Coefficient of friction
Slip resistance is measurable, wet and dry, and systems have published figures. If your floor has to meet a standard, ask us for the number rather than the adjective.
Anti-slip
We build grip into floors you get wet on purpose.
Aggregate is broadcast into the coating so the surface has texture that works when it is wet. It goes on pool decks, ramps, entryways, walk-in coolers and commercial kitchens. The amount of grit is adjustable, and getting it right is a judgement about bare feet against boots.
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How Much Slip Resistance a Floor Needs
More is not automatically better for you. Texture that grips also holds dirt and is harder on skin.
Barefoot areas
Your pool deck or shower room needs traction that does not tear feet. That points us at a finer aggregate and a smoother profile than we would give a loading ramp.
Boots and wheels
Your ramp, loading area or kitchen with staff in work shoes takes a coarser profile. It grips harder and it is easier to clean than it looks.
Cleaning is the trade-off
The rougher we make it, the more it holds. In your kitchen that is a real consideration, because the floor gets washed daily and the texture is what the mop has to get into.
Where Anti-Slip Floor Coatings Are Used
Usually you call us after somebody has had a fall, or because an inspection is coming.
Pool decks and patios
Standing water and bare feet. It is also outdoors, so we make your top coat hold its color.
Ramps and entryways
Where water gets walked in. A slope plus a wet floor is the worst combination in any building, and it is cheap for us to fix while we are coating.
Commercial kitchens
Grease and water together. We usually specify quartz for you here, so your grip and your wash-down resistance come from one system.
Every floor on this page is one we poured
How Slip Resistance Is Built Into a Floor
Two approaches, and only one of them lasts.
Aggregate broadcast into the coating
We throw sand, aluminum oxide or a polymer grit into the wet coat and seal it. The texture is part of your floor and it wears at the same rate the floor does.
Grit suspended in the top coat
We mix it into the final clear and roll it on. Simpler, cheaper, and it gives a finer profile that suits bare feet better.
What does not last
Anything applied on top of a finished floor as a treatment. It wears off exactly where the traffic is, which is where you needed it.
Choosing the grade
Coarse for boots and wheels, fine and rounded for bare feet. The wrong grade in a barefoot area is genuinely unpleasant and people stop using the space.
Where Anti-Slip Is Specified
Usually after an incident, and better before one.
Pool decks and shower areas
Standing water and bare feet. Fine, rounded aggregate.
Ramps and entrances
Where water gets walked in and your floor slopes. The worst combination in any building, and one of the least expensive things to fix while we are coating anyway.
Commercial kitchens
Grease and water together. We normally specify quartz so your grip and your wash-down resistance come from one system.
Loading bays and external steps
Boots, wheels and weather. Coarse profile, and outdoors means we give you a UV-stable top coat as well.
Walkways in a plant
We often give your marked walkways a different profile from the surrounding floor, which does double duty as a visual cue.
The Cleaning Trade-off, and How to Settle It
Every increase in grip is an increase in what the floor holds.
Texture traps
Dirt, grease and cleaning residue sit in the profile. Your coarse floor in a kitchen needs deck brushing rather than mopping.
Match the profile to the cleaning that will really happen
Not to the cleaning regime on paper. A floor too rough for you to clean properly ends up dirty, and a dirty textured floor is more slippery than a clean smooth one.
Zoning is usually the answer
Coarse where it is wet, finer elsewhere. Most buildings do not need one profile throughout, and yours probably does not either.
What customers wrote
4.7 from 15 Google reviews. We publish every one of them on the reviews page, including the one star and what came of it.
great job on my shop Floor thanks again Brad
Floors came out great and the countertops too!
thank you Brad for the wonderful job on my garage floors
Slip Resistance, Measured Rather Than Claimed
The trade talks about grip loosely. If it matters to you legally or for insurance, it is worth knowing what is actually being specified.
Wet is the condition that counts
Almost every slip happens on a wet floor. A specification quoted dry tells you very little.
Profile versus product
Your grip comes from the physical texture. Two floors with the same coating and different aggregate grades behave completely differently.
Where a standard applies
Commercial kitchens, public entrances, ramps and wet processing. If you have a requirement, tell us at the quote so we specify it rather than approximate it.
Retrofitting Grip to a Floor That Already Exists
Common, and it is worth knowing which version of it lasts.
Recoating with aggregate
We abrade your existing floor and put a new top coat with aggregate on. This is a real fix and it lasts as long as the coating does.
Surface treatments and etches
Applied to a finished floor to micro-roughen it. They work, and they wear off where your traffic is, which is exactly where you needed the grip.
Tapes and mats
Fine as an immediate measure after an incident. They lift, they trap water underneath, and they are not a floor.
What has to be true first
Your existing floor has to be sound and bonded. Adding grip to a coating that is already failing buys you nothing.
Anti-Slip Around Home Pools and Steps
The domestic side of a specification usually discussed commercially.
Steps into and out of a pool
The highest-risk surface in your garden. A finer aggregate that works barefoot is the right answer, and it is a small area for us to treat.
Sloped decks and drainage falls
A deck that falls to drain is a deck people slip on. Your grip matters more on the slope than on the flat part.
Around outdoor showers and hot tubs
Constantly wet, usually barefoot, and often overlooked when we specify your main deck. Mention them.
Garage aprons and driveways
The slab outside your door in a Connecticut winter. Grit in the top coat there is worth more to you than anywhere inside the garage.
What's under your finished floor
We put down four layers, and each one has its own job. Scroll and we'll take your floor apart so you can see them.
- Polyaspartic top coatWe finish with a UV-stable, hard-wearing coat that takes your tires, your chemicals and the sunlight so the color underneath doesn't.
- Color and flake coatOur body coat carries your flake blend or metallic pour, so this is the layer you picked.
- Primer and moisture barrierWe work it into the opened concrete, and it locks everything above it to your slab.
- Concrete substrateYour slab. We diamond grind it back to bare concrete so everything we put on top has something to grip.
Coatings we install
We install six systems, and most floors we put down combine two of them.
Anti-slip
- Where it fits
- Pool decks, ramps, plant floors
- How it looks
- A coarse broadcast texture in the surface.
- Where we use it
- We put it where your floor gets wet or sits outdoors.
Flake
- Where it fits
- Garages and basements
- How it looks
- Vinyl chip broadcast into the body coat. Busier blends hide more of a working slab.
- Where we use it
- The garage floor we put down most.
Solid color
- Where it fits
- Workshops, warehouses, basements
- How it looks
- One flat color, sealed and cleanable.
- Where we use it
- Floors you need easy to clean, where we can add line marking.
Metallic
- Where it fits
- Attached garages, showrooms, countertops
- How it looks
- Pigment moved through the resin while it's wet, so no two floors come out the same.
- Where we use it
- Floors you look at as part of the house, which is where we get asked for it most.
Quartz
- Where it fits
- Commercial kitchens and wet areas
- How it looks
- Colored quartz aggregate for a hard, textured floor.
- Where we use it
- Floors where we have to meet a slip specification.
Polyaspartic
- Where it fits
- Top coat over any system, patios
- How it looks
- A UV-stable clear coat that cures in hours.
- Where we use it
- We use it for sunlight, cold weather and fast turnarounds.
How your epoxy floor gets done, from first call to parking on it
Three steps, and Brad does every one of them himself. Most residential floors are finished in a day.
- 1
You call, text or send the form
Tell us the room and roughly how big it is. We'll talk you through the range and book a time to come and look, often the same day. Weekends count, and there's nothing to sign.
- 2
Brad reads your slab and you pick your finish
He checks for cracks, old coating and moisture, then measures up. You choose your flake blend or metallic against your own floor, not a brochure. Your written quote comes back the same day.
- 3
We grind it back and build your floor up
Your slab goes back to bare concrete under a diamond grinder with dust extraction. Then the primer, the body coat with your flake or metallic, and the top coat. You get your walk-on and park-on times with the quote.
Measured grip, not the feel of it
Slip resistance is a coefficient of friction, wet and dry. If your floor has to meet a standard, ask for the figure and the method.
Get my free quoteQuestions people ask
Can you add grip to a floor I already have?
Often. We prepare your existing surface and recoat with aggregate in the top coat. Your floor has to be sound to start with.
Does it hurt bare feet?
Not if we specified it for bare feet. We choose the aggregate grade for your room, which is why it is worth telling us who uses the space.
Will it still be grippy in a few years?
Your traction comes from the profile, and the profile wears where traffic concentrates. Walkways wear before the edges do.
What is an anti-slip floor coating?
A coating with aggregate broadcast into it, or grit suspended in the top coat, so your surface has texture that works when it is wet.
Can you add grip to an existing floor?
Often, by preparing the existing surface and recoating with aggregate in the top coat. The existing floor has to be sound to start with.
Does anti-slip hurt bare feet?
Not if it is specified for bare feet. The aggregate grade is chosen for the room, which is why it matters to say who uses the space.
Will it stay grippy?
Your traction comes from the profile and the profile wears where traffic concentrates. Walkways wear before edges do.
Is anti-slip harder to clean?
Yes, and that is your trade-off. We match the profile to the cleaning that will actually happen rather than to the regime on paper.
How is slip resistance measured?
By coefficient of friction, wet and dry. If your floor has to meet a standard, ask us for the figure rather than the description.
Can grip be added to an existing floor?
Yes, by abrading it and recoating with aggregate in the top coat. Surface treatments wear off exactly where the traffic is.
Do I need anti-slip around a home pool?
On steps, slopes and anywhere that stays wet, yes, with a fine aggregate chosen for bare feet.
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Get Your Free Quote Call or Text (203) 496-6386