Decorative finishes that don’t look like every other showroom.
Metallic pours, flake systems, custom color matches. For homeowners and businesses who care more about the finish than the price – and want a floor that’s still beautiful in year ten.
Free design consultation.
We bring physical samples to your walkthrough. Hold the finishes in your actual light.
Metallic vs. flake – what’s the actual difference?
The two most-requested decorative systems in Charleston look nothing alike, but they share a foundation: diamond-ground concrete + polyaspartic chemistry. From there, the artistic layer diverges.
Metallic pours use metallic pigment suspended in clear resin. As the resin self-levels, the pigment moves with it – creating organic flow patterns that look like polished stone, copper veins, or liquid color. Every floor is one-of-a-kind. Better for: finished basements, statement showroom floors, designer interiors. Trade-off: every install reveals slightly differently. We work with you to dial in the look during sample.
Flake systems broadcast decorative chip into a wet base coat. The chips fully carpet the surface and add visible texture and slip resistance. We offer dozens of pre-blended flake colors (gray + black for graphite, tan + brown for driftwood, etc.) and can hand-blend custom colors. Better for: garages, mudrooms, patios, pool decks, and any space where you want a finished look that hides daily wear.
Both systems install in 1-2 workdays. Both carry the lifetime workmanship warranty. The decorative layer is the visual; the system underneath it is what makes it last.
The spaces that earn the upgrade.
Showroom garages
The car-enthusiast garage. The detached carriage house. Metallic copper or bronze, sometimes with a custom logo center. The garage becomes part of the property tour.
Finished basements
Where epoxy meets interior design. Soft warm metallic, subtle flake patterns, or custom-color solids. Pet-safe, moisture-tolerant, easier to maintain than wood or carpet.
Retail showrooms
Auto dealerships, design studios, high-end retail entryways. The floor sets the brand tone before a single product is seen. Brand-color match available.
Decorative is still a system.
The artistic layer sits on the same prep standard as every other floor.
Design consult
Physical samples, color match, lighting walk-through. We dial in the look before the slab is touched.
Fixed quote
One number, in writing, in 24 hours. Includes design, prep, install, warranty.
Diamond-grind prep
Slab ground to bare concrete. The artistic finish is only as good as the prep under it.
1-2 day install
Metallic pours sometimes need a second day for the topcoat. We tell you upfront, never on the day-of.
Premium pricing, honest numbers.
Decorative finishes run 30-50% above standard garage epoxy. The materials cost more, the application takes more time, and the design consult adds hours upfront.
What’s always included: design consultation, custom samples, prep, materials, install, warranty. Nothing gets added later.
Get my fixed quoteThe standard behind every Charleston floor
Diamond-ground prep
Every Charleston slab is mechanically diamond-ground, not acid-etched, so the coating actually bonds and stays down.
Most garages in a day
A standard garage is prepped, coated, and topcoated in one day. Back to parking without a week of downtime.
Bonded and insured
Fully bonded with liability coverage. Ask for the certificate before any crew starts.
The Lodestone Coat Standard
A written commitment on adhesion and finish. If a covered issue shows up, we come back and make it right.
Decorative across Charleston Metropolitan Area, South Carolina.
Decorative epoxy, answered.
Related coatings.
Decorative floors Charleston actually wants.
The Lowcountry is relentless on concrete. Coastal humidity keeps slabs damp, salt air attacks weak coatings, and many Charleston-area homes sit low against a high water table. Moisture from below is the first thing to solve here — without proper prep and a moisture-tolerant finish, even a good-looking coating blisters in the coastal air. From historic-district properties to newer raised builds, the common thread is humidity, so a slab read and moisture management come before anything decorative.
Metallic, flake, and custom-color floors should look like a designed space, not a garage kit. In Charleston we install UV-stable decorative systems that keep their color and finish through hot, humid coastal air, salt exposure, and high moisture, from the Lowcountry homes to showrooms.
We install decorative epoxy across Charleston and the Lowcountry — Mount Pleasant, North Charleston, Hanahan, Summerville, Folly Beach, Awendaw, Goose Creek, and James Island — and in neighborhoods like Old Village, I’On, Park West, Hamlin Plantation, Belle Hall, Dunes West, Snee Farm, and Rivertowne. Every Charleston job is prepped and spec’d for hot, humid coastal air, salt exposure, and high moisture, not a recipe copied from another region.
Will a metallic or decorative floor fade in Charleston?
Not with our UV-stable decorative systems — they’re built to hold color and clarity through Charleston’s hot, humid coastal air, salt exposure, and high moisture, indoors or in light-exposed spaces.
What decorative finishes work best in Charleston?
We tailor flake blends and metallic finishes to your Charleston space and lighting — popular across the Lowcountry for garages, entries, and showrooms.
How much does a decorative or metallic epoxy floor cost in Charleston?
In Charleston, a decorative or metallic epoxy floor typically costs $8 to $15 per square foot installed. The figure covers surface preparation, the coating system itself, and labor. What moves a quote inside that range is slab condition, how much grinding and crack repair the floor needs before anything is applied, the finish you choose, and access to the space.
How we specify a floor in Charleston
The Lowcountry is relentless on concrete. Coastal humidity keeps slabs damp, salt air attacks weak coatings, and many Charleston-area homes sit low against a high water table. Moisture from below is the first thing to solve here — without proper prep and a moisture-tolerant finish, even a good-looking coating blisters in the coastal air. From historic-district properties to newer raised builds, the common thread is humidity, so a slab read and moisture management come before anything decorative.
Every slab is tested before we quote a system. Moisture drives more coating failures than any other single factor, so we measure it rather than guess: a calcium chloride test to ASTM F1869 for moisture vapor emission, or in-slab relative humidity probes to ASTM F2170 where the slab is newer or below grade. If the readings come back high, the floor gets a moisture-mitigating primer before the build coats, not a thicker topcoat.
Preparation is mechanical, never acid etching. Diamond grinding opens the slab to an ICRI CSP-2 to CSP-3 surface profile, which is the texture a coating needs to key into concrete properly. Cracks and joints are chased out and filled before the first coat. Slab flatness and finish are assessed against ACI 302.1R guidance so we can tell you up front what the floor will and will not hide.
Systems are quoted by total mil build, not by coat count, because that is what determines how long a floor lasts. A flake system for a working garage is typically specified in the 20 to 30 mil range; a thin roll-on kit is often 8 to 12 mils, which is why it wears through at the tire tracks first. Polyaspartic topcoats cure fast and hold a wider application window than epoxy, they stay UV-stable rather than ambering in daylight, and their short pot life and recoat window are exactly why they are a crew-and-equipment job rather than a weekend project.
Bring physical samples to your walkthrough.
Free design consult. Custom color match included. Fixed quote in 24 hours.