Can a contractor quote my Ottawa floor price without seeing the slab?

Without seeing the slab, a contractor can only estimate. Published 2025-2026 contractor ranges put commercial epoxy at about $8 to $15 per square foot installed (lighter systems from about $5), polyaspartic at about $6 to $15 and polished concrete at about $3 to $15, but where your job lands in those ranges depends on conditions that only a walk of the floor will reveal.

Several things shift a quote significantly and cannot be assessed remotely. The slab's condition, the extent of cracking, the presence of existing coatings or adhesive residue, and moisture levels all affect the prep scope and the system choice. Surface prep alone can run about $1 to $3 per square foot when it is quoted separately, and heavy resurfacing of damaged concrete costs more than that. Moisture testing under ASTM F2170 or ASTM F1869 shows the slab's condition only at the time and location tested, and if results exceed what the chosen product's data sheet allows, a moisture-mitigation primer may be needed. We found too few published prices to give a range for that primer work. A contractor quoting without this information is estimating against unknowns.

Before any grinding or removal of old tile or mastic, note that old vinyl tile and black mastic may contain asbestos and should be tested first. Before the contractor starts work, obtain a WSIB clearance certificate under WSIB policy 14-02-19; the householder exemption does not apply to a business, and without a clearance you may be liable for the contractor's WSIB payment obligations up to the value of the labour portion of the contract.

A fair quote following a site visit should set out the prep method and the target surface profile, the moisture test results and what happens if they exceed the product's limit, the specific system with its product data sheets and safety data sheets, the number of coats or target thickness, any cove base linear footage, anti-slip aggregate, line striping, and the closure window taken from the data sheet rather than a general promise. Ask for proof of liability insurance and references on similar commercial floors.

After the job is done, keep the written contract, the product data sheets and SDSs, the WSIB clearance certificate, any written warranty the contractor provides, and photographs of the slab before and after prep. Those records document what was installed and the condition of the surface it went over.

You can submit a project request through the form on this page and contractors listed in the Ottawa Construction Network directory will reply by email. Before any contractor leaves the site on the last day, ask them to confirm in writing which product was applied and at what thickness, so the record matches the data sheet you were given at the start.