Epoxy Flooring in Bismarck, ND

Epoxy flooring in Bismarck covers a wider range of slabs than most people expect. The city was founded in 1872, became the territorial capital in 1883, and grew from 61,272 people in 2010 to 73,622 in 2020. That growth sits on top of more than a century of older building. On a single week of estimates we can see a hand-poured garage floor behind an early 1900s house, a south-side basement on former floodplain, and a three-stall builder slab on the north edge that is still wearing its cure-and-seal. Each one needs a different plan before any coating goes down.

Older lots near downtown

The Cathedral District, named for the Art Deco Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, has homes that date to the 1880s and many more from the early 20th century. Residents there have pushed back on street widening to save the American elms that line the blocks. Garages behind those homes were often added decades after the house, so the slabs vary a lot. We find thin pours, old paint, oil that has soaked in for years, and cracks that have opened and closed through many winters. Those floors get a full grind, crack and spall repair, and usually a flake broadcast that hides the uneven texture old concrete keeps even after repair.

The south side and the river

Wikipedia notes that development on Bismarck's south side expanded after the Garrison Dam was finished in 1953, because the floodplain became more practical to build on. It also notes the Upper Missouri is still subject to seasonal flooding. In June 2011 the dam released a record of about 150,000 cubic feet per second, more than double the previous record on the dam's flow table. Homes nearer the river can have higher groundwater in wet years, and that shows up as moisture in basement slabs. We run a moisture test on every basement before we quote a system. When readings are high, we talk through a moisture-tolerant primer or advise holding off until the source is fixed.

The north side

Much of Bismarck's recent residential and commercial growth has come on the north side, following the expanding retail centers. These are the attached two- and three-stall garages that make up most of our garage floor coating and polyaspartic work. The concrete is usually sound. The common problems are a smooth, sealed surface and early shrinkage cracks at the control joints. Grinding opens the surface so the base coat can bond, and we fill or honor the joints depending on how they are moving.

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How the city's winter reaches your floor

The City of Bismarck's snow and ice plan summary says it keeps 6,000 tons of mixed sand ready for the season, with 8% salt blended in so the pile does not freeze solid. Emergency routes are plowed at 2 inches of snow, school and major routes at 3 inches, and residential streets at 4 inches. So by the time your street is cleared, you have usually driven through sand and salt for a day or two. That grit packs into tire treads and drops on the garage floor as it thaws. On a gloss coating it scratches. On a flake floor with a hard polyaspartic topcoat it shows far less and sweeps up.

Shops inside city limits

Bismarck has more working shops than its office-heavy employer list suggests. The city's 2024 financial report lists Bobcat/Doosan with about 1,280 local jobs, and plenty of residents keep a heated shop at home. On the rural residential lots at the edge of town, the city's accessory building guide caps total shop and garage space at 1,400 square feet on lots of 40,000 square feet or less, and up to 2,400 or 3,200 square feet on larger lots with a special use permit. Buildings that size usually carry pickups, trailers, sleds and equipment. For those we recommend our Shop & Pole Barn Floor Epoxy system, built thicker with a chemical-resistant top layer for fuel, hydraulic fluid and tire chains.

Matching the system to the room

• Garage Floor Coating: our standard for daily parking and winter slush
• Epoxy Flake Floors: the usual pick for older or patched Bismarck slabs, since chips hide texture and sand
• Polyaspartic Floor Coating: for households with one garage and no other place to park
• Shop & Pole Barn Floor Epoxy: for heated shops on larger lots and in the city's industrial areas
• Basement Floor Epoxy: after a moisture test, especially near the river
• Metallic Epoxy Floors: for finished lower levels, home bars and offices

About 65.5% of Bismarck homes are owner-occupied according to Census estimates, so many of our calls also come from landlords and property managers. A sealed basement or garage floor cleans up fast between tenants and does not hold old oil stains.