My parents ‘ had terrazzo floors in the 60’s -70’s, they’re classic & expensive ( I vaguely remember comments re being expensive, idk ). I can’t remember any special care for them but I was a child then, I was too young to appreciate them, I would now. Their architecture was very contemporary MCM, designed by a well known architect ( wish I could remember his name).

Terrazzo is marble chips set in epoxy that's ground and polished. It generally has some type of sealer applied, much like polished concrete. It would be cleaned with a neutral pH cleaner and occasionally scrubbed or stripped and recoated with polish. Of course it can't be changed in color but a specialist can repair damaged spots, regrind and polish.

Terrazzo runs from very nice to rather ugly. It's only a plus during resale if your buyer thinks it is. Some people love it while most people cover it up. Floor guys generally love it because it's flat and smooth when installing a new floor over top.

Terrazzo...you love it or hate it. It's a "forever" floor with minimal upkeep. My Aunt had it, on a working ranch. Every five years she would have it Pro cleaned, sealed, and buffed. After 60 years it still looked pristine.

One of the reasons terrazzo is so expensive is that they last so long with almost no upkeep whatsoever. Cleaning usually takes no more than hot water, and then maybe once a month or so, a normal floor detergent, and you're good to go. Maybe once every 5-6 years, it wouldn't hurt to strip and reseal the floor.

As for its composition, there are many types of terrazzo. Not even close to all terrazzo is epoxy based. The older terrazzos were Portland cement based, and either mixed with water (mudset) or mixed with latex (thinset over concrete). And then there are several resins that can be used in mixing chemical based terrazzos the most popular being epoxy or polyester resins. The chemical resin terrazzos are the more expensive, usually reserved for things like hospital OR's or research labs where the floors have to be chemically resistant and non sparking.

I'm under the impression that most of the interior terrazzo here in south Florida is epoxy based but that's what I've been told by experts here. I'm a wood guy so I took the information at face value.

Not sure. I was in Homestead for about 3 years in the mid 90's, and most of the terrazzo I saw down there was acrylic-- Pretty much latex modified Portland cement based thinset terrazzo over concrete. Maybe things have changed. I've been out of terrazzo for almost 30 years now.

My father-in-law tiled over his terrazzo and I'm still sick about it 20 years later. Fortunately, he's a crap tile setter and they'll all probably pop right off.

I've refinished a couple of terrazzo floors that had tile set over them. Not a big deal, so long as there's some good "meat" left to the floor.

Thanks for the responses.

I am leaning towards keeping the floors I just was unsure as to how to get them to shine. I hated the color too..lol.

I'm wanted to have them professionally cleaned but I was having trouble finding any local companies that deal with them.

Perhaps a janitorial service might be able to provide the labor and machinery needed.

We had terrazzo floors when I was growing up in the 50's/60's. I always thought they put them in cheap houses. They were very easy to maintain.

Back in the 50's and 60's they WERE cheap flooring. Before the advent of the chemical terrazzos, the materials were pretty cheap, in comparison to other finishes. However, the installation is extremely labor intensive, and while back then, labor was relatively cheap not so much today, especially being that the only place you'll find terrazzo installers and finishers is in union shops. That, along with the cost of the resins used for the chemical terrazzos, yeah-- it puts it out of the running for most homeowners. Refinishing existing terrazzo, on the other hand isn't so bad.

I love them but I also love MCM so maybe thats why. Cleaning them should not be difficult , if you hate the color that can’t be changed

I grew up in home with gorgeous Terrazzo floors and it's still going strong and beautiful in my parent's home (white with beautiful white/off white/grayish flecks of shells/crystals/marble and whatever else was mixed in during the early 60s). I'm guessing today's would be tacky looking if you don't seek out a true professional that knows what he/she's doing. There is really no upkeep to them.

The next door neighbors are remodeling their MCM home, and they found an expert Terrazzo guy and he's doing Terrazzo throughout their great room/kitchen and I hear it's gorgeous! I need to make my way over to see it. CONS: slippery when wet, cold, hard on back/legs. PROS: easy to maintain pretty, durable. I googled a few Terrazzo companies and they look so ugly now, so be sure to find a company that makes the beautiful stuff....

Is there any way to fix a crack in Terrazzo? I found a crack and now I don't know what I will do with the floors....

Yes, they can be fixed. Ask the cleaning service people for a contact.

My parents' Miami house has terrazzo. I would be heartbroken if anything happened to that floor. So cool and super easy to care for.

Monica:

Terrazzo can be repaired; just make sure you hire the right person. I'd take terrazzo with a funky crack over any other floor too.

Maybe you can find a lead through this website -

http://terrazzorestorationblog.com/ 

Check out the lobbies of older commercial buildings in your city (banks, Government, large office), if they have terrazzo floors their maintenance department can direct you to a Pro.

I would love to have a terrazzo floor. If I were looking for a house that would be a winning feature for me. What color is your floor? Can you share a photo?

That panel can be removed to the surrounding strips, and the panel re-poured and ground. But be aware-- it will most likely be at the very least a shade off from the original terrazzo.

Ignore that crack; it's nothing. Keep the original fabric, please.

beautiful floors. I'd kill to have Terrazzo in my home. you're crazy if you ever had that removed to put down something like "wood-look tile planks". lol

Call in flooring restoration expert. key word, 'expert', not some hack. make sure they're proficient w/Terrazzo. have them clean and polish it for you. they can prob fix the crack so it won't be too noticeable

I'm with Joe.