Side by side
| Factor | Seamless epoxy or quartz | Quarry tile |
|---|---|---|
| Installed cost | $11-$16/sq ft | $12-$20/sq ft |
| Joints that can harbour bacteria | None | Grout throughout |
| Floor-to-wall junction | Integral coved resin | Silicone bead that fails |
| Thermal shock at the dish pit | Urethane cement handles it | Cracks grout |
| Impact resistance | High | Very high |
| Repairability | Patch and re-coat a zone | Replace individual tiles |
| Install downtime | 24-36 hours | Several days |
| Ongoing maintenance | Wash down | Grout sealing that never happens |
Gold marks the stronger option for that factor. A tie is shown in neutral text.
Choose seamless resin when
It is a commercial kitchen, brewery, food-processing floor or any wash-down area. Seamless, coved, non-porous and slip-rated is what BC health authorities are looking for, and it removes the grout problem permanently rather than resetting the clock on it every few years.
Tile still makes sense when
The floor takes extreme point impact, as in a heavy-goods receiving area where things get dropped from height, and individual tile replacement is genuinely useful. Some heritage and front-of-house spaces also want tile for appearance, in which case running tile front of house and resin in the kitchen is a normal and sensible split.
The dish pit is a different product again
Where 80°C water hits a cool slab daily, standard epoxy expands at a rate far from concrete and eventually debonds. That zone wants urethane cement specifically, tied into the quartz elsewhere at a saw-cut line. A quote that runs one product across the whole kitchen has not thought about the dish pit.
Not sure which applies to your slab?
The site visit includes a moisture reading and an honest look at the concrete, then a written fixed price. We will tell you when the cheaper option is the right one.