Concrete Floor Repair & Overlay
A deteriorated concrete floor is not just an aesthetic problem — it is a safety hazard, a liability, and in most cases a sign that the substrate is no longer suitable for a new coating system without remediation first. Cracks widen under traffic. Spalls grow. Joint edges chip under forklift wheels. Applying a new epoxy or coating system over unrepaired concrete is one of the most common reasons flooring systems fail prematurely.
DTI performs concrete floor repair and overlay work as both a standalone service and as the preparatory phase of every flooring installation — fixing the substrate before anything goes on top of it.
Completed Projects
Roseville Fire Station
Fire station apparatus bays take constant punishment from heavy vehicle movement and fluid exposure. Before installing the broadcast epoxy system, DTI performed full substrate repair — filling active cracks, addressing spalled areas, and correcting joint deterioration along the apparatus bay floor. The repair phase ensured the epoxy system had a sound, consistent substrate to bond to across the full floor plate.
Burlington Store
Retail construction timelines leave little room for substrate issues discovered on site. Before polishing the Burlington floor, DTI assessed and addressed surface defects, filled control joints to the specified detail, and corrected high spots — delivering a flat, consistent surface for the Level 3 polish.
Services
Crack Repair
Concrete cracks are categorized as dormant (no longer moving) or active (still moving with thermal cycling or structural load). The repair method depends on the crack type:
Dormant cracks
Routed and filled with rigid epoxy injection or semi-rigid polyurea filler. The rigid fill restores structural continuity across the crack.
Active cracks
Routed wider and filled with flexible polyurea or polyurethane filler that accommodates continued movement without re-cracking. Rigid fill in an active crack will crack again — specifying the wrong material is one of the most common repair failures in the industry.
DTI assesses crack activity before specifying repair material. The right fill for the right crack.
Joint Fill & Restoration
Control joints and construction joints in warehouse and industrial floors deteriorate under forklift wheel impact — the edges chip and spall, creating trip hazards and points where coatings fail. DTI fills deteriorated joints with semi-rigid polyurea joint filler, ground flush after cure. Semi-rigid filler flexes slightly with joint movement while providing a hard, wheel-load-bearing surface at the joint edge.
For new coating installations, joint fill is performed before any epoxy or resinous system is applied — joints are never buried under a coating without being addressed first.
Spall Repair
Concrete spalling — surface delamination and pop-outs — occurs from freeze-thaw cycling, rebar corrosion, impact damage, or poor original concrete mix design. Spalled areas must be repaired before coating or polishing. DTI removes loose material to sound concrete, applies bonding agent, and fills with cementitious or epoxy repair mortar matched to the surrounding surface profile.
Surface Grinding & Leveling
High spots, ridges, and uneven slabs affect coating adhesion, polished concrete uniformity, and trip hazard risk. DTI grinds high spots and levels surface irregularities using diamond tooling — either as part of full surface preparation or as a standalone corrective scope when flatness is the issue without a full coating installation following.
Shot Blasting & Surface Profile Correction
Shot blasting mechanically cleans and profiles the concrete surface — removing contamination, laitance, and existing coatings while opening the pore structure for improved coating adhesion. DTI operates shot blasting equipment on all preparation scopes and can perform profile correction as a standalone service for facilities preparing to have flooring installed by others.
Overlay Systems
When a concrete substrate is too deteriorated, contaminated, or structurally compromised for repair-and-coat, an overlay provides a new wearable surface over the existing slab.
1/4" to 1/2" thickness
High compressive strength, suitable for heavy industrial environments. Rebuilds severely damaged surfaces that can no longer be restored through spot repair alone.
Heavy manufacturing, loading docks, severe damage
Variable — corrects major flatness issues
Thin cementitious overlay for correcting major flatness issues before a finish flooring system is applied. Flows to a consistent plane across an uneven slab.
Substrate prep before finish flooring
1/8" or less
Used to resurface lightly deteriorated surfaces or provide a fresh bonding layer for new coatings. The lightest-weight overlay option when structural integrity is sound.
Light surface restoration, rebonding layer
Why Repair Before You Coat
The most expensive flooring repair is the one that happens 18 months after installation because the substrate wasn't addressed properly the first time. Delaminated epoxy, re-cracked joint fill, and coating failure at spall edges are almost always preventable with correct prep and repair.
DTI's standard pre-installation process includes substrate assessment, moisture testing, and a written repair scope before any flooring system is specified or priced. If your floor needs work before coating, we'll tell you — and include it in the project scope rather than discovering it after mobilization.
Dormant vs. Active
Crack type assessed before material is specified
Semi-Rigid Fill
Joint filler spec for wheel-load-bearing edges
Written Scope
Repair plan provided before installation pricing