Short answer: yes, you can epoxy over an existing floor. But here's what we've learned after 25 years of laying epoxy floors across Ipswich, Toowoomba, and everywhere in between — the coating itself is almost never the problem. It's everything that happens before the first drop of epoxy touches your concrete that decides whether your floor looks brilliant in ten years, or starts peeling in ten months.
So let me give you the honest version. No fluff.
Your Concrete Is Ready — Or It Isn't. There's No In-Between.
Concrete looks indestructible, but it's actually full of tiny pores that epoxy needs to grip. If those pores are blocked — by an old sealer, a previous paint job, oil that soaked in years ago, or moisture sitting below the slab — the epoxy has nothing solid to bond to. It'll look fine for a while. Then it'll start to bubble, lift, and peel, and no amount of patching will fix it properly.
Before we lay a single drop of epoxy, we check for:
- Trapped moisture — the number one cause of epoxy failure in Queensland slabs, especially on ground-level floors
- Old coatings and sealers — these need to come off completely, not just be roughed up
- Oil and chemical staining — common in garages and workshops, and it has to be treated properly, not just painted over
- Cracks and surface damage — small cracks can be filled and prepared; bigger structural issues need sorting first
This is why professional surface preparation — usually diamond grinding — isn't optional. It opens up the concrete so the epoxy can actually bond, rather than just sitting on top.
So What Happens If There's Already Paint or a Coating on the Floor?
We get asked this a lot, especially by homeowners in Toowoomba who've had a painted garage floor for years and want to upgrade it. The answer is straightforward: you can't just coat over it.
Most existing paints and floor coatings are chemically incompatible with epoxy. If you apply epoxy on top, your new floor is only as strong as the old paint underneath — which, if it's already flaking in the corners or showing its age, isn't strong at all. The old material has to come off. It adds time to the job, but it's the only way to get a result that actually lasts.
What Floors Work Best With Epoxy?
Most standard concrete slabs in Queensland homes are excellent candidates for epoxy — they just need the right preparation. The most popular applications we see from homeowners across Ipswich and Toowoomba include:
- Garage floors — tough enough to handle tyres, oil, tools, and years of use
- Driveways — sealed against Queensland UV, heat, and rain without constant maintenance
- Workshops and sheds — chemical-resistant, easy to clean, and far more durable than bare concrete
- Patios and entertainment areas — a seamless, polished finish that actually lifts the whole space
Epoxy suits commercial properties just as well, but for most homeowners, the garage and driveway are where it delivers the best return — in durability, appearance, and long-term value.
How Quickly Can You Actually Get an Epoxy Floor Done?
Faster than most people expect. We complete most residential epoxy floor installations within 10 days of booking — prep, primer, and top coat included. You're not waiting around for weeks.
Curing time varies depending on the product and conditions, but you'll have your space back quickly. If you want to see the full process and the finish options we offer, our epoxy flooring pagecovers everything in detail.
The Bit That Actually Protects Your Investment
A quality epoxy floor isn't just about how it looks on day one. It's about whether it still looks good — and still performs — years down the track. That's why we back every epoxy floor we lay with a 10-year warranty, and why every job starts with a free on-site inspection before we quote a cent.
We've been doing this since 1997. We know what Queensland conditions do to floors — the heat, the humidity, the summer storms. We know what preparation is needed for slabs in Ipswich versus what we typically find in Toowoomba. And we know that cutting corners on prep is never, ever worth it.
If your floor's been on your mind, stop wondering and just get us out to have a look. It costs you nothing, and you'll know exactly where you stand.
Book your free on-site inspection → propertiesunlimitedgroup.com.au/contact-us/