The Seven Checks That Sort a Good Quote From a Cheap One
Before you sign a concrete coating quote in Brisbane, check seven things: the contractor's QBCC licence (verify it yourself on the free online register), their public liability insurance, whether the preparation work is itemised, whether the products going on your slab are named, whether the warranty is in writing, whether the pricing is a clear per-square-metre rate rather than a vague lump sum, and what the deposit and payment terms are. A quote that passes all seven is one you can hold the contractor to. A quote that fails several is usually cheap for a reason.
"Concrete coating" covers a family of different services - clear and coloured sealing, spraycrete resurfacing, epoxy flooring - and our published rates alone run from $25 per square metre for sealing to $130 per square metre for premium metallic epoxy. With that much spread between services, two quotes are only comparable when they describe the same scope of work on the same surface. Most don't, which is why the cheapest number on the table so often turns out to be a different job wearing the same name. If you're still deciding which coating you actually need, start with our comparison of every concrete coating option in Brisbane, then come back to this checklist.
Every checkpoint below is something you can verify independently - most of them in under five minutes, before any money changes hands:
- QBCC licence - current, and checked on the register yourself
- Public liability insurance - held, and the cover amount stated
- Preparation - itemised for your slab, not folded into one line
- Products - named, so you can look them up
- Warranty - term and coverage in writing
- Pricing - a per-m² rate with any minimum stated, GST treatment clear
- Deposit and payment terms - written into the quote
Is the Contractor QBCC-Licensed?
This is the fastest check on the list, and the one most people skip. The QBCC's online licensee register is free and public: search a business name or licence number and it shows whether the licence is current. It takes about two minutes. If a contractor won't give you their licence number when asked, that in itself is your answer.
CoatPro holds QBCC licence 15620475 - you can check it on the register right now. We're also a member of Master Builders Queensland, which keeps us accountable to the industry's peak body. We print the licence number in the footer of every page on this site for exactly this reason: verification should be easy, and a contractor with nothing to hide will make it easy.
Are They Insured for Work on Your Property?
Public liability insurance is what stands between you and the bill if something on your property is damaged during the work. Coating jobs happen around cars, garage doors, render, landscaping and pool fences, so the question isn't whether anything ever goes wrong - it's who pays when it does. Ask whether the contractor holds public liability cover and for how much, and ask to see the certificate of currency rather than taking a yes at face value.
CoatPro carries $20 million in public liability insurance, and we state it publicly across this site. Any established contractor can answer the insurance question in one sentence and produce the paperwork on request - hesitation on either front is worth noticing before you sign, not after.
Is the Preparation Itemised?
Preparation is where a coating job is won or lost, and it's also where a cheap quote quietly saves its money. On our driveway resurfacing jobs, preparation means grinding back the old surface, pressure cleaning it, and patching cracks, chips and spalled patches so the overlay bonds to a sound base. Repairs to drummy or flaking sections happen first, before any coating goes down - a coating over unrepaired damage just gives the damage a new colour.
A good quote says which of those steps are included for your particular slab. If one quote itemises crack and spall repair and another shows a single "prep" line - or no prep at all - they are not two prices for the same job. They're two different jobs, and the surface will show the difference within a couple of summers.
This is what quote-stage concrete usually looks like: sound but worn, with the original surface dictating how much preparation the job genuinely needs.
Are Products and Warranties Named in Writing?
"A coating" tells you nothing. A named product tells you exactly what's going on your slab, lets you read the manufacturer's datasheet, and makes quotes genuinely comparable. On our spraycrete resurfacing work we colour from the CCS Stylepave range and bring samples to every quote, so you're choosing from a physical colour card rather than a word in a document. On commercial densification we're an authorised Oxtek applicator, and qualifying jobs carry Oxtek's 15-year manufacturer warranty against dusting, surface deterioration and abrasion failure - issued in writing on completion.
Warranty terms deserve the same precision. Our resurfacing work carries a written workmanship warranty of two to five years, and the quote should always tell you two things: how long the warranty runs, and whether it covers workmanship, the product, or both. A verbal "we guarantee our work" is worth exactly what it's written on. Ask for the term and the coverage in the quote itself - any contractor who stands behind their work will put it there without being pushed.
Per-Square-Metre Rate or Vague Lump Sum?
A per-square-metre rate with a stated minimum is the honest way to price coating work, because it lets you compare quotes on the same footing and check the arithmetic yourself. Our rates are published: concrete sealing runs $25-30 per square metre, spraycrete resurfacing $50-100 per square metre including sealing, and epoxy flooring from $85 per square metre - and our free estimate wizard applies those rates to your measurements before anyone visits. As a yardstick, a standard 60m² driveway in spraycrete typically runs about $4,500 including normal preparation.
Two more numbers a lump sum hides: minimums and condition. Small jobs carry minimums - ours run from $1,800 ex GST for clear penetrative sealing up to $4,500 ex GST for decorative spraycrete or metallic epoxy - because mobilisation and setup don't shrink with the job. Condition moves the price too: our estimate wizard adds a 15% loading for concrete in fair condition and 30% for poor, with the final figure confirmed at an on-site inspection. So ask every quoter three questions: what's the rate, what's the minimum, and are the figures inclusive or exclusive of GST. If the quote can't answer them, it isn't a price - it's a placeholder.
Deposits, Payment Terms and Reviews
Before signing, be clear on three payment questions: how much deposit is asked, when the balance falls due, and whether the schedule is written into the quote rather than agreed on a handshake. None of this is about distrust - it's about both sides knowing the same facts before work starts. A payment schedule that only exists verbally protects nobody, and an unusually large up-front deposit deserves a question before it deserves a signature.
Reviews then tell you what the paperwork can't: how the jobs actually went. Look for reviews that name a suburb, a surface and a service rather than five generic stars, and give extra weight to repeat customers - nobody rebooks a contractor who let them down. Our own longest-running evidence is the builder Inspire Style & Living, whose projects we've sealed for over four years, and across South East Queensland we've now coated more than 120,000 square metres of concrete.
Run Any Quote - Including Ours - Through This List
A fair checklist is one you apply to everyone, so hold our quotes to it too. Our licence number is in the footer and on the QBCC register, our insurance is stated, our rates and minimums are published, our preparation is itemised on the quote, our products are named with samples brought to the visit, and our warranty is written. That's not a boast - it's the baseline we think every Brisbane concrete coating customer should be able to expect from whoever they hire.
The easiest place to start is with a number of your own: the free estimate wizard applies our published rates to your measurements in about two minutes, with the final price confirmed after an on-site inspection. Prefer to talk it through? Call Christian on 07 4428 2811 - and bring the checklist.
FAQs
Common questions about comparing and verifying concrete coating quotes in Brisbane.
Search the QBCC's free online licensee register by business name or licence number - it shows whether the licence is current, and the check takes about two minutes. Ask any contractor quoting your job for their licence number before you sign. CoatPro's is 15620475, printed in the footer of every page on this site.
An itemised scope of preparation (grinding, pressure cleaning, crack and spall repair), the named products being applied, a per-square-metre rate with any job minimum stated, whether figures include GST, the warranty term and what it covers, and the deposit and payment schedule. If any of those are missing, ask before you sign rather than after.
Usually because the quotes describe different scopes of work: more or less surface preparation, different products, or a different service entirely - sealing, spraycrete and epoxy carry very different rates ($25-30, $50-100 and from $85 per square metre respectively on our published pricing). Surface condition also moves the price. Compare quotes line by line, not bottom line by bottom line.
A written one, with the term and coverage stated. CoatPro's resurfacing work carries a written workmanship warranty of two to five years, and qualifying Oxtek densification jobs carry the manufacturer's 15-year warranty against dusting, surface deterioration and abrasion failure. Whoever you hire, make sure the quote says how long the warranty runs and whether it covers workmanship, product, or both.
Get Your Free Quote Today
Transform your concrete surfaces with our expert sealing and finishing services. Contact us now to discuss your project and receive a personalised quote. We service all areas throughout South-East Queensland.
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