The True Cost of Materials: What are you Really Paying for your Coating?

2018-04-25

As a contractor and a businessowner, your number one concern is cost. Material costs are a big chunk of your concrete coating project’s bid or budget and can make the difference between profit or losing money on an installation.

As a result, the most frequent question we get about our coatings is cost. And usually, when installers call for a quote, the question they ask is, “How much per gallon?”

However, is that the right question to ask? We recommend considering the total price per square foot, rather than per gallon.

It’s a common mindset. We compare gas prices per gallon, right? But the true cost of driving is more than the price of gas; it’s also your car’s MPG, maintenance costs, truck payment if you have one, etc. So, there are other factors to consider.

Also, the thing about comparing gas prices is that—barring preference or small difference in formula—you’re basically comparing apples to apples (or, regular unleaded to regular unleaded).

Not so with concrete coatings. Coatings vary widely in flexibility, cure time, durability and other factors that directly impact your customer satisfaction—and total cost.

Unlike epoxy, a polyaspartic polyurea coating can be applied over a wide range of temperatures – as low as 30?F below zero to as high as 140?F – which means that it can be applied in lower temperature applications or during the winter, for example, without having to wait for the right season, so you can maximize your team’s installation schedule.

But the biggest cost-saving aspect of polyurea coatings is that they’re typically applied in just two coats that install and cure in one day, returning the floor to service the very next day.

Sometimes the number of coatings will vary from job to job, but the hours versus days of cure time remains the fastest on the market. This is not only hugely convenient for your client – it saves you tremendously on labor and time. No follow-up visits, just a one-and-done installation.

When you factor in the hidden cost of labor and time with other coatings, even though polyurea may have the higher price tag per gallon, in the end, its cutting-edge formula saves you money.

Next time you put together a proposal, factor in the true cost of material, per square foot. We’re here to help—schedule a call with one of our flooring experts to answer your questions today.