Does Your Floor Need One?
You’ve chosen your colors and aggregate blend for your terrazzo project; one critical decision remains: the finish. Whether you are looking for a high-gloss floor, something with a softer sheen, or a cement-style matte, the choice can significantly impact both the look and the cost of your floor.
A final step in any terrazzo installation is the application of a sealer. A penetrating sealer is applied to cement terrazzo floors for improved resistance to stains, dirt, and wear. A sealer on epoxy terrazzo, which is non-porous, serves to help protect the aggregate and enhance the floor’s beauty. Resealing your floor is needed when regular cleaning and polishing fails to restore its like-new glow.
Sealers are fundamentally unlike wax, which coats a terrazzo floor’s surface, potentially causing yellowing and dulling, and tends to wear down quickly and make the floor slippery. The right sealer allows a terrazzo floor to develop its natural sheen, or patina, as it ages.
“Terrazzo is extremely versatile,” said Michael Blackburn of Master Terrazzo Technologies, a supplier member of the NTMA. The choice of polish for your custom floor goes from a standard 120-grit finish to 1500-grit or more, with diamond-impregnated grinding pads. The sealing finish can be a simple water-based or matte sealer or numerous other options on the market. Terrazzo sealers offer options for a range of budgets as well as aesthetics.
“The first thing we bring up regarding this subject is that there is no need for special finishes on terrazzo; it’s a luxury,” cautioned Joe Iorio of Yorie Tile & Terrazzo. “There’s always a less expensive option.”
It’s Not Getting Older; It’s Getting Better
A terrazzo floor comes to look better over time as the patina is developed, with foot traffic and maintenance, especially a cement-based floor, Mr. Iorio explained.
“There’s a place for an added finish: if you have a class-A lobby and want to expedite what it will look like in two to three years,” he said. “You can fast track the higher gloss and patina of an older floor.”
Buyer Beware
Using diamond-impregnated pads for a brilliant finish can add a significant amount to the bottom line. Mr. Blackburn said that if the project is budget-focused, for example, a K-12 school, such an option is the last suggestion he would make; special finishes are unnecessary and could knock terrazzo out of the bidding.
Specific finishes may be proposed to cut the terrazzo floor’s maintenance requirements. Such an option may allow you to skip some stripping and resealing, but it doesn’t mean the floor will be maintenance-free, Mr. Blackburn clarified. The maintenance protocol for a high-polish after-market finish may not necessarily be lower, just different from other finishes. He advises a careful perusal of the product literature; it may not be as easy as it sounds.
Just know the costs upfront and realize that each option still has maintenance needs, Mr. Blackburn cautioned. A special coating may save some on regular upkeep, but verify that it’s enough to justify the extra expense.
It All Depends
“An architect needs to have a relationship with a product representative or terrazzo contractor who has technical knowledge and can look at the project and ask the right questions,” Mr. Blackburn remarked. He tries to make the process as simple as he can for design clients. In every case, he recommends a finish to suit the project’s needs, which may be more about chemical resistance and durability than aesthetics.
For example, he explained that a topcoat sealer is of paramount importance in a hospital operating room because of chemical attacks on the floor. In that case, he would recommend a polyurethane topcoat, which is tougher than what is needed for the average airport.
Lowest Maintenance Costs Around
With a standard sealer applied by your NTMA contractor, the sheen will be impeccable, assured Mr. Iorio. A higher-price sealer may make sense for your project, but you will generally have a high-performing floor without it.
Whatever the sealer, if the floor is maintained according to standard, NTMA-recommended procedures, your maintenance costs will be less than for any other flooring, Mr. Iorio added.
Weigh It and Wait
Your NTMA terrazzo contractor can provide samples of the various finish options you are considering. Our experts recommend you ask your contractor to point you to completed installations you can walk through to compare different finishes. Mr. Iorio also recommends trying the standard finish for two to four years and then reconsidering the question. He concluded that if you change your mind, a special finish can be applied even 30 years later.
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