Epoxy Flooring in East Dubuque, IL

Epoxy flooring in East Dubuque is a short drive for us. The city sits on the Illinois bank of the Mississippi, and the Julien Dubuque Bridge lands you on U.S. Route 20 a few minutes from our home base. Most of what we coat here is in homes that have been standing a long time: single-car garages, basements with old paint on the floor, and the occasional shop space off Sinsinawa Avenue. We grind the slab, fix what is broken and seal it so winter slush stays on top.

A town of established homes

East Dubuque was platted in 1853 under the name Dunleith and took its current name in 1879. Its population peaked at 2,408 in the 1970 census and stood at 1,505 in 2020. A town that has been shrinking for fifty years is not adding many new subdivisions, so the floors we see are almost all in existing houses. That usually means concrete with some history. Expect hairline cracks, a worn surface near the overhead door, oil from past cars, and sometimes a coat of porch paint that has started to peel.

None of that rules out a coating. It just changes the prep. Old paint has to come off completely, because epoxy bonded to loose paint fails along with it. Our diamond grinder takes the floor down to sound concrete, and we patch pits and fill cracks before the base coat goes on.

Floors for people who plan to stay

Census figures for 2020 show 24.1% of East Dubuque residents are 65 or older, and 42.5% of households are a single person. Many of the owners we talk with here want a floor that is easy to sweep, easy to see on and less slippery when wet. A few choices help with that:

• Flake chip finishes add texture underfoot. We can add extra grit to the topcoat for more grip by the entry door.
• Lighter base colors brighten a dim basement or garage and make a dropped screw easier to find.
• Smooth transitions at the garage-to-house step and the basement stairs, with any chipped edges rebuilt first.

Rentals and side-by-side units

The city counted 771 housing units in 2020, and its rental vacancy rate was 9.8%, well above the 1.0% rate for owner homes. Landlords turn units over here, and a sealed basement or garage floor cleans up faster between tenants than bare concrete that holds stains and smells. For rentals we often suggest a mid-tone flake floor, which hides wear and is simple to touch up if a section gets damaged.

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Hills, river and the Driftless Area

East Dubuque is part of the Driftless Area, the same unglaciated hill country as Dubuque. Streets climb away from the river, and winter road crews treat them for ice. Whatever lands on the pavement ends up in your garage. If your driveway is steep, meltwater also tends to run toward the door, so the first few feet inside the garage take the most abuse. We check that zone closely for scaling and flaking and repair it before coating.

Services that fit East Dubuque homes

• Garage floor epoxy for one- and two-car garages
• Basement floor coatings over older, previously painted slabs
• Concrete crack and floor repair for worn entries and broken joints
• Polyaspartic topcoats when you need the garage back in service quickly