How do you know if it is terrazo?

[dealtimeman]

I have been asked to bid on a local hadware store that at one point was a supermarket and they didn't change the floor or overlay. So you can see where all the shelfs and stuff was. My question is how do i know if it terrazo? i ask because the manager believes it is terrazzo and he wants it stripped down and eight coats of 4 sealer then 4 finish. I had never stripped wax off of stone or any hard surface like terrazo and wanted to know if anyone has? If you have was it anymore difficult than vct? Do i need to buy a particular sealer for it? And the floor has rust marks that sun for twenty or so feet throughout the store where the shelves were, are these hard to get out?

 

[Mikey P]

Because only Terrazo looks like Terrazo?

 

[dealtimeman]

so there are no lookalikes or similarities with other flooring surfaces?

 

[steve frasier]

treat it just like VCT and you will be fine

stains probably won't come out

 

[Fon Johnson]

If it is a poured floor, it won't be in 12" squares like VCT, but I have seen terrazzo squares laid like VCT.. It will have a speckled appearance where the aggregate is set in the epoxy or cement. You can try scrapping with a knife or razor. If you can cut it, it is probably a vinyl. If it is terrazzo, it will sound and feel like you are scrapping smooth concrete, and you won't be able to scrape pieces of it up like you could with vinyl. If it is terrazzo, you just treat it like you would stripping VCT. There are vinyl floors (especially sheet vinyls) that look a lot like terrazzo. Some of these floors are even really tough and have welded seams that may look like grout lines. The stains more than likely won't come up, especially if you don't have experience with terrazzo. Also, 8 coats is over kill. I would apply 2 coats of terraglaze and 3 or 4 coats of i-shine to make it look REAL nice. You can also use the terraglaze as a sealer finish. It will burnish to a very nice shine.

Here is a 50 year old terrazzo floor we maintain. You can see a color differentiation to the right of the aisle where the shelves were moved over. The lighter color is where the floor was not exposed to light for YEARS. I think this floor at this point had 2 coats of terraglaze and 3 or 4 coats of ishine.

 

[dealtimeman]

thanks fon do you charge more for terrazo than you do for vct? and is it safe to wet sand to try to get stains out?

 

[Fon Johnson]

We usually charge the same. The only thing that is different is that one is VCT, and the other it terrazzo. As for sanding.. would you sand marble or cement? I would just rely on the aggressiveness of the pad, and the action of the chemicals. You have to use some caution, as you can etch it with acid and damage it. The aggregate may be marble, so you do have to be careful to a point, so I'd use great caution with anything like a rust remover. By nature these floors are rather pourous, so there will be stains that will NOT come out, just like your concrete driveway.

 

[TimP]

Some of these new grocery stores have a new floor that kinda looks like terazzo but it has a texture to it, I think it's some kind of plastic polymer or something. You're not supposed to have to strip and wax it at all.


Terazzo usually has flecks of color and is a flat surface that is poured like concrete. Looks kinda like vinyl but it's not plastic of course.

 

[breezeman]

Take a look at this months Coatingspromagmag.com and find some good info. If it is terrazzo you can use a compound to refinish.
Deron