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

The scenario

Picture a restaurant in a historic downtown storefront, with a kitchen and prep area of about 1,200 square feet behind a dining room. The kitchen has a quarry-tile floor with failing grout, a floor drain and a hot-water washdown each night. The tile lifts at one door, and the grout has worn away in the cook line.

The owner wants a floor that is seamless, tolerates hot-water washdowns and curves up the wall as a coved base. The restaurant cannot close for a week, so the work is planned in phases: the prep area one weekend, the cook line the next. The owner also asks what the county needs, because the change is to a floor in a licensed food facility.

The starting conditions at a glance:

• Size: about 1,200 square feet of kitchen and prep floor
• Slab: concrete with old quarry tile and grout, one drain, one lifting door threshold
• System: urethane cement with an integral coved base, about 100 linear feet
• Schedule: phased over two weekends, with the dining room open between

What the job involves

1. The owner asks the Riverside County Department of Environmental Health about its plan check for a floor change; typically a finish schedule listing the floor and base material is part of what the county reviews, and the department decides what applies.
2. The tile is removed in zones, the slab is ground and checked for moisture, and the drain area is protected.
3. A primer and a troweled urethane cement mortar go down in the first zone, with the cove formed up the wall at the same time.
4. The second weekend repeats the steps for the cook line, with the cove joined to the first zone's cove.
5. Ventilation is planned around the staff who return; the data sheet sets the day for foot traffic, carts and hot-water washdowns.
6. The owner keeps the product data sheet and the finish schedule on file.

Materials and prep

• Tile removal tools, floor grinder with diamond segments and a dust extractor
• Urethane cement kit (primer, mortar and sealer) and a trowel with a cove tool
• Moisture test kit, ventilation fans and drain protection

Add-ons often paired with this job

• Line striping and safety markings — +$300–$1,000. Not typical for a kitchen, but a safety line at a walk-in door is possible.

Why it is done this way

Urethane cement is the system many installers name for kitchens with hot-water washdowns, because it tolerates heat and thermal shock better than standard epoxy. At $10–$18 per square foot it is the most expensive of the four commercial systems, and 1,200 square feet carries $12,000–$21,600 on its own.

The cove is a flat $1,500–$2,500 for about 100 linear feet. It is the line that connects the floor to the wall without a seam, and it is the one a county reviewer looks for when the finish schedule says the base is coved.

Phasing is what lets the restaurant keep serving. In the estimator, schedule is a note for the contractor and does not change the range; the real quote prices the extra mobilization of two weekends.

The alternatives that were weighed and set aside:

• A standard epoxy at $4–$8 would cost less but is generally less tolerant of hot washdowns.
• Replacing the tile keeps the grout lines, which a coated floor does not have.

What would change the price

• Tile that cannot be lifted without breaking the slab adds repair time.
• A damp slab adds the moisture line of $2–$5 per square foot.
• More than 100 linear feet of cove raises the flat cove line.
• Drains, slopes and grease interceptors are plumbing and building work and are not part of the coating.
• A fully closed kitchen shortens the schedule and may lower the mobilization cost.