Lanie Brown This modern terrazzo does not look anything like the original terrazzo I see in 70s homes. I was hoping for ideas on how to work with the original material to update entryways and bathrooms.

Paul D'Amico - Period Design Terrazzo can be combined with stone tiles or mosaics or anything. Its extremely versatile. I will post examples when I return from my Holiday.

3angela When we lived in Mexico, our 16th century house had had terrazzo floors, which had been installed in the 20s. I loved those floors. They were beautiful and very easily kept clean.

maeeast I LOVE my terrazzo floor. My house was built in 1964 in Florida. The entire main floor is terrazzo. (The upstairs is hardwood.) It is fabulous. No thresholds means universal design. And when I renovated the kitchen, I didn't have to worry about the floor "matching" because the entire slab is terrazzo. I can knock walls down and move them anywhere without worrying about mismatched floor coverings.
It's easy to keep clean and cool on bare feet. And added benefit in Florida, terrazzo is great in the constant fight against mold, mildew, and bugs.
The major downside is price. It's currently running $75/sq ft to install, and it costs about $5/sq ft to "tune up" -- the terrazzo equivalent of steam cleaning carpets.

Paul D'Amico - Period Design Thank you Gabrielle for bringing the terrazzo topic up. I have posted photos of terrazzo floors made in Italy. I wanted to show the patterned type because usually people have only seen plain ones or non patterned ones. They also have them combined with mosaic and marble slabs. I'm sure that I have photos I took in Rome at Palazzo Corsini - a Renaissance Palace. I will post as soon as I can. There is a lot more to say about the various techniques and types. They are more suited for warm climates, though UFH might make them adaptable to cooler parts of the globe. Watch this space.

Paul D'Amico - Period Design Just another two for the time being

sjmom To terrazzo I say YES!

midmodfan I always loved terrazzo floors. Hope that one day we'll own a modest modern home in Southern Florida with original terrazzo floors that nobody ever tiled over!

cbailey60 Help. We have one of those 60s era terrazzo floors in our kitchen/breakfast area and it needs "tuning up" but we live in a rural area and have been unable to find anyone to do it. The floor is worn under the cabinets and is almost impossible to completely clean. Otherwise it is in good shape except for that issue and a yellowish appearance. Is there a do it yourself method we could use?

aidabear Check out American Terrazzo They're in TX and could price you restoration,patching, and Venetian designs Most reputable NTMA members can match a 100 year old floor pretty close so long as marble/misc aggregates are still quarried

bikespaces 1. I doubt that terrazzo floors put down today using "modern methods" will last anywhere near as well or as long as the stuff that was being poured even as late as the sixties and seventies. So, showing us a floor poured in 1964 to indicate how long newer terrazzo will last is disingenuous, at best. In any event, the picture currently showing looks to be wood floors, not terrazzo.

2. If you want to see terrazzo floors, many US public buildings built before 1980 have highly decorated terrazzo floors in high traffic lobby areas (marble was the previous public building choice, but marble is easily destroyed by stilletto heels, which came into widespread use after WWII). Because the floors cover huge expanses, it was cheaper to lay down than anything else, and is (relatively) cheap to maintain (ever wonder why the floors in your old office building's lobby get polished once a month or more?). In a house, with walls every ten to thirty feet, I can't even IMAGINE how much more it would cost to clean.

3. I cannot imagine a good reason to put terrazzo anywhere where it will get hard wear (that is, I suppose you could use it on walls). Even sealed, it can't take spills. And TUBS or SINKS?!!! What a waste, unless you have ridiculous amounts of money to burn. A shotblasted finish, outdoors under patio cover would be okay, I guess, so long as you know you aren't going to keep the house for thirty years, and have to replace/repair it.

4. I have posted elsewhere about how hard concrete (the base of all aggregate floors) is on your feet, legs, and joints.

littlemjs I recently bought a house built in 1965 in central Florida. It has terrazzo floors throughout. The owner had covered up the bedrooms with wall to wall carpeting....which is really a no no here in hot and humid Florida. We pulled up the carpeting and underneath was the beautiful terrazzo floor. We had a company in that took 5 days to clean and polish the floor in the whole house (before we moved any furniture in) and the floors look fantastic. Not a crack anywhere. The floors are easy to clean and never show the dirt. I would never cover these up with any other type of flooring. Whenever anyone comes to visit...they are amazed at the floors and really amazed when I tell them they are essentially "polished concrete"! You figure they've have held up for almost 50 years and still going strong!