St. Augustine Shores, FL, in St. Johns County
Sure Footing at Home in St. Augustine Shores
A lot of people in the Shores have retired here, and what they ask of a floor is simple: a safe step, wet or dry, and a surface that cleans with a mop.
Built from the 1970s on, and lived in every day
Many of the people we hear from in St. Augustine Shores are retired, and they know exactly what they want from a floor. They want to walk across it without thinking about it, wet or dry, and they want it to clean with a mop and a hose. Mostly, they want the person doing the work to explain it in plain words and then do what he said.
The Shores is a planned community south of town on US-1, along the Matanzas River. It was built from the 1970s on, so many of the homes have slabs that have been around a good while, along with the old coatings, carpet tack strip holes and tile adhesive that tend to collect on concrete over the years. Grinding takes all of it off, and the concrete underneath is usually sound.
The river is close, the soil is sandy and the air is humid most of the year. Moisture coming up through an older slab is common in a neighborhood like this, so every floor gets tested before we choose a system. An older slab is usually a good candidate for a coating once the old layers are ground off and the cracks are filled. Matt will also tell you plainly which cracks are just old and settled and which ones mean the slab is still moving, because a coating can hide the first kind and will not hide the second.
Rooms people here want made safer and simpler
Patios and lanais come up first, because an outdoor slab that gets slick after a summer storm is a real worry. The walkway from the driveway to the front door is close behind. Both can get a coating with enough texture to give shoes and bare feet something to hold on to, without making the surface a chore to clean.
Inside, people ask about the slab under old carpet. Pulling the carpet gets rid of something that holds dust, and the concrete underneath can become a finished floor, either coated in one solid color or ground and polished. In the garage, the ask is usually a floor that brightens the space, cleans up easily and does not show every drip from the car.
Both can get a coating with enough texture to give shoes and bare feet something to hold on to, without making the surface a chore to clean.
Low-fuss systems for the Shores
What Matt reaches for most on St. Augustine Shores slabs, and why. See all of Matt’s floors.
Lanais and walkways near the Matanzas get a textured, UV-stable topcoat. Here we lean toward more grip, since a slip outside costs a lot more than a few extra minutes with the brush when cleaning.
A flake garage floor hides dust and drips between cleanings, and a textured topcoat keeps it from turning slick when a wet car pulls in after a storm.
Where carpet comes up and the slab is clean enough to show, polishing gives a hard floor with no coating to wear or peel. Like any smooth floor, it is best kept dry.
If the slab under the carpet has too many patches and marks to show, a solid-color epoxy floor covers them in one even color that mops clean.
How the visit goes, start to finish
The Shores is close to home for us, just down US-1 from St. Augustine. Matt comes out, sits down with you if you like, and then walks every area you want to talk about. He tests the slab for moisture, checks for old coatings and adhesive, and asks who uses the floor, because a cane or a walker changes how much texture he recommends. Bring your questions. Nobody is in a hurry.
Then he explains the job in order: what gets ground, what gets repaired, what goes down and when you can walk on it again. There is no pressure to sign anything that day. Garages and patios are often a one-day job, and interiors depend on what turns up under the carpet. When you are ready, call Matt at (904) 671-3930.
Or email spartancoatingsfl@gmail.com with the town and a photo of the floor.
Matt answers this phone himself
Based in St. Augustine, FL, working in St. Augustine Shores.
Finished floors first? See all of Matt’s floors.
Other St. Johns County towns on our route
Building since the late 2000s, Nocatee is mostly new construction, and the first question on a new garage is whether the slab has cured long enough.
Around TPC Sawgrass, home of The Players Championship, gated golf neighborhoods tend to want a garage finished to the same standard as the house.
Coquina walls and old masonry downtown give way to mid-century block ranches and newer subdivisions off SR-16 and US-1, so one city holds slabs of every age.
With raised houses, pools and outdoor showers near the pier, the slabs that matter most here are the ones that are wet half the time.
Down toward Matanzas Inlet the beach houses are quiet, but any outdoor coating still spends its life in full sun and salt air.
Big lots southwest of Hastings leave room for outbuildings, and a workshop floor out here has to shrug off dropped tools and whatever comes in on the mower.
Everything in the county: St. Johns County.
Questions from St. Augustine Shores
How slippery is a coated floor in socks or with a cane?
That depends on the texture, and you get to choose it. A flake system with a textured topcoat grips well even when damp. A smooth metallic or high-gloss floor is slicker, so we would not put one where someone walks with a cane. Tell Matt who uses the floor, and he will match the texture to the people walking on it.
We pulled up old carpet. Can the slab under it be polished?
Sometimes. Polishing shows the concrete exactly as it is, so tack strip holes, patches and adhesive stains can show through. Matt looks at the slab once the glue is scraped back and tells you honestly how it would look. If the slab is too marked up, a solid-color coating gives you a clean, even floor without the patchwork.
Can you make the front walkway less slick when it rains?
Yes. A walkway coating gets texture built into the broadcast and the topcoat, so shoes have something to bite into after a storm. We grind and repair the slab first, since cracks and lifted edges are trip spots of their own. If you want the most grip possible, say so, and know that it takes a little more effort to clean.
Will the smell from the coating bother us in the house?
There is an odor while the coatings go down and cure, mostly in the garage or the room being done. We keep the space ventilated, and with a garage job most people keep the door into the house closed and stay out of the garage that day. If anyone in the house is sensitive to smells, tell Matt before the job is scheduled.
Do we have to empty the garage ourselves?
The floor does need to be clear from wall to wall so the grinder can reach every edge. If moving heavy things is hard for you, tell Matt when he visits. He can walk through what needs to come out and when it can go back, so nothing is a surprise on the morning the crew arrives.