Nova Scotia, warrantied for 20 years
A shop floor in Antigonish takes road salt, snowmelt and a freeze-thaw cycle that runs all winter. Polyurea stays flexible as the slab moves, seals the concrete against the chloride that would otherwise be working its way in, and resists the hot tires and dropped tools that come with real use. We cover the climate side in how floor coatings handle Nova Scotia’s freeze-thaw cycles.
This floor carries a 20-year warranty. Maintenance is a broom and, when the winter salt builds up, a mop.
Looking for a smaller residential project in the same area? See our 700 sq ft polyurea garage floor in Antigonish, finished in Madras flake.
Frequently asked questions
Can a 1,700 sq ft garage floor really be coated in one day?
Yes, with a polyurea system and a crew sized for the area. Polyurea cures fast enough that grinding, base coat, flake broadcast, scrape-back and clear topcoat all happen inside one working day. An epoxy system at that size would take several days and would not cure reliably in a cool shop.
What is the hardest part of coating a large garage floor?
Keeping a wet edge across the whole floor. If the base coat starts to set before the next pass meets it, a permanent lap line appears across the bay. That is a planning and crew-size problem, and it is the most common failure on large-format jobs.
Does a bigger garage cost more per square foot?
Generally it costs less per square foot, because setup and mobilisation are fixed costs spread over a larger area. Slab condition, moisture control and the amount of hand detailing around drains, doors and steps affect the price more than the square footage does.
What is Cabin Fever flake?
Cabin Fever is a decorative flake blend of pine brown, dark black, slate grey and crisp white in multiple flake sizes. Broadcast into the base coat and sealed under a clear topcoat, it gives a warm, natural mineral look that suits wood-lined shops and warm lighting, while hiding dirt and adding grip.
Can you coat around a floor drain or trench drain?
Yes. Drains, thresholds, steps and wall bases are hand-detailed so the coating terminates cleanly rather than stopping at a raw edge where water and grit can get underneath. It is slower work, and it is where a coating either lasts or starts lifting.
Do you coat detached shops and workshops as well as attached garages?
Yes. We coat attached garages, detached shops, hobby garages, barns and multi-bay buildings across Nova Scotia, and larger floors are where the per-square-foot value is best. See our residential flooring services.
Book your garage or shop floor in Antigonish
Whether it is a two-car garage or a 1,700 sq ft shop, the process is the same and so is the standard. Request a free quote and we will measure, assess your concrete and give you a clear, all-in price with preparation included. Serving Antigonish and all of Nova Scotia — call (902) 986-6900.
