Part of the Ottawa Construction Network
Epoxy, polyaspartic, urethane cement and polished concrete for kitchens, warehouses, shops, labs and common areas. Tell us about the floor and local contractors reply by email.
Free matching. We do not inspect, license or screen the contractors we forward requests to: ask for the WSIB clearance and the product data sheets yourself.
The coating is the last layer of five. What happens to the slab first decides whether the rest stays bonded.
| System | Back in service | Cold rooms and cold slabs | Hot washdown and thermal shock | Damp slabs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Epoxy | One data sheet: foot traffic 24 h; light vehicles 72 h; heavy traffic 7 days | One data sheet: not applied below 10 °C | One coatings maker's article says it does not perform as well as other materials under thermal shock | Data sheets we read: slab at or below about 75 to 80% RH |
| Polyaspartic | One data sheet: light traffic 24 h; vehicles 7 days | One data sheet: minimum surface about 4 °C | No source found | One data sheet: slab at or below 80% RH |
| Urethane cement | One data sheet: light foot traffic 18 h; heavy traffic and chemicals 72 h | One installer gives an operating range of about -40 to 120 °C | Recommended for commercial kitchens in the same maker's article | One data sheet: up to 99% RH on a self-levelling product |
| MMA | One brochure (2010): cures in about one hour | Same brochure: cures down to about -29 °C | No source found | No source found |
| Polished concrete | No coating to cure; we found no source for a return-to-service time | No coating is applied | No coating is applied | No coating is applied |
Typical figures from one manufacturer's data sheet per cell (US-market documents read September 2026); your product's data sheet governs. A blank means we found no source.
Cure times come from the product's data sheet, not from a rule. Here is what the data sheets we read say, and a planner that sends the system you are weighing straight to the request form.
| System | First traffic (hours) | Full service (hours) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Urethane cement | 18 | 72 | one self-levelling urethane cement guide spec |
| Epoxy | 24 | 168 | one 100%-solids epoxy data sheet |
| Polyaspartic | 24 | 168 | one polyaspartic data sheet |
Source: one 100%-solids epoxy data sheet. Moisture-test and prep days are not included. The product data sheet sets the actual time, and the room temperature changes it.
Get quotes for thisSource: one polyaspartic data sheet. Moisture-test and prep days are not included. The product data sheet sets the actual time, and the room temperature changes it.
Get quotes for thisSource: one self-levelling urethane cement guide spec. Moisture-test and prep days are not included. The product data sheet sets the actual time, and the room temperature changes it.
Get quotes for thisSource: one MMA brochure from 2010. Moisture-test and prep days are not included. The product data sheet sets the actual time, and the room temperature changes it.
Get quotes for thisSource: no data sheet applies. Moisture-test and prep days are not included. The product data sheet sets the actual time, and the room temperature changes it.
Get quotes for thisO. Reg. 493/17 asks for floors in food rooms that are "tight, smooth and non-absorbent" and kept clean and in good repair. It names no product and does not mention coving, drains or slope. Ottawa Public Health inspects.
Kitchen and food plant floorsReg. 851, s.11: a floor used by workers must not have a finish "likely to make the surface slippery". No slip-resistance number is set in Ontario law, so a test value in a quote is a product claim.
Anti-slip finishes and safety linesOHSA s.30: before a project starts, the owner lists designated substances (asbestos, silica, isocyanates) and gives the list to contractors before signing. Have old tile and mastic tested first.
Grinding, prep and moisture testingFederal rules (SOR/2009-264) cap opaque floor coatings at 250 g/L. They bind the companies that make, import or sell the product, not the contractor applying it.
More questionsPublished 2025-2026 contractor ranges where at least two independent pages agree; your quote will differ.
Plain answers to Ottawa commercial floor questions: costs, systems, downtime, food premises rules and hiring.
Published 2025-2026 Ontario and Canadian contractor ranges put commercial and industrial-grade epoxy at about $8 to $15 per square foot installed, with lighter commercial systems from about $5. Slab prep, crack repair, a moisture-mitigation primer, cove base and after-hours work all move the price. These are published ranges, not rates, so compare at least two written quotes line by line.
Ontario's Food Premises regulation (O. Reg. 493/17, s.7(1)(c)) requires floors in rooms where food is prepared, served or handled, and where utensils are washed, to be "tight, smooth and non-absorbent", and s.7(1)(g) requires them to be kept clean and in good repair. The regulation does not name a product and does not mention coved bases, floor drains or slope. Ottawa Public Health inspects food premises and asks to be told about significant renovations.
It depends on the product's data sheet, the slab and the room temperature. Typical figures from the data sheets we read: an epoxy at 24 hours for foot traffic and up to 7 days for heavy traffic, a self-levelling urethane cement at 18 hours for light foot traffic and 72 hours for heavy traffic, and a polyaspartic at 24 hours for light traffic and 7 days for vehicles. Prep and moisture-test days come on top. The data sheet for your product governs.
Yes. WSIB policy says a business that hires a contractor for construction work must get a clearance certificate before the work begins and keep it in effect while the work goes on. Without it, the business may be liable for the contractor's WSIB payment obligations up to the value of the labour portion of the contract. The homeowner exemption does not apply to businesses.