Epoxy Flooring in Harrison, WI

A lot of epoxy flooring requests in Harrison start with a house that is only a few years old. The village did not exist on paper until March 8, 2013, when it was created from most of the Town of Harrison. The area was already growing fast by then. Its population jumped 88% from 2000 to 2010, from 5,756 to 10,839, and kept climbing to 12,418 by 2020. Wikipedia notes that most new development sits in the northwest part of the village, including residential areas and several new apartment complexes.

Coating a young slab

People often assume a new garage floor is the easy job. It has its own set of problems.

Moisture. Fresh concrete gives off water for a long time after it is poured. Coat it too early and that vapor can push up under the coating and cause bubbles or lifting. We test before we commit to a date.

A slick surface. Builders finish garage slabs smooth and hard. That is good concrete, but it is a poor bonding surface. Diamond grinding opens it up so the base coat can soak in and lock on.

Early cracks. Most new slabs develop a few shrinkage cracks in the first couple of years. We fill them during prep so they do not show through the finish.

Curing compounds. Some slabs are sprayed with a curing or sealing product when they are poured. It has to come off, and grinding removes it.

The other half of Harrison

The village is not all subdivisions. It covers almost 32 square miles, and agriculture, including dairy farming, crop production and livestock, is still a big part of it. Most farms are in the eastern and southern parts of the village. Farm shops, machine sheds and heated workshops see heavy tires, dropped tools, hydraulic fluid and plenty of mud. Our shop and warehouse floor epoxy uses thicker coats and a textured topcoat for that kind of use.

Which system fits which building

• Newer attached garage: flake epoxy with a polyaspartic clear coat
• Garage you need back quickly: a polyaspartic system with a faster return to service
• Finished lower level in a new home: a basement floor coating after a moisture test
• Farm shop or pole building slab: a heavier shop-grade system with grit for traction
• Apartment or rental garage: a simple solid color with anti-slip texture that is easy to clean between tenants

Why we do not rush a new floor

When a garage is only a year or two old, it is tempting to coat it the week after closing. We understand. Most people want it done before the first snow and before the garage fills up. Still, the schedule has to follow the concrete. On install day we check slab temperature as well as moisture, because coatings cure slowly and unevenly on cold concrete. In a Wisconsin fall, that can mean starting later in the morning or picking a warmer week. For a heated garage, the window is wider. Whatever the case, we explain the cure times for walking, moving things back and parking before we begin, and we stick to them. A day of patience at the start is far cheaper than grinding off a failed floor later.

Where the village sits

Harrison borders Appleton and Menasha and includes the North Shore Golf Club on the north shore of Lake Winnebago, a course built in 1930. We serve homes and farms across the village, on both the Calumet and Outagamie County sides. Call (920) 587-7291 to set up a visit.