The most expensive surprises in this trade are not on the floor. They are in the paperwork, and they are usually disclosed somewhere, just not out loud and not before the deposit.
A number said out loud at your kitchen table is not a quote. You want the scope, the square footage, the system, the color and the total, on paper or in an email, with your name on it. If a company will only give you a verbal figure, that is a choice they made.
Deposits are normal and reasonable. Material gets ordered and a date gets held. What is not reasonable is finding out after the fact that it was non-refundable, or that there is a restock fee if you change your mind. Ask directly: if I cancel next week, what do I get back? Then find that answer in the contract.
Illinois gives you a three business day right to cancel on most contracts signed in your home. That right exists whether or not the salesperson mentions it.
Some contracts require the balance immediately on completion and treat a delay in funding as a cancellation. Know the terms before the crew is standing in your garage.
Every coating contract in this industry excludes some combination of the same things. Substrate cracks and settlement. Moisture from under the slab. Rust and corrosion. Vertical surfaces and stem walls. Leveling and grading. Chemical damage. None of those exclusions are unreasonable on their own. What is unreasonable is a customer discovering them by having a page number quoted back at them after something goes wrong.
Ask for the exclusions as a list, in the estimate, before you decide. If you get a shrug and a "it's all in the contract," that is your answer.
If a quote is only valid if you sign today, that is not a deadline, it is a technique. If a sale event has a name and a countdown, look at what the discount is actually calculated from. A "60/60/60 event" that turns out to be fifteen percent off a number nobody has seen is not a discount, it is theater.
A product warranty from a manufacturer covers resin. It does not cover a crew coming back out. Ask whether labor is included, whether there is a service call or trip fee on a warranty visit, and whether the warranty is transferable when you sell the house. Full detail in our guide on what a coating warranty really covers.
A lifetime warranty is worth exactly as much as the company's presence in your area in ten years. See what happens if your coating company leaves town.
Clearing the garage completely, including shelves. Keeping vehicles off for the cure period. Sometimes filling a gap at the wall or an edge where the coating meets asphalt. Get the list up front so nothing is a surprise on the day.
Yes. It holds your install date and covers material ordered for your job, especially on a custom color. What matters is that you are told clearly what happens to it if you cancel.
Illinois gives you a three business day right to cancel on most contracts signed in your home. Beyond that window it depends on the contract, which is exactly why you want to read the cancellation terms before you sign rather than after.
The condition of your concrete genuinely affects the price, so a final number needs a look at the slab. That is legitimate. Refusing to publish any ranges at all, or giving a verbal-only quote after the visit, is a sales decision.
Tell us the room, the rough size and your town. You get a written price, not a two-hour pitch. Fastest way is to text a photo of the floor to (815) 585-1750.
