A brand-new Kirkland garage was moisture tested, ground and coated in Stoney Creek flake polyurea in one October day, before anything moved in.
The best time to coat a garage floor is when there's nothing in the garage. This Kirkland home was newly built: fresh drywall, a tankless water heater and utility panel tucked into a closet, white doors, and a clean, pale slab that had never seen a car. The owners wanted the floor done before boxes, bikes and tools started piling up.
In October 2025 our crew installed a garage floor coating in Kirkland with Certified Penntek polyurea in Stoney Creek flake. One day, an empty room, and a floor that will look the same years from now as it did when the crew taped a "please remove shoes" sign to the door.
New slabs can look perfect and still hold a lot of water from the pour. At the free consultation in late August 2025 we took three moisture readings: 4.7%, 4.6% and 4.3%. A scratch test checked surface hardness so the grind could be set up right.
The concrete had a smooth trowel finish, saw-cut control joints, a few small surface pops and some construction marks. A smooth, hard finish like that is exactly what coatings struggle to stick to if it isn't ground properly.
The closet, the door thresholds and the control joints all got the same attention as the open floor.
Stoney Creek is a mid-tone blend of warm greys, tans and white chips. When the garage door is open, afternoon sun pours across the floor, and the blend reads soft and warm instead of cold. With the doors closed it settles into a neutral grey that goes with the white walls and trim.
Stoney Creek doesn't have its own color page yet. You can compare it with similar blends on our styles and colors page.
New concrete keeps curing and shrinking for a long time. Small shrinkage cracks are normal in the first few years. A rigid coating will crack right along with them. The Penntek basecoat is flexible, so it moves with the slab instead. You can see that in the Penntek Stretch Test.
Moisture is the other risk. A coating that traps vapor in a damp slab can bubble and lift. That's why every Cascade consult starts with a meter, and why there's a two-layer moisture barrier system for slabs that need one. Our post on whether moisture will ruin a garage coating explains the details.
The floor carries a limited lifetime warranty backed by Penntek, registered on the day of the install.
Kirkland has a lot of new construction and rebuilds on older lots. If you're moving into a new house, coating the garage before move-in day saves you from emptying it later. Learn more about our garage floor coatings in Kirkland, or see a Kirkland garage we coated in Tidal Wave for a bolder color.
Comparing installers for a new home? Our list of questions to ask a concrete coating contractor is a good place to start.
It depends on how much moisture is still in the slab, not just the calendar. Cascade tests every slab at the consult. This one read 4.3% to 4.7% before installation.
Yes. A smooth trowel finish is too slick for a coating to bond well. Diamond grinding opens the surface so the polyurea can form a chemical bond with the concrete.
Before is easier. An empty garage means no shuffling boxes, cars or shelving, and the crew can reach every wall and corner. Lived-in garages can be coated too, they just need to be cleared first.
Building or just bought a new home? Book a free in-home quote or call 425-226-6085 and we'll test the slab and help you pick a color before move-in.
Here's just a few of our previous projects.
