A warehouse floor takes more punishment than almost any commercial floor. Forklift wheels (sometimes hard, sometimes solid), pallet drops, chemical spills, constant traffic, and decades of expected service. Gatineau Concrete installs full warehouse floor coating systems sized to the actual conditions, epoxy where exposure is moderate, urethane where it is severe, all on properly prepped slabs that bond the system for the long run. Every project starts with a free written estimate.
Most warehouse floor coating failures trace back to two things: wrong spec for the actual load, or wrong slab prep for the system. A spec that handles regular truck traffic will fail under solid-wheel forklift loads in the first year; a perfect spec applied to an under-prepped slab will delaminate at the first major spill. The right combination of system spec and slab prep is what makes the floor last.
We start with the load assessment, what kind of forklift traffic, how much pallet handling, what chemical exposure, then specify the system that matches. For high-traffic forklift zones, see forklift-rated epoxy as the spec-up option. We pair the coating with proper joint filling so the joints do not become failure points.
We walk the warehouse with operations, identify forklift types (pneumatic vs solid wheel), pallet handling patterns, any chemical exposure zones, and the slab condition. The spec follows the actual conditions, not a template.
Diamond-grind and repair
The slab is diamond-ground to the system's prep profile, contaminants and old coatings removed, cracks repaired with bonded materials, and any spalled areas patched before the new system goes down.
Prime, body, broadcast
The matched primer is applied, body coat installed at engineered thickness, and aggregate broadcast where slip resistance or extra wear is required (loading zones, ramps). Each step cures to spec before the next.
Topcoat and protect joints
The topcoat seals the system and provides the wear surface; control joints are filled with semi-rigid joint filler so they support load instead of acting as failure points under forklift wheels.
Operations stay running
Phasing Keeps Warehouses Operating
Few warehouses can fully shut down for a coating install. We phase the project zone-by-zone so operations continue in the rest of the building while one section gets prepped, coated, and cured. The phasing plan is part of the quote and built around your inventory flow and shift pattern.
Coordinate with adjacent floor repair if some sections need work before the new coating, and with the broader industrial concrete work in the facility. The phasing approach scales from small warehouses to multi-zone distribution centers.
Epoxy vs urethane, forklift loads, slab prep and phasing around operations.
Epoxy for moderate-traffic warehouses with limited chemical exposure; urethane for severe environments (cold storage, food processing, heavy chemical). We spec based on the actual conditions, not a default.
For solid-wheel forklift traffic, yes. The standard warehouse coating may not handle the point loads from solid wheels. See forklift-rated epoxy for that spec; the price difference is small compared to the failure cost.
Yes, by phasing zone-by-zone. The phasing plan is built around your inventory flow and shift pattern so most of the warehouse stays operational while specific sections get the install.
Forklift wheels rolling over open or improperly filled control joints cause edge spalling and coating failure at every pass. Semi-rigid joint fill turns the joints into supported edges that the wheels can roll across without damaging the floor.
Per zone, typically a few days for prep and install plus cure before returning to service. Whole-warehouse projects stretch across weeks when phased around operations. The full schedule is in the quote.
Client reviews
What Gatineau Operations Say About Their Warehouse Coatings
Phased the install across our distribution center over three weekends. Operations never stopped, coating is rated for our forklift fleet, two years in with no failures. Right engineering, right schedule.
X. P3
Warehouse Manager, Gatineau
★★★★★
They specced urethane for our chemical exposure zone and standard epoxy elsewhere. Two systems in one project, matched to actual conditions. Better value than over-speccing everywhere.
Z. P3
Logistics Director, Ottawa
★★★★★
Joint filler at every control joint as part of the install. Forklifts roll across them without the edge damage we used to see. The detail work pays off.
Y. P3
Distribution Operations, Barrhaven
★★★★★
Diamond grind was their first step, not a roller of primer. The bond has held perfectly through full pallet drops. Slab prep is everything; they nailed it.
Q. P3
Warehouse Operations, Nepean
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