I love the look and performance of terrazzo but would rather do it myself than pay $16/sf. Has anyone done it who can offer advice? I’ll be doing about 200 sf over SOG treated with a sealer (Creteseal) that has a 10 year warranty against water vapor damage. I’ve looked into thinset epoxy terrazzo and cementitious terrazzo. I won’t be doing terrazzo base, just flooring. I’m considering glass chips in the mix.
Nil Desperandum
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Replies
Will,
Trust me, terrazzo is no do-it-yourself project. It takes specialized techniques and tools. However you choose to procede, be sure that the sealer on the concrete is not a membrane sealer or you'll have delamination problems.
Eric
Anything in building is do-able for DIY. (Brain surgery and root canals I have left to professionals)
DIY 35 Years ago with marble chips, no problems, was hand mixed (3 cu ft mixer) 1/2 inch top course over 6 inch thick 4 sack mix base; likely similar results for your situation. Cost in 1975 for the top coat and grinder rental was about 12 cents sq ft then - your need to do present day pricing comparisons. Do a few trial runs on a few square feet for color additives if you are also mixing yourself. I used poyurethane as a sealer and have had good results. Grade school friend also DIY his kitchen terrazzo, no problems. Placement of brass or aluminum separators should be 4 ft or so for DIY and figurine inserts are hard (my ony recourse was 7" angle grinder around the last few inches of the figures) to do if inserts are embossed or DIY copper castings.
Also found that renting a grinder a few days after a basement floor (1500 sf ) pour gave good results on plain 7/8 concrete mix vs. renting a power trowel ( about 20% added cost in rental for wear on SiC blocks) as the job could be put off for a few days, a few days sometimes a lifesaver for DIY home building.
One problem I did find, was going to do it again a few years back and could not find a good grinder to rent. The one I originally rented was 240 V with 2 counterrotating disks with 3 SiC blocks each, could not find one, only a floor polisher with a SiC insert disk the last time.