Concrete grinding cost runs about $1.29 a square foot with us for the open floor. We use diamond tooling to open up an old slab and leave it clean and rough, ready for the next floor. A 1,000 SF slab runs about $1,300 before the drive cost, which is our trip out to your site. Edge grinding along the walls is added on top, by the foot.
Our Prep Grinding service is one job and nothing else: grinding. No coating, sealer, or polish goes down.
What are the two prices on a grinding quote?
Every Prep Grinding quote has the same two lines. Both are on every job, and there are no add-on options to pick from.
| Line | What it covers | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Field Prep Grinding | The open floor, ground with diamonds to a coating-ready profile | $1.27 a square foot |
| Edge Prep Grinding | A strip along the walls, so the prep runs right up to them | $1.33 a linear foot |
A linear foot is one foot of wall length. For the edge line, we count the feet of wall around the floor, not the floor area. The quote tool can work that out from your room’s length and width.
Why a separate edge price? The big grinder can’t run right up to a wall, so that last strip along every wall takes slower, closer work than the wide-open middle of the floor does.
How much does a grinding job cost by size?
These totals cover the open floor. They do not include edge grinding or the drive cost.
| Slab size | Open floor, before edges and the drive |
|---|---|
| 500 SF | $700 |
| 1,000 SF | $1,300 |
| 2,500 SF | $3,250 |
A small slab costs more per square foot than a big one. Setup takes about the same time on any job, so it weighs more on a 500 SF garage than on a 2,500 SF shop. The shape of the room matters too. A long, narrow room or one with lots of corners has more wall for its size, so the edge line grows faster than the floor. Two slabs with the same square footage can price a little apart for that reason alone. That is why the table shows the open floor only and the edge line stays separate. You can see each number on its own and check it against your own tape measure. The quote tool adds your edge feet and the drive for your floor.
Grinding alone fits one kind of job
Prep Grinding is for a slab that needs grinding and nothing more. Every other floor system we sell already has its own surface prep built in. So if we are putting down your epoxy, polish, or stain, you don’t buy grinding on its own.
It fits when someone else lays the next floor. They get a slab that is ready for them, and you get a clear price for the prep alone.
What does a good grind actually do?
The point of a prep grind is to open the concrete and clean it. The next floor should soak into the slab, not just sit on a scratched top.
So speed proves nothing. A soft slab grinds fast and then drinks the coating, so it takes far more material. A hard, dense slab can look rough and still refuse to soak anything in. For a resin coating, a profile of CSP 3 or better is a minimum, not a promise that it will bond. CSP stands for concrete surface profile, a scale of how rough the top is.
A cheap scuff is not a grind
Some bids price a quick pass that scratches the top and calls it prep. Scuffing it up is not enough. The slab has to be ground open so the next floor soaks in. Ask how the slab will be opened, not just how fast the machine runs.
What is included, and what is not?
Included in Prep Grinding:
- Diamond grinding of the open floor to a coating-ready profile
- Grinding of the edges we can reach along the walls
- A clean, bare slab ready for the next floor
Not included unless your quote lists it on its own line:
- Any coating, sealer, densifier, polish, or patch
- Removing old coatings, paint, or glue
- Crack repair or leveling
- Structural slab repair
- Moving furniture or fixtures
If the slab has an old coating or glue on it, tell us up front. It changes the job, and we want that on paper before we start.
How do you get an accurate grinding quote?
Put your square footage, the feet of wall around the floor, and your project address into the online quote tool. It prices the open floor and the edge line, then works out the drive cost from your address. You get a first number in about 2 minutes, with no phone tag.
A close-up photo helps on a tricky floor. Lay a quarter or your car keys on the slab and shoot it up close, so we can see the grain. That grain shows us how the slab was finished when it was poured.
Related pages
- Prep grinding service: what the grind covers and how we do it
- Epoxy flooring cost and polished concrete cost: floor systems that already include their own prep
- Sealed concrete cost: what a sealer costs when that is the next step
See what your grind costs right now
Enter your square footage and address, and get a first price in about 2 minutes. No obligation, no pressure.
