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 |  | DIY Tile Installation: $6-$20 a Square Foot |  | Professional Tile Installation: $12-$30 a Square Foot |  | Poured-in-Place Terrazzo: $20-$80 a Square Foot |
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Common in large commercial or institutional spaces, terrazzo is also called Venetian mosaic. It may have a pebbly appearance, but terrazzo's flexibility allows for a wide variety of styles, textures and designs, including geometrics, graphics or a logo in the flooring. Terrazzo is an ancient flooring method that adds a conglomeration of stone, marble and/or glass chips to a resin- or cement-based mixture. It's poured in place, and once it hardens the terrazzo is ground and polished to a smooth surface, creating an extremely durable and easy-to-maintain floor. The poured-in-place terrazzo process is labor-intensive and more suited to large open spaces, making it less common in residential applications. However, it has been used in large, custom homes, and the development of comparatively less expensive terrazzo tiles has led to increasing installations of distinctive terrazzo tile floors in similar areas of high-end homes.
Typical costs: | - A terrazzo floor has a high initial price, but can last for generations with no replacement costs. Professionally installed poured-in-place terrazzo can cost $20-$50 a square foot ($8,000-$20,000 for a 20'x20'; $40,000-$100,000 for 2,000 square feet) but can go as high as $60-$80 or more a square foot. (Smaller projects generally cost more per square foot.) Stone Business Online[1] reports that a terrazzo kitchen floor in a luxury apartment cost about $60,000.
- A do-it-yourself poured terrazzo installation project is challenging but not impossible, and material costs can be minimal. A Florida homeowner[2] used white cement, fine sand, scraps from a marble wholesaler, a small rock crusher and a homemade grinder to set his own terrazzo floors for about $200.
- Terrazzo tiles come in a wide variety of color and texture combinations, and can cost $6-$20 or more a square foot, or $2,400-$8,000 for 20'x20'. Professional installation can add another $6-$10 a square foot, bringing total costs for labor and materials to $12-$30 or more a square foot, or $4,800-$12,000 for 20'x20'. FastFloors.com[3] offers a 12"x12" terrazzo tile for $8-$20 a square foot, and the Ecowise[4] store in Texas offers 16"x16" terrazzo tiles for $10.80-$16.55 a square foot.
Related articles: Marble Floor, Slate Floor, Limestone Floor, Stone Floor, Tile Flooring
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What should be included: | - Typically, a firm bed or flooring foundation is laid out (such as a concrete slab). Then, grid sections (usually about 3 square feet each, or in a custom pattern) are laid out and attached to the foundation. The terrazzo mixture (chips plus concrete or resin) is poured over the grid. The mixture is vibrated and compacted to remove air bubbles, then packed tightly using special equipment. After it hardens, the surface is ground and polished. Depending on the job conditions, there are a number of systems for installing terrazzo, and the National Terrazzo & Mosaic Association provides an overview. The manufacturer Picasso-Crete provides a video slideshow[5] of the installation process for its product.
- For those reasonably confident in their do-it-yourself abilities, DoItYourself.com offers instructions[6] for pouring a traditional cement-based terrazzo floor.
- Terrazzo is one of the original "green" environmentally-friendly flooring products for its use of natural materials and recycled stone or glass chips. Terrazzo also emits no volatile organic compounds[7] (VOCs, which may have short- or long-term negative health effects). Terrazzo can be used indoors or outdoors.
Additional costs: | - Maintenance generally includes daily dust-mopping, use of pH-neutral cleaners and -- for cement-based rather than epoxy/resin terrazzo -- an annual sealing with an acrylic-based sealer. Cleaning products runs $10-$30 a gallon, and sealers run $20-$50 a gallon.
Shopping for a terrazzo floor: | - For a professionally-installed traditional terrazzo floor, the National Terrazzo & Mosaic Association provides a list of contractors and suppliers that can be searched by state.
- Terrazzo tile manufacturers include Daltile and Eco-Terr[8] . Terrazzo tiles are sold by online retailers like CoolTiles[9] and FastFloors.com[10] .
- Get several estimates, asking about the training and experience of the installers, the materials to be used, performance warranties and the length of time required to complete the project. Request (and confirm) references from satisfied customers, and ask to see examples of recently completed projects. Make sure the contractor is properly bonded, insured and licensed (state licensing requirements vary).
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External Resources: | - www.stonebusiness.us/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1429:terrazzo-gr...
- www.city-data.com/forum/house/91165-terrazzo-floors.html
- www.fastfloors.com/catalog/productline.asp?productlineid=16409&productid=99460
- www.ecowise.com/default.asp
- www.youtube.com/watch?v=szc37753FN8
- www.doityourself.com/stry/how-to-lay-terrazzo-floors
- www.epa.gov/iaq/voc.html
- www.coveringsetc.com/EcoTerrHome.aspx
- scripts2.cooltiles.com/cgi-bin/search.pl?text=terrazzo&x=0&y=0
- www.fastfloors.com/_library/search.asp?qtxt=terrazzo&submit=GO
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