Mile High Coatings: David Nanninga Discusses Safer Floors, Smarter Choices

How Do Coatings Impact Slip Resistance And Overall Safety?

Floors should look great and feel safe to walk on, even when life gets wet, snowy, or busy. We dive into the real-world details of slip resistance and style, explaining how full-flake garage systems build natural texture, how quartz aggregates boost traction outside, and why stained-and-sealed concrete indoors performs on par with tile, LVT, and hardwood. Along the way, we unpack how water beads on sealed surfaces, what that means for winter maintenance, and how to keep your footing without sacrificing a clean, modern design.

We also talk design with purpose. From subtle neutrals to bold blends, borders, and checkerboards, there’s a finish for every space and mood. We share how on-site samples help you see true color under your home’s lighting, and why slab variation changes the final look. For safety-sensitive areas, we discuss ADA-referenced friction considerations and how polyaspartic systems paired with the right texture can meet performance targets on ramps and steps. It’s a clear roadmap for choosing coatings that hold up to Colorado weather, daily traffic, and your taste.

If you’re weighing garage coatings, patio quartz, or a warm stained basement floor, this conversation gives you the facts to decide with confidence. You’ll learn when to add more texture, how to balance easy cleaning with grip, and where a simple walk-off mat solves specific problem spots. Subscribe to stay updated on practical, design-forward tips, share this episode with a friend planning a remodel, and leave a quick review telling us which color blend or texture you’d choose for your space.

To learn more about Mile High Coatings visit:
https://www.MileHighCoatings.com
Mile High Coatings
970-314-1023 

Transcript

Welcome And Episode Focus

SPEAKER_02 0:03

Welcome to the Mile High Coatings Podcast, where we elevate your spaces to a new peak in quality. Hosted by David Naniga, president of Mile High Coatings, this podcast explores how expert residential painting, concrete coatings, and epoxy flooring can transform garages, basements, patios, and commercial spaces across Colorado's front range. So grab your favorite beverage, sit back, and dive into the world of high-quality coatings.

SPEAKER_00 0:34

Safety starts from the ground up, literally. Let's explore how coatings can reduce slips and elevate style with color and texture. Welcome everyone. I'm Julie Schwenzer, co-host and producer in the studio with David Naninga, the president of Mile High Coatings. David, it's great to be here with you.

SPEAKER_01 0:53

Great to be here as well.

SPEAKER_00 0:55

So let's dig in. How do coatings impact slip resistance and overall safety?

Garage Floors And Full-Flake Texture

Outdoor Quartz And Winter Conditions

Indoors: Stain, Seal, And Comparisons

ADA Friction, Safety Vs Aesthetics

SPEAKER_01 1:01

Yeah, that's a good question. And it's a question that I often get, both you know, related to indoor and outdoor projects. There's a couple different things to consider for sure. Um, if you know, if if that is sort of high on the list. I'll start with our most common application, which would be a garage floor coating. Uh, when we do our garage floor coatings, we do what's called a full broadcast with the flakes or chips. Um that term is kind of used interchangeably, but they're kind of the decorative um flakes. And so we cover the entire floor uh with the flakes, and it not only creates, you know, a nice sort of aesthetic to the floor, but it also produces and kind of just inherently has some texture. So I kind of compare it sometimes to like a knockdown texture on a wall. So so it's like smooth but bumpy. And I really don't get anyone complaining, you know, about it being slippery. Alternatively, on the very, very rare occasion that we've we've done applications without flakes, and it's just a straight, you know, coating on the floor on a garage floor. I have had people comment that it's pretty slippery when it's wet. When it's dry, it's typically squeaky. Um, and and there's not a lot of slip. And I'm talking about, you know, assuming you're wearing she's and everything. So generally speaking, I would say that the you know, the coating application is not going to be slippery, um, you know, when it's wet. It's more squeaky. When we're talking about an outdoor project, say if we're doing a patio or a porch, or you know, or an area maybe with steps, uh, you know, front walkway with some steps or whatever. Our most common application is a is a quartz uh application. And what that means is the quartz is colored silica sand. And so the sand provides the aggregate and provides the the traction. It's essentially traction, sort of additive to the coating. It feels kind of like sandpaper. It's maybe not quite that rough and it's a little bit smoother than sandpaper. And so it definitely has some good traction. And and again, I could relay that, you know, we don't get people calling and complaining and saying, hey, you know, this this application is slippery on the stats or whatever. Um, with that said, any sealed, you know, surface, you know, you know, concrete, you know, obviously sealing meaning it's it's not gonna allow moisture to to penetrate into the concrete. And so what's gonna happen is, you know, water, you know, is gonna beat up and and sit on top of the coating. So there's always a possibility that that in certain scenarios, you know, it can be slippery, especially with like a snow and ice, you know, if you compact snow, um, or obviously ice in any situation, even on bare concrete, is gonna be slippery no matter what. So that's just sort of common sense. With that said, it's also, you know, the the coatings are easy to to to sweep off, to shovel off, whatever they can handle shoveling and everything. When it comes to indoor, you know, of course, people people ask about indoor applications. Could we do, you know, we'll we'll do a main level of a house if it's concrete, you know, um slab on grade, we'll do a lot of basements, um, including bathroom floors and and all that. And so people people are always concerned about uh slipperiness there. And and that type of application we do a lot of times, we'll do stained or sealed concrete. And so it's a smooth application. And and and how I kind of relate it in that situation is I just compare it to other types of flooring. You know, you have tile, uh, LVT, which is like luxury vinyl tile, you know, kind of the hard, the the common like laminate type of floors, um, smooth, I mean, even hardwood. So the stained um or the dye and seal our application or grind and seal um is not gonna be any more slippery than any of those other types of applications. You know, if you're comparing, you know, if you're concerned about slipperiness, just I I guess I would just let people know that it's it's it's not gonna be any any any worse than than any other type of flooring. And so I think probably, you know, in a bathroom situation, typically people have a rug, you know, you know, a walk-off mat type of thing. So in terms of um safety, I'll kind of go back to one one other thing um related to outdoors. The the the polyaspartic is is actually ADA approved. So like meaning you could theoretically apply it on like a, you know, on a ramp, on say like a wheelchair ramp, and it's it it's approved that the co the coefficient of friction is is such that you know the ADA allows that that surface, that ramp to be coded um and falls within their safety guidelines.

SPEAKER_00 5:55

Actually, I would throw in another question here. How do you balance safety with aesthetics in floor design?

SPEAKER_01 6:01

Yeah, so I would say most people tend to be more focused on the aesthetics uh, you know, generally uh when it comes to the floors than than safety. And so so with that with that said, uh again, especially being, you know, indoors uh and everything, there's the the safety aspect of it from a from a slip and fall perspective is not not that it's negligible, but it's again, it's it's gonna be similar to any other type of flooring. Uh so so it not that it's not a concern, but it's not, it shouldn't be sort of an added concern, if that makes sense.

SPEAKER_00 6:39

And a fun question, I think, in a lot of cases for a lot of the ladies, what are the color and texture options available for epoxy floors?

SPEAKER_01 6:48

Yeah, so so they've they vary greatly, definitely. I would say, um, you know, again, indoors, we do a lot of stained concrete, which is basically a dye or a stain that penetrates into the concrete and leaves some of the visual texture of the concrete. So it just naturally creates some some modeling or some sort of highs and lows. Um, you know, if you can kind of maybe compare it to maybe like a like a faux leather sort of feel where you kind of have some subtle highs and lows uh with texture and stain. And then color-wise, there's you know, the color palette is virtually limitless. I mean, there's all kinds. There's of course your your your common uh you know grays and sort of tans, uh, beigas types of colors. I mean, but then you've got reds, blues, um, golds, yellows, browns, um, darker colors, you know, um that that that can really play into it. And um, usually with outdoor projects, typically people aren't trying to add a whole lot of color to their concrete. They're trying to keep it very subtle. And so that typically tends to be the the route we go as, you know, subtle, unassuming, you know, they just want it to look consistent and and and look good. And then, you know, for garage floors, you get kind of a mixed bag. You know, some people try to match it, you know, or coordinate with the the outside of their home. Sometimes they they try to, you know, they're they're refinishing their whole garage and they, you know, going for like a certain look. So there's, you know, different blends and and different flake applications. We can do, you know, accents, borders, designs. We've done checkerboard designs before. You know, there's lots of different ways you can kind of sort of dress it up if needed.

SPEAKER_00 8:34

How do you help clients choose the right combination for their needs if they're just, you know, uncertain about what they need to do in their home or in their office?

Helping Clients Choose With Samples

SPEAKER_01 8:43

Yeah, uh, that's a great question. So, so we always have, you know, we'll bring physical samples uh when we can. And um, you know, we can place them up against different, you know, the wall or maybe a different um color select, you know, a selection, maybe their uh cabinets or their countertop, or, you know, if it's outdoor, you know, you place it up against the stucco or the stone and the siding or whatever, um, and just kind of guide and you know, just try to kind of figure out what kind of the overall look that they're going for. Are they going for subtle or are they going for bold? Do they uh like the idea of accents or borders or you know, think two tone, you know, types of things? And um, you know, when it comes to a stained application, like so like an indoor type of application, uh, we like to do samples on site and we like to try to do the samples on the same concrete in the same sort of overall conditions because you know, when you look at a, you know, it's kind of like picking out a paint color, you know, you look at the little, the little color swatch, it's so hard to tell. And to be able to select a paint color off that, you know, you often have some, you know, paint a, you know, paint a big square on the wall or or whatever to to make sure that that it's gonna look right in the in the lighting and everything. So it's the same idea with with stain with stained concrete. And so sometimes people ask me, Oh, do you have samples, you know, physical samples with stained concrete? It's like, well, I can't really carry around chunks of concrete, uh stained concrete with me. In addition, concrete varies quite a bit from from pore to poor, you know. Uh I mean slabs, slabs vary in their color and their finish and everything. Um, and and then again, you have lighting conditions, you know, in a particular room, you know, it may it's gonna look, you know, color is gonna look different, you know, in in a natural light walkout basement with a lot of natural light versus, you know, in a bathroom or uh, you know, a utility room or whatever.

SPEAKER_00 10:40

Thank you, David. Great insights as always. We'll see you next time for more expert advice on elevating your space.

SPEAKER_01 10:47

Sounds good.

SPEAKER_02 10:51

Thanks for tuning in to the Mile High Coatings Podcast. Ready to give your space a fresh, durable finish? Visit MileHighCodings.com for a free price quote or call 970-314-1023. At Mile High Coatings, we're not just painting walls, we're setting a new peak in quality. Until next time, keep your standards high and your coatings higher.