Surface preparation

Nothing bonds to a dirty slab.

Shot blasting, diamond grinding and documented moisture testing to a measured concrete surface profile — the least visible part of the job and the one that decides the outcome.

Request a site assessment Call (604) 968-2040

The work

Profile is a specification with a number.

Coating manufacturers specify the concrete surface profile their product needs, on a scale from CSP 1 (almost smooth) to CSP 9 (heavily scarified). A thin sealer wants a light profile; a high-build epoxy wants CSP 3 to 4; a mortar system wants more. Producing the wrong profile voids the warranty just as surely as using the wrong product.

We produce it mechanically. Shot blasting is the workhorse for open floor area — it is fast, dust-contained and gives a consistent, repeatable profile. Diamond grinding handles edges, coating removal and anywhere a flatter result is wanted. Scarifying is for heavy removal only.

Acid etching is not surface preparation. It produces an inconsistent profile, leaves reaction products on the surface that interfere with bond, and drives moisture into the slab. If a quote proposes it, that is a meaningful signal about the rest of the work.

Profile range: CSP 1–6
Methods: Shot blast · Diamond grind · Scarify
Moisture: ASTM F2170 RH probes
Dust: HEPA-contained

Shot blasting a slippery concrete floor in a baggage handling area at Vancouver International Airport (YVR), the blasted lanes lighter than the untouched strip beside them

Sealer going on over the shot-blasted concrete in the YVR baggage handling area, still wet in patches

Shot blasting as the finish, not only the preparation, at Vancouver International Airport (YVR). The blaster working across a slippery baggage-hall slab, with the blasted lanes lighter than the untouched strip on the left (left), then the sealer going on over the blasted concrete (right). The texture the blasting leaves is what makes the floor non-slip. More on the Richmond page.

A ride-on shot blaster working through the Trail Appliances parkade in Richmond, the blasted lanes lighter than the untouched concrete

The shot-blasted parkade floor at the Trail Appliances store in Richmond at night, wet under the lights

Shot blasting and a densifier for an anti-slip parkade floor at Trail Appliances in Richmond, 2016: the ride-on shot blaster working through the parkade, the blasted lanes lighter than the untouched concrete (left), and the floor that night, wet under the lights (right). More on the projects page.

A Vancouver parkade slab after shot blasting, the blast lanes showing, the ride-on shot blaster and a West Pacific Coatings trailer beyond

The ride-on shot blaster used to prepare a 30,000 square foot parkade slab in Vancouver for a traffic coating

Shot blasting before a traffic coating, in a 30,000 square foot Vancouver parkade for Lark Group: the slab after blasting, the lanes showing (left), and the ride-on shot blaster that did it (right). The parkade was then coated in Tremco Vulkem 350NF/950NF/950NF. More on the projects page.

A ride-on shot blaster taking an old green floor coating off a commercial slab in Grandview, Vancouver

The same slab after shot blasting, clean and open, its joints and cracks filled

Shot blasting an old coating off before an epoxy, a commercial space in Grandview, Vancouver, 2017: the green coating coming off in lanes (left), and the blasted slab, its joints and cracks filled (right). More on the projects page.

A ride-on shot blaster preparing an exterior parkade deck in Vancouver’s West End after the old membrane was removed

The dense network of cracks across the same exterior parkade deck repaired before the traffic membrane

An exterior parkade deck in the West End, Vancouver, once the old membrane was scraped and ground off: the concrete being shot blasted (left), and the cracks across the deck repaired before the Tremco Vulkem 360NF/346 membrane went down (right). More on the projects page.

A ride-on shot blaster preparing the concrete deck of the Whole Foods parkade in Vancouver before the recoat

The leading edge of the new grey coat over the shot-blasted concrete of the Whole Foods parkade in Vancouver, its cracks filled in white

Shot blasting before a parkade recoat at a Whole Foods in Vancouver: the ride-on shot blaster working across the deck (left), and the new coat going on over the blasted concrete, its cracks filled in white ahead of it (right). More on the projects page.

A PCD grinder taking the old traffic coating off the rooftop parkade of a Staples store in Burnaby under dust extraction, 2017

The old traffic coating ground off to the concrete on a Staples store’s rooftop parkade in Burnaby, flakes and grindings on the deck

Removing an old traffic coating with PCD grinding tools, on the rooftop parkade of a Staples store in Burnaby, 2017: the grinder working under dust extraction (left), and the old coating ground off to the concrete, its flakes still on the deck (right), before the new Tremco Vulkem 350NF/950NF/951NF coat. More on the projects page.

Cracks filled across the prepared concrete of the service drive at a Toyota dealership’s old shop in Vancouver, with the coating materials staged on plastic

Fresh grey traffic coating going down across the service drive of a Toyota dealership’s old shop in Vancouver, with the prepared concrete still bare in front

The service drive at a Toyota dealership’s old shop in Vancouver, 2014: the slab prepared and its cracks filled before coating (left), and the traffic coating going down over it (right). More on our automotive flooring page.

The Kelmar system going down bay by bay in the 980 Howe Street parkade, the next section still bare beyond the tape line

Fresh Kelmar coat glossy under the work lights in the 980 Howe Street parkade, Downtown Vancouver

A 100,000 square foot parkade at 980 Howe Street, Downtown Vancouver, 2015: the Kelmar system going down section by section behind a tape line, the next bay still bare (left), and the fresh coat under the work lights (right). More on our Vancouver page.

A parkade ramp in a Downtown Vancouver commercial building prepared for a traffic coating, its cracks and a patched section showing on the bare concrete

The same parkade ramp finished in a grey textured traffic coating, carried up the curb along the wall, Downtown Vancouver, 2016

A commercial building’s parkade ramp in Downtown Vancouver, 2016: prepared, with its cracks and a patched section showing on the bare concrete (left), and the same stretch finished in a grey textured traffic coating (right). More on the projects page.

Shot-blasted lanes across the old warehouse slab, cleaned back to bare concrete through the stained and painted surface

Ride-on shot blaster in a long industrial warehouse, the slab being blasted and cleaned before the epoxy and urethane went down

Concrete patching and shot blasting for Sumas Environmental Services Inc. in 2015, before an epoxy and urethane floor: blasted lanes cut through the stains and paint to clean concrete (left), and the ride-on shot blaster working the length of the building (right). More on the projects page and our warehouse floors page.

The parkade slab being shot blasted with a ride-on blaster before the Tremco Vulkem traffic coating, New Westminster

The traffic coating across the parkade deck to the fence under the tarps, New Westminster residential tower

Shot blasting a residential tower’s parkade in New Westminster for PMC Construction, the ride-on blaster leaving clean concrete behind it (left), and the Tremco Vulkem 350NF/950NF/951NF traffic coating that followed, across the deck under the curing tarps (right). More on the projects page.

The old coating being removed from the parkade roof deck in Gastown, Vancouver, bare concrete showing through before the recoat

The crew sweeping the prepared parkade roof deck in Gastown, Vancouver, ahead of the new traffic coating, the North Shore beyond the parapet

Coating removal on a 50,000 square foot parkade roof deck in Gastown, Vancouver, for Heatherbrae Builders: the old coating taken off down to the concrete (left), and the prepared deck swept clean ahead of the new Tremco Vulkem traffic coating (right). More on the projects page.

The concrete slab being ground under dust extraction before the decorative quartz floor at Costco Prince George, the patched areas showing pale

The first tan coat of the decorative quartz floor going down over the prepared slab at Costco Prince George, the coved base already formed along the wall

Costco, Prince George: the slab ground under dust extraction before the decorative quartz floor, the patched areas showing pale (left), and the first coat going down over the prepared concrete (right). More on the projects page.

A corridor slab in the UBC Biological Sciences Building with its joints and cracks patched before the Tennant coating system

A laboratory slab in the UBC Biological Sciences Building with its cracks and joints filled before coating

The UBC Biological Sciences Building, 2010: a corridor slab with its joints and cracks patched (left), and a laboratory with the crack and joint repairs filled before the Tennant coating system went down (right). More on our commercial floors page.

The concourse at Canlan Ice Sports in Burnaby being ground under dust extraction before the epoxy, the extractor and hose in front

Canlan Ice Sports, Burnaby, 2015: the concourse slab ground under dust extraction (left), and the edge detailed by hand along the glazing before the epoxy (right). More on the projects page.

Detail

Moisture testing is not optional in this climate.

In the Lower Mainland, slab moisture is the single most common reason coatings fail early. We test rather than assume — relative humidity probes drilled into the slab per ASTM F2170, and calcium chloride testing where it is the more appropriate method.

The reading determines the specification. Within tolerance, a standard primer is fine. Above it, you need a moisture-tolerant primer or a vapour barrier coat, and that has to be priced before the work starts. This is exactly the number that gets skipped on cheap quotes and discovered eight months later as blisters.

Questions we get

Straight answers.

Why is preparation such a large part of the quote?

Because it is a large part of the work, and because it is the part that determines whether the rest of it lasts. A coating is only as good as its bond to the slab, and the bond is created here.

Will grinding fill our building with dust?

No. Shot blasting is a closed-loop process with integrated vacuum recovery, and our grinders run on HEPA extraction. On occupied buildings we also set up containment so nothing reaches tenants or production areas.

Can you remove an existing coating?

Yes — that is one of the main things this equipment does. Removal cost depends on how well the old coating is stuck down, which is somewhat unpredictable, so we assess a test area before quoting a large floor.