Worked case: a 900 square foot restaurant kitchen in urethane cement downtown — what happens and what it costs

The scenario

A restaurant in an older masonry building near Main Street plans to rebuild its kitchen. The existing floor is quarry tile with open grout lines, and the slab beneath it has cracks near the walk-in cooler and the dish pit.

The line is washed down with hot water every night, so the proposed system is urethane cement, which tolerates heat and thermal shock better than standard epoxy. A coved base at the walls is part of the design because California's food code asks for one.

A moisture test is made at several spots, and the slab, which sits on old fill with an unknown barrier, reads high near the back wall. A vapor-barrier primer is added.

The owner closes the kitchen for a block of days. Before the work starts, the finish schedule is sent to the Solano County Department of Resource Management, Environmental Health Services, which handles plan check and inspection for food facilities.

What the job involves

1. The owner sends the finish schedule, naming the floor and cove materials, to the county for plan check and keeps the reply.
2. The tile is removed and the slab is ground or shot-blasted; the lab result on any adhesive is checked before grinding.
3. Cracks near the cooler and dish pit are cut, filled and ground flush.
4. Moisture is tested at a grid of spots, and a vapor-barrier primer is applied.
5. The plumber checks the slope toward the drain; the coating is not asked to fix it.
6. Urethane cement is troweled, the cove is formed at the walls, and the surface is sealed per the data sheet.

Materials and prep

• Grinder or shot blaster with dust collection
• Crack repair mortar and moisture test kits
• Vapor-barrier primer, urethane cement, aggregate and cove trowels
• Sealer and drain edge trim

Add-ons often paired with this job

• Line striping and zone marking — +$300–$1,200. Zone lines are rare in a kitchen but possible in a prep corridor.
• Saw-cut joint filling, about 150 linear feet — +$300–$1,200. Saw-cut joints in the slab are filled before the system goes down.

Why it is done this way

Urethane cement costs more per square foot than epoxy, and in this example the cracks and the moisture primer each add to the rate, while the cove is a flat line sized at about 100 linear feet.

No agency approves a flooring product. The county reviews the plans for new or remodeled food facilities and inspects them, and the owner keeps the finish schedule and the reply with the job file.

An older building raises one more question: old tile adhesive can contain asbestos, so a small sample goes to a lab before anyone grinds. If the test is positive, a specialist handles that removal first.

What would change the price

• The moisture test reads normal and the primer is dropped.
• The cove runs longer than 100 linear feet.
• The county asks for a revised finish schedule.
• Only the dish room is done in urethane cement and the rest stays epoxy.
• Drain or slope work comes first and delays the coating.