Should I hire a flooring company or an epoxy specialist near Ottawa?

For a commercial floor coating job in Ottawa, the contractor type matters less than whether the person doing the work has hands-on experience with the specific system your floor needs and can show you the product data sheets and safety data sheets for what they plan to apply.

The label on the company does not tell you what you need to know: what systems they have applied on floors like yours, in facilities like yours, and what those floors look like a few years later. Ask for references on similar commercial jobs, a WSIB clearance certificate, and proof of liability insurance. The site you are reading is a matching service, not a contractor, and does not screen or verify any of those things on your behalf.

A few rules apply regardless of who you hire. Under WSIB policy 14-02-19, your business must obtain a clearance certificate before the contractor starts work and keep it in effect throughout the job; the householder exemption does not apply to a business. Under OHSA s.38(1.1), if your own staff remain on site during the work, ask the contractor for the safety data sheet for each product; Section 2 covers hazards and Section 9 covers flash point, which matters if any product is solvent-based. Ontario Fire Code 4.1.5.2 says open flames, sparks or heat shall not be permitted near flammable or combustible liquids unless controlled in a manner that will not create a fire or explosion hazard.

If your floor is in a food preparation or service area, O. Reg. 493/17 s.7(1)(c) requires it to be tight, smooth and non-absorbent. Ottawa Public Health enforces that regulation and asks to be notified when a food premises is significantly renovated; contact OPH before booking the work to confirm whether your project triggers that requirement.

On cost, published 2025 to 2026 contractor ranges put commercial epoxy at about $8 to $15 per square foot installed, with lighter commercial systems from about $5 per square foot, and polyaspartic and polyurea commercial work at about $6 to $15 per square foot. Surface preparation, when quoted separately, runs about $1 to $3 per square foot extra; check whether prep is included.

Lay the quotes next to each other and check: the product names with data sheets and SDSs attached, the prep method and the ICRI surface profile the contractor is targeting, whether a moisture test is included and what happens to the quote if the result fails the product's limit, the number of coats or the thickness called for in the data sheet, whether cove base is included and at what linear footage, what anti-slip texture is specified, and the closure window the contractor is committing to based on the data sheet's return-to-service figures.