Worked case: a 1,200-square-foot restaurant kitchen floor in urethane cement with a coved base, Village area — what happens and what it costs

The scenario

Picture a restaurant in an older storefront near the Village. The kitchen is about 1,200 square feet, with a cooking line, a dish area, prep tables, a walk-in cooler and a dry-storage room. The floor is old quarry tile with grout lines worn open, cracked tiles near the dish pit and a drain that sits a little proud of the surface. Water and grease collect in the low corners, and the wall-to-floor joint is open in several places.

The owner has planned a short closure and wants a seamless floor that handles hot-water washdown. A county plan check is part of the job because floor and cove base finishes are changing, and the owner or the restaurant's designer submits the finish schedule.

The starting conditions at a glance:

• Size: about 1,200 square feet of kitchen
• Existing floor: worn quarry tile, open grout lines, a few cracked tiles
• Washdown zones: cooking line, dish area and prep
• System: urethane cement with a coved base, up to 100 linear feet
• Schedule: a planned closure of several days

What the job involves

1. The owner or designer prepares the finish schedule for the county's plan check, which covers floor, wall and cove base finishes; work starts after the plan is cleared.
2. The old tile and adhesive are removed with a chipping tool or a scarifier, and the exposed slab is ground and vacuumed.
3. Cracks are filled, low spots are leveled and the slope toward the drain is checked and corrected.
4. A moisture check is run, because a slab under old tile can hold moisture and urethane cement is sensitive to it.
5. The urethane cement is mixed in batches and troweled or poured in a controlled thickness, with a cove formed at the wall and at the equipment bases.
6. The surface is finished with the texture the product calls for, and the floor cures for the time on the data sheet before the kitchen restocks and reopens.

Materials and prep

• Chipping hammers, a scarifier and a diamond grinder with vacuum
• Repair mortar and leveling material for low spots
• Urethane cement base, a texture aggregate and a sealer where the product calls for one
• Trowels, a gauge rake, a cove forming tool and mixing equipment
• A moisture meter, a thermometer and ventilation fans

Add-ons often paired with this job

• Joint filling (saw cuts and control joints) — +$400–$1,200. Expansion and control joints are filled with a flexible material suited to hot water.
• Line striping and safety markings — +$300–$900. A safety line near the cooking area can be marked on top of the coating.

Why it is done this way

Urethane cement is the usual answer for a floor that takes hot-water washdowns. It tolerates heat and thermal shock better than standard epoxy, which can soften and delaminate when hot water hits and the surface cools. It goes down thicker and costs more, $10–$18 per square foot in the estimator against $3–$7 for solid epoxy.

A coved base is part of the answer to the California Retail Food Code, which asks for floors that are smooth, durable, nonabsorbent and easily cleanable, with a coved base where floor meets wall. The cove closes the seam where dirt and water collect.

The county plan check is the step that surprises owners. San Diego County's Department of Environmental Health reviews plans for new and remodeled food facilities, and changed floor, wall, cove base or ceiling finishes can trigger review. The published guidance puts a decision at about twenty working days from a complete application, and appointments are required. The owner submits the schedule; the contractor delivers what is on it.

No flooring brand is approved by a federal agency, so the right question for a quote is whether the finished floor meets the plan on file and the county's expectations, not whether the product carries a seal.

The alternatives that were weighed and set aside:

• Epoxy with grit would cost less for the dry storage room and prep area and is a reasonable split for them.
• Quarry tile is a different trade, with grout lines that need steady care.

What would change the price

• A damp slab under the tile adds the moisture line of $2–$5 per square foot.
• A longer cove, around equipment and doorways, adds to the cove line.
• Slab repair after tile removal is larger than the repair line assumed.
• A phased schedule keeps part of the kitchen open and lengthens the job.
• Drain, slope or plumbing work is outside coating work and is not in these ranges.