Project example: a 6,000 square foot flex-warehouse floor in a Vacaville business park — what it involves and what it costs

The scenario

A small distribution tenant leases a flex building in a business park near the freeway. The floor is a newer slab with saw-cut joints every few yards. It is bare, a little dusty and has some tire marks from the forklift.

The tenant wants a brighter, sealed floor and does not want to stop shipping. The work is planned in two halves over two weekends, with racking and pallets moved to the finished half by the tenant.

The moisture grid reads high along the back wall, where the slab is shaded and sits against a landscaped strip. A vapor-barrier primer goes on the whole floor so the coating does not change at the edge of the damp zone.

The tenant picks a quartz-broadcast system rather than a plain color because the whole floor is swept and scrubbed daily and the texture holds up to pallet-jack wheels.

What the job involves

1. Tenant and installer walk the shell and mark the forklift lanes, rack footprints and any doors that must stay usable.
2. Half the bay is cleared. The slab is shot-blasted or ground, section by section, with the dust drawn into a collector.
3. Saw-cut joints are cleaned out and moisture readings are taken on a grid across the slab.
4. The vapor-barrier primer is rolled out, then the pigmented base, then quartz is broadcast to rejection and the loose grains are swept up.
5. A sealer goes over the quartz, and the joints are filled with a flexible filler.
6. When the data sheet permits, pallet jacks return to the first half and the crew switches sides.

Materials and prep

• Ride-on or walk-behind surface grinder with a dust collector
• Moisture probes and test kits
• Primer, pigmented epoxy, graded quartz and sealer
• Joint filler and squeegees

Add-ons often paired with this job

• Line striping and zone marking — +$300–$1,200. Lane lines and zone marking are a separate flat line.
• Coved base, about 100 linear feet — +$800–$2,200. A coved edge is occasional in a dry warehouse; it matters most next to an office or a break room.

Why it is done this way

A warehouse bill is mostly square footage. The system rate does the heavy lifting, the slab surcharge reflects what the grid of moisture tests finds, and the flat lines stay small beside them.

The vapor-barrier primer draws the most debate. It lifts the per-square-foot figure, yet a damp slab under a coating is a well-known reason for blisters and peeling, so the grid comes first and the primer follows only where readings call for it.

At 6,000 square feet an installer may spread setup costs over more floor and quote a slightly lower rate; the calculator keeps a single rate so the range stays on the cautious side.

What would change the price

• The moisture grid reads normal everywhere and the primer drops off the bill.
• Part of the floor carries old paint or a sealer that has to come off first.
• The dock apron needs a heavier build than the aisles.
• Lane striping is added or left out.
• The bay is 10,000 square feet instead of 6,000.