How Much Do Epoxy Floor Contractors Make? Real Numbers From Iowa
Epoxy Flooring Class Team · September 6, 2026 · earnings, pricing, side income
The per-floor number
An epoxy business is a margin business. Here is a typical 2-car garage in the Des Moines area with a full-flake polyaspartic system.
- Price: $2,600
- Materials: $700
- Consumables, rental or equipment wear: $200
- Gross margin: $1,700 for about 16 hours of work
That is roughly $100 an hour before insurance, fuel and marketing. Solid color systems are cheaper on materials and faster. Metallic floors sell for more but take more skill and time.
What a weekend business clears
Two garage floors a month, April through November, is a realistic first-year pace for someone with a day job.
- 16 floors × $1,700 gross margin = $27,200
- Minus insurance, marketing, fuel and a helper: about $5,000
- Net: around $22,000 in year one, part time
Full-time crews in central Iowa doing commercial and residential work run well past that, but they also carry payroll and a second truck.
Where the money gets lost
- Failed floors. One peeling floor costs you the redo plus the review. Moisture testing and proper grinding prevent almost all of them.
- Underpricing. New contractors quote $1,200 because they are nervous. The customer was ready to pay $2,400.
- Buying equipment too early. Rent for the first two floors.
- Not asking for the next job. Every finished floor has neighbors.
The skill is the asset
Nobody pays for epoxy. They pay for a floor that still looks new in five Iowa winters. That is a prep and product knowledge problem, and it is learnable in a weekend if you learn it hands-on.
What to do next
Run your own numbers with the free pricing calculator inside the First Floor Playbook, then look at the next 3-day class date.
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FAQ
Is epoxy flooring profitable as a side business?
Yes, at typical Iowa pricing a single garage floor clears more in a weekend than most part-time jobs pay in a month. The profit depends on doing the prep right so you are not redoing floors.
How much should I charge per square foot?
Central Iowa residential work runs about $5 to $8 per square foot installed for flake systems and $8 to $12 for metallic. Commercial pricing varies with size and prep.
Do I need employees?
Not at first. A helper for grinding day makes the job faster, but a single person can finish a 2-car garage over a weekend.