Concrete Floor Stripping & Removal in Glendale, CA - a bare slab ready for the next floor
Old coating peeling, or tile and glue blocking a new floor? We test what needs it, strip it and leave a clean slab.
- Licensed and insured.
- Free in-person estimates.
- We respond within 1 business day.
What does stripping a concrete floor actually involve?
Concrete floor stripping and removal in Glendale, CA takes paint, epoxy, old tile or mastic, the glue left under old flooring, off your slab and gets the concrete ready for a new floor. Grinding also knocks down high spots, so the next floor sits flatter.
Most people call us because a coating is peeling or a new floor is planned and something old is in the way. The price turns on what's on the slab, how many layers there are, how big the room is and whether an older layer has to be tested first. The schedule turns mostly on that test and on what the concrete looks like once it's bare. If you're thinking about taking out the slab itself, that's a different job, and I'll talk it through with you when I come out. Either way, the written estimate I give you after seeing the floor spells out the prep and each step, so you're not guessing at your own figure.
Is concrete floor stripping right for your floor?
Coating that's peeling up
When old epoxy or paint lifts in patches, a new coat over it usually peels right along with it.
Old tile on the slab
Vinyl tile or sheet flooring has to come up before a coating can grip the concrete underneath.
Glue left from old flooring
Mastic left behind after carpet or tile came up keeps a new coating from bonding to bare concrete.
A work floor being redone
Shop and restaurant floors with a worn-out coating need the old layer off before a tougher one goes down.
How we handle concrete floor stripping and removal
On an older floor, I get the coating or tile tested before anyone touches it, because old layers can hold things you can't see by looking, and grinding or blasting first would turn them into dust. Then I'll ask whether the old layer really has to come up, since keeping it is sometimes the better call, as I explain below. Once it's cleared, we pick the removal method that suits your floor, capture the dust as we go and finish with bare concrete ready for whatever goes on next.
Most stripping jobs lead straight into a new floor. In a house that's usually epoxy floor coatings or garage floor coatings, and on a shop or restaurant floor it's commercial and industrial epoxy floor coatings, made for heavier daily use.
Diamond grinding
Diamond-pad grinders take off coatings, mastic, epoxy and paint, which makes them a fit for most garage, basement and shop floors. The trade-off is dust, and we catch it at the machine as we work.
Shot blasting
Shot blasting moves fast across a big, open floor, but it takes specialized equipment and an experienced operator. It may not suit small repair areas, rooms with irregular edges or spaces where noise and containment are a big concern.
Scarifying
Scarifying cuts through thicker, tougher layers, but one maker's guide says it can damage and loosen the top of the concrete. The same guide says a scarified floor must be shot blasted afterward, so it's a two-step job.
What happens when you call us to strip a floor in Glendale?
Call us or send the form
Call (747) 372-8604 or fill in the form and tell us what's on the floor now. We'll set a time for me to come see it.
I check the floor in person
I come out myself to look for damp spots, cracks and old coatings, and to hear what you want the floor to do next. If it's an older floor, this is when we book the testing, because nothing gets ground or lifted until the results are back.
You get a written estimate
It spells out the prep, the product and each step, including how we'll take the old layer off and catch the dust. Nothing about the plan or what you're paying for is a guess.
We strip it and walk it
My crew and I do the prep and removal ourselves, with no hand-off to another outfit. When the slab is clean, I walk it with you before we pack up.
Removing old flooring or covering it over
If it's one sound layer, covering often wins.
Floor covering industry guidance treats tearing out an old resilient floor, like vinyl tile or sheet, as the last option. It prefers laying the new floor right over the old one, as long as there's only a single layer there. I lean the same way, because a layer that stays put doesn't make any dust.
So before we strip anything, I'll ask whether the old layer can stay. It usually can't when there's already more than one layer, when it's coming loose, or when the new floor is a coating that has to bond straight to concrete. In those cases we take it up, using the method that suits your floor.
Concrete and coated floor examples
Look through these examples of epoxy, polished and coated concrete floors to get a feel for what a clean slab can turn into.
Get a written plan for stripping your floor
Tell us the floor's age, what's on it now and roughly how big the room is, and we'll reply within one business day to set up your free on-site estimate. I come out myself, and there's no obligation.
Why Glendale homeowners call Ironwood Epoxy Flooring of Glendale to strip a floor
The owner comes out and leads
I come out to see the floor and write the estimate, and I lead the crew that does the work. The person who planned your job is the one standing on it while the old layer comes off.
Prep learned on my dad's jobs
I learned to prep and coat concrete working beside my dad, and I started this business in Glendale in 2023 to keep doing it his careful way. His view was that floors fail from underneath, and stripping is the underneath part.
Licensed and insured for floor prep
California's contractor license board counts preparing a surface for flooring as part of a flooring contractor's work, and stripping is exactly that preparation. We're licensed and insured, so you know who's grinding in your house.
Backed by our satisfaction guarantee
Every stripping job we do is backed by our satisfaction guarantee. To get started, call (747) 372-8604 or send us the estimate form.
Questions about stripping a concrete floor
Could the old floor tile in my Glendale house contain asbestos?
It can, if the floor is old enough. Vinyl asbestos tile and asphalt tile contain asbestos fibers, and so did some asphalt-based "cutback" glues and the backings of many sheet vinyl floors. You can't tell by looking, so on an older floor we get it tested before any work starts.
How much does it cost to strip a concrete floor in Glendale?
Your price comes in the written estimate after I've seen the floor, because the same size room can be a very different job depending on what's on it. One thin coat of paint in a small garage takes far less work than thick epoxy or tile and glue across a big room, and an older layer that needs testing adds a step. Keeping a sound old floor and covering it, when that's an option, can bring the cost down.
What is the best way to take up old vinyl tile and glue?
Get it tested first, and don't let anyone sand or dry scrape it. Floor covering guidance rules out sanding, dry sweeping, dry scraping, drilling or chipping old resilient flooring and its glue, since they may contain asbestos fibers or crystalline silica. Ask any crew you're comparing how they plan to take your old floor up.
How do I keep dust down when grinding a coating off concrete?
Run a capable dust collector on the grinder, which one coating maker's guide says must be used because diamond grinding throws a lot of dust. Water sprays and vacuums with HEPA filters, the kind that trap fine dust, also cut it down. We capture the dust as we go, and it's a fair question to put to every crew you talk to.
Do I need an asbestos survey before a floor renovation in Glendale?
Yes, the South Coast air district and federal asbestos rules require an asbestos survey by a Cal/OSHA Certified Asbestos Consultant before a renovation. For a renovation, the district says the survey report covers only the materials the work may disturb, so it looks at what the job will touch, not the whole building. I'll go over where your job stands on this when I come out.
How long does concrete floor stripping take?
It turns mostly on what's on the slab and how much of it there is. A single coat of paint comes off quicker than layers of epoxy or tile and glue, and an older floor waits on its test results before we start. Once the floor is bare, any cracks or damp spots we find get dealt with before the next floor goes on.
Ready to talk about your floor?
I come out, look at the floor and give you a written estimate spelling out the prep, product and each step.
Floors that start with a clean slab
Concrete floor stripping and removal in Glendale
Before any floor job in Glendale, I check with the city about permits and tell you what I find before work starts, so you know where things stand. The city handles all its applications through its online permit portal, so if your job needs one, that's where it goes. The state's job safety agency, Cal/OSHA, counts removing any part of a building as construction work, and its silica dust rule covers the dust that work makes, which is one more reason we catch dust at the machine.
Around Glendale we see plenty of older homes with garage floors painted or coated more than once, and basements with old tile glue still on the slab. We meet the same floors on jobs in Burbank and Pasadena, and we handle them the same careful way.