Terrazzo grinding and polishing.

Recent terrazzo restoration work on the North Devon District hospital operating theatre floors.

Terrazzo is mainly used today in tile form for super markets and air port floors. It can however be used in most every day tiled floor installations,though it's hard wearing straight forward maintenance does lend its self well to public areas. Terrazzo is also used instead of ceramic or porcelain tiles because when finished the tile and grout lines are seamless and the tile and grout can be re surfaced. Super markets especially need floors without grout lines because shopping trollies need to run smoothly across the floor. If you used a standard floor tile the grout line is normally not flush with the top of the tile so the wheels of the trolly will bounce over the grout line. They also need a floor that is easy to maintain.Each day super markets will send out cleaning staff with scrubbers often fitted with HTC Twister pads to re surface the top of the terrazzo leaving a clean new surface behind. Because the pads are impregnated with diamonds normally between 1800-3000 grit they will also leave the floor with a glossy shine.

 

Durings the installation of the terrazzo tile the floor is flood grouted and then the floor is ground to about 80 grit. It is then handed over normally to cleaning companies who sub contract the next grinding stages out. Companies like ours will then grind the floor to the main contractors specfication and then the cleaning company will then take over and hulk clean the floor to a finish.

 

Commercially terrazzo makes alot of sense though concrete polishing does seem to be becoming more popular. Polished concrete is also seamless and can be re surfaced, installation times are also quicker and cheaper than terrazzo.

 

Terrazzo at one time was used extensively in homes especially kitchen floors or hallways,  areas that needed to be kept clean. These floors were normally installed as a screed allowed to set for around 3-4 days and then ground and polished. Often you would have a main floor area with a different coloured border around the outside or maybe a coved skirting detail. These floors last a life time though with neglect they often end up covered with vinyl flooring or tiles. With a simple grind and a powder polish these floors can look as good as new and be a real asset in presenting your home.

 

We offer a full restoration service for terrazzo from a simple clean, chip and crack repairs, full re grind and powder polish/crystallization to newly laid lippage removal.