Terrazzo Floor Cleaning Archives

Terrazzo Floor Cleaning

Welcome to my Work History archive where you will find detailed examples of the cleaning and renovation of Terrazzo flooring carried out in Dorset

Terrazzo is actually the by-product of broken pieces of stone often Marble, Limestone and Granite, which rather than being wasted are set into to a cement screed and poured onto the floor. Then once the screed is set it is grinded to a polish. Because of this we find the best way to maintain Terrazzo is with the use of Burnishing Pads which hone the floor and restore its appearance.

Terrazzo has actually been around for a long time, but mainly became popular in the 1920s when the first electrical grinders showed up on the building sites making the process of polishing much easier. With this new variation of Terrazzo the builder/tiler was able to create new set designs and pieces which fitted perfectly with the demands of the “Roaring Twenties” as the flooring of choice for hotels, railway stations and offices wishing to add that wow factor to a hallway or entrance.

One of the big issues we find with older Travertine floors is cracking due to settlement in the sub floor. These floors are poured in sections so any cracks need to be filled with a matching resin and then cleaned, polished and sealed.

Below you will find detailed examples of work we have carried out in the past, it should give you some idea of what’s involved and what can be achieved with the right techniques and products.

Terrazzo Tiled Floor Before and After Cleaning in Southbourne

Old Terrazzo tiled hallway floor restored in Southbourne

I do enjoy breathing new life into old floors as was the case with this Terrazzo tiled hallway floor in Southbourne near Bournemouth, installed in 1924 it had been knocked about by various building alterations and then finally covered in a carpet which had been glued to the floor.

Terrazzo Tiled Floor Before Cleaning in Southbourne

Removing Adhesive from Terrazzo tiles

Stubborn remnants of the carpet adhesive were removed using Tile Doctor NanoTech HBU Remover which is applied to the tiles and then left to soak in for a before being scrubbed in with a black buffing pad and a dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean. HBU actually stands for Heavy Buid-up Remover and it’s a great problem solver that penetrates through tough stains and coatings so they can be easily removed. The floor was then washed down with clean water and any areas that needed further attention were retreated until I was satisfied with the floor was clean and free of glue.

The next step was to re-polish the Terrazzo using a set of of Tile Doctor burnishing pads which are applied in sequence from Coarse through to Super Fine with a little water to help lubricate. The coarse pad removes any surface grime and old sealant and the remaining pads build up the polish to bring back the original shine. The floor is washed down between each pad to remove the soil generated during the process.

Sealing Terrazzo Tiles

Cleaning took most of the day so I returned the next day to apply the sealer testing the floor first to ensure it was dry. To seal the floor I used a couple of coats of Tile Doctor Colour Grow which is a colour enhancing sealer that impregnates into the pores of the stone and prevents contaminates staining the floor.
The customer decided that she would conceal the concrete patches at the edges of the floor using Colours Stone Effect speckled spray paint which is available in B&Q in her own time.