Frequently asked questions

We work within roughly a twenty mile radius of Glenavy, County Antrim. In practice that covers Lisburn, Antrim, Belfast, Crumlin, Moira, Hillsborough, Lurgan, Portadown, Newtownabbey, Carrickfergus, Ballymena and the towns and villages between them. If you are just outside that, it is worth asking, because it depends on the size of the job.

No. Site visits and written quotations are free and there is no obligation to proceed.

Get in touch by phone, WhatsApp or the quote form and we will arrange a time that suits. WhatsApp is often quickest, particularly if you can send a photograph of the sills, floor or surface in question, because that lets us tell you straight away whether it is something we can help with.

Both. A large part of what we do is domestic, from a single garage floor to sills across a whole house. We also take on commercial work, which usually needs more planning around access and operating hours.

Please ask us directly about current insurance cover when you get in touch and we will confirm the position for you. We would rather you asked and got a straight answer than relied on a claim on a web page.

Yes. LM Contracts Services Ltd is registered in Northern Ireland, company number NI740298.

Yes, ask when you get in touch and we will send examples relevant to what you are considering. We would rather show you work comparable to your own property than a generic gallery.

For most work we need to see it first, because condition drives the price far more than size does. Send a photograph by WhatsApp for an initial view, then we arrange a site visit and give you a written quotation.

For external work, yes, genuinely. Sill coatings and external surface coatings must not be applied in frost and must not take rain while curing, so between roughly November and February dates can move with the forecast. We would rather reschedule than force work on in the wrong conditions and have it fail.

Yes. Protection and masking are removed, waste is taken away and the site is left clean. That is part of the job, not an extra.

Ask anyway. Small jobs are less efficient because most of the cost is in setting up and preparing rather than in materials, but we would rather tell you that honestly and let you decide than not hear from you.

Yes, and it happens. If a sill has failed structurally it needs repair or replacement rather than a coating over the top. If a wall is wet because a gutter has been overflowing, coating it hides a symptom. We would rather lose a job than take money for something that is going to fail.

No. Paint is a thin coloured film on the surface, which is why it fails from the top down and needs redoing every few years. This is a natural stone chip aggregate in a binder, trowel-applied at roughly one to two millimetres, so the colour and texture run through the material rather than sitting on top of it.

No. The system is designed for concrete, stone, render and masonry. uPVC is not a substrate it is intended to bond to, and we will not apply it to one and hope. If you have uPVC sills, uPVC sill covers are the usual route and that is a different trade.

The common causes of failure are coating over loose material, coating over a sill that has a live structural crack, or applying it in the wrong weather. All three are preparation and judgement issues rather than problems with the material, which is why we spend most of the job on preparation and why we will decline a sill that needs replacing.

We do not publish a lifespan figure, because we have not got long-term data on our own installations to stand over and we are not going to quote someone else's marketing number as if it were ours. What we can tell you factually is that the cured finish is water resistant and UV stable, so it does not have the repainting cycle a painted sill has.

It is priced per opening after we have looked at the sills, and the quotation is free. Cost is driven by how many windows you have, how wide the sills are, how much repair they need first, and whether first floor access needs equipment.

Usually one day for preparation and application on a standard house, occasionally two where sills need significant making good first or where there are a lot of openings. Then it needs to stay clear of rain for about twenty four hours, or nearer forty eight in cold or damp weather.

It can, but only in a settled spell. The material must not be applied in frost and must not take rain while it cures, so between roughly November and February we are working around the forecast and dates can move. We would rather reschedule than apply it in the wrong conditions.

Anything loose or lifting comes off, yes. Sound, well-adhered paint is cleaned and prepared rather than necessarily stripped to bare concrete. What we will not do is coat over paint that is already letting go, because the new finish would only be as good as the layer underneath it.

Stone chip finishes come in a range of natural granite tones, from pale silver-greys through mid greys to darker charcoal and warmer speckled blends. We will show you the actual options at the quotation stage, because a colour on a screen is not a colour on a sill.

Frames, glass and surrounding render are masked before any material goes near them. This is trowel work directly beneath a window, so masking is not optional and we do not treat it as such.

Usually, yes, and matching the sill detail across the whole elevation is a common reason people call us. It is worth mentioning at the quotation stage so we can look at the existing finish before choosing.

We do, though the economics are better across a full house because most of the cost is in setting up, masking and preparation rather than in the material. If you have one badly weathered sill it is still worth asking.

As a market guide, domestic epoxy garage floors commonly sit around sixty to one hundred and thirty pounds per square metre for the coating, and seventy to two hundred for a full job including preparation. Those are general UK figures to help you judge quotes. We price after seeing the floor, because slab condition changes the number more than the area does.

Foot traffic is usually possible within hours or overnight. Vehicles need the full chemical cure, which is typically around three to seven days depending on the system and the temperature. We give you actual dates. Driving on it early, especially turning the wheels while stationary, is the most common way a good floor gets marked.

Often yes, but it has to be dealt with rather than ignored. Moisture rising through a slab with no working damp proof membrane is the single most common cause of resin floor failure, because the coating seals it in and it lifts the floor off in blisters. The answer is to check the slab and, where needed, specify a moisture-tolerant primer or damp-suppressant system.

Static cracks, yes. They get opened out, cleaned, filled with resin repair mortar and made flush during preparation. Live cracks with active movement are different: resin will not bridge movement, so that crack will come through the finished floor. Movement joints have to be carried through the floor rather than coated over.

A smooth gloss finish is slippery when wet, which is exactly why slip resistance is specified rather than assumed. Broadcasting a fine quartz aggregate into the coating gives controlled grip. More texture means better grip and slightly more effort to clean. For anywhere that gets wet, we would recommend it.

Tiles, vinyl, adhesive residue and failed or flaking coatings generally do need to come off, because resin is only ever as sound as what it is bonded to. Sound bare concrete stays put and gets mechanically prepared instead. Tell us what is down now and send a photo, it affects the price meaningfully.

Epoxy is harder, builds thickness well and suits garages, workshops and general commercial floors, but it is more brittle under sharp impact and can yellow in prolonged direct sunlight. Polyurethane is more flexible, copes better with temperature swings and wash-downs, and holds colour better under UV. We will tell you which we are proposing for your floor and why.

Resin bonds mechanically, so it needs an open, textured, contamination-free surface to key into. A power-floated slab is polished closed, and old floors carry sealers, oil and curing compounds. Skipping the grinding gives you a floor bonded to the contamination rather than to the concrete, and it is the most common corner cut on a cheap quotation.

For a typical domestic garage, expect preparation and application across a small number of days, with the coats needing to go on in sequence and the floor then curing before use. Larger commercial areas depend on size and whether the space has to be worked in sections to keep it operational.

Yes, but cold slows curing considerably and an unheated garage in January is a very different environment to the same garage in July. It affects both the working time and when you can use the floor, and we plan the dates around it rather than pretending it makes no difference.

A properly cured resin floor is considerably more resistant to oil and general workshop spills than bare concrete, which absorbs everything. Resistance depends on the system, and no floor is immune to everything, so wiping spills up promptly is still sensible.

Yes. Solid colours are standard, and decorative flake broadcast into the coating is popular in garages and showrooms because it hides marks well and adds a bit of texture. It is worth discussing at quotation stage since it affects the build-up.

Sweep or vacuum, then mop with a mild detergent. There are no grout lines or seams to collect dirt, which is most of the appeal. Avoid harsh solvents, and if the floor has a broadcast aggregate texture it will want a slightly stiffer brush than a smooth one.

Masonry paint is one option among several and sometimes it is the right one. The difference is in specifying for the substrate: choosing between a film-forming and a vapour-permeable system, deciding whether the surface needs stabilising first, and diagnosing why any previous coating failed rather than covering it.

Only if you find out why it is flaking first. Flaking in sheets is usually a bond failure or moisture pushing out from behind. If the wall is wet because of a defective gutter, a leaking downpipe or a bridged damp proof course, a new coating will fail the same way. We would rather identify that and tell you than take the job twice.

A vapour-permeable coating lets moisture vapour pass out through the wall instead of sealing it in. Older solid-wall construction generally needs this. Sealing such a wall with a film-forming coating can cause blistering, internal damp and frost damage to the masonry. Whether you need one depends on how your wall is built, which is something we check on site.

Usually not on its own, and we would be cautious of anyone who promises it will. External coatings can reduce water absorption into a wall, but internal damp is far more often caused by a specific defect or by condensation. Fix the cause first, then coat.

Often, yes, particularly where you are extending or repairing part of an elevation. Bring it up at the quotation stage so we can look at the existing texture and colour before choosing a system.

Yes, always, and it is treated rather than just brushed off. Organic growth left on a surface will grow back through a new coating, and it also indicates the surface stays damp, which is worth understanding before specifying.

It depends on the area, the amount of preparation and the access. A small elevation might be a couple of days including preparation, a full house with scaffold considerably more. Coats also need time between them, and cold or damp weather extends that.

Some of it, in settled conditions. Most external coatings have minimum application temperatures and must not take rain while curing, so winter work depends heavily on the forecast and dates can move.

Yes, that is generally the point, but it is worth being aware that if your property is listed or in a conservation area, changing the external appearance may need consent. We will flag it if we think it might apply, and we would expect you to confirm with the council before we start.

We do not publish a lifespan figure, because it depends enormously on the system, the exposure of the elevation and how well the surface was prepared. What we can say is that a correctly specified and properly prepared coating outlasts a badly prepared one by a wide margin, which is where the effort goes.

Yes. They are often more exposed than the house itself, taking weather from both sides and sitting with no roof overhang, so they are worth specifying carefully rather than treating as an afterthought.

Defined projects rather than open-ended contracts: concrete bases and slabs, hardstanding, masonry and blockwork, brick and stone repairs, external works, and general property improvement. A lot of it runs directly into our surface finishing work.

Work needing building control approval, structural engineering design or main contractor management of multiple trades over months is outside what we take on, and we will say so at the enquiry stage. We would rather be straight with you than stretch into something and manage it badly.

Yes, both. Commercial work usually needs more planning around access and operating hours, which we would rather agree in advance than improvise on the day.

Yes, and this is one of the practical advantages of doing both. If a slab needs patching before it can take a resin system, or a sill needs rebuilding before it can take a coating, it gets handled as part of the same job instead of stalling while another trade is arranged.

We tell you at the time, explain the options and agree how to proceed before doing the work. Groundworks and repair work do occasionally uncover things nobody could see from the surface. What should not happen is you finding out about it on the final invoice.

Yes. Waste removal and leaving the site clean is part of the job, not an extra, and it is confirmed in the quotation.

We work across roughly a twenty mile radius of Glenavy, which covers most of County Antrim and the north of County Down. If you are just outside that, ask, because it depends on the size of the job.

It depends entirely on the work. Many repairs, bases and hardstanding jobs do not, but some do, and permitted development rules have real limits. We will tell you if we think approval is likely to be needed, and the responsibility for obtaining it sits with the property owner.

It depends on scope, access and ground conditions, and we give a programme with the quotation. External work is weather dependent and we would rather say that plainly than give you a date the forecast will not support.

No. Site visits and quotations are free and there is no obligation.