The General Contractor & Terrazzo:

While today’s generation of terrazzo is still poured-in-place on the jobsite, and as durable as ever, its reputation has lagged far behind the reality of the industry. The evolution of the installation process has come a long way since those century-old floors were first installed. And with these advances, comes very good news for the GC in terms of costs, time, space and headaches.

First, installation has become simpler, cleaner and cheaper, while terrazzo’s design capacity has expanded exponentially. Over recent decades, the terrazzo industry’s large-scale shift to epoxy from traditional sand-cushion has dramatically lowered costs while playing a key role in the several game-changing improvements in the process.

We asked several GCs who are experienced in working with today’s terrazzo, along with a veteran terrazzo contractor, to share their insights on the challenges a GC faces and their top advice for trouble-free terrazzo.

“The product has a certain way to install it, and as with any trade, there’s a cost and a mess involved,” said Henry Serry, an experienced construction manager and President of Koontz Corporation, Inc., of San Antonio, one of the city’s largest general contractors. “You just have to understand and plan for it.”

What exactly does a GC need to know and do to minimize disruption and delays while integrating terrazzo into a project?

“Terrazzo is a veneer system; it reacts to whatever the concrete substrate does,” Mr. Iorio cautions. Standard terrazzo installation includes a crack-suppression membrane over the slab to inhibit cracks in the substrate from telegraphing through the terrazzo, but whatever panels or expansion joints the substrate demands, those must be taken into consideration in the terrazzo design.

Communication between the various trades is, again, therefore, essential to the smooth progress of project featuring terrazzo installation.

“The GC and the terrazzo and concrete contractors need to have a good solid meeting two to three weeks before pouring any concrete,” Mr. Iorio cautioned. “It’s well worth the hour of conversation. It saves a lot of grief and the final result shows the coordination.”

With epoxy terrazzo, divider strips serve purely for aesthetic purposes, as Mr. Iorio explains. Because of shrinkage in cement based terrazzo, on the other hand, it requires 4×4 or 5×5 panels. To minimize unnecessary disruption to the terrazzo design, the architect or structural engineer may need to be involved to gracefully coordinate the pattern with the substrate joints.

All parties concerned need to reach clear agreement about expectations for flatness and all substrate issues, with any needed adjustments made to the plans, he cautioned. Particularly with renovation projects, if trenching of the concrete is necessary, for example, that’s a conversation GC needs to have with both contractors.

Terrazzo has come a long way, and with the right approach and informed expectations, a terrazzo installation can bring GCs a higher return than ever on their investment in it.

“Terrazzo is a fantastic product, a high-end product, a permanent product. I enjoy terrazzo jobs because it results in a high quality project,” said Mr. Serry. “It reflects well on me and challenges me to do it well.”