The pictures below are of an Edwardian era Terrazzo hallway floor in the Knighton near Leicester which we recently renovated for a client.
Knighton is a small residential suburb of Leicester that dates to the Doomsday book. It was once a separate village but over the years the area has built up and it is now linked up with two other villages. During the Victorian period there was a greater demand for housing due to the expanding industrial and agriculture sectors which led to its growth.
The Terrazzo floor looked to be in good condition but as with many of these old floors it had suffered from movement at some point in its long life. This resulted in cracks and it had also sustained damage from when a carpet had once been tacked down on the floor.
I visited the site to see the extent of the work required; I was confident I could fill the cracks and get a much better surface to the floor. I gave them a price which they were happy to accept.
Cleaning and Repairing an Edwardian Terrazzo Floor
Work started by filling up the cracks where possible, for this we used closely matching marble chips & resin adhesive. This is a successful method and helps to maintain the original style and colour of the traditional Terrazzo floor. The floor was then left to dry before we started the cleaning process.
Deep cleaning involved wetting the floor with a strong dilution of Tile Doctor Pro-Clean and allowing it to soak in for ten minutes so it can make a start on breaking down the dirt that had build-up in the floor. The cleaning solution is then worked in using a rotary machine fitted with a Black scrubbing pad and release the dirt. The floor is then rinsed with water and the soil is extracted using a wet vacuum. Once done the floor is inspected and the process repeated on stubborn areas.
We followed this with the burnishing process to remove light wear, scratches, and acid etching. To do this a four step Diamond burnishing pad system from Tile Doctor is applied that gradually refines the surface with application of different grades of diamond encrusted pads. Only water is used during the process and the floor is rinsed and extracted after each pad.
Sealing an Edwardian Terrazzo Floor
The client wanted a high polish finish which we achieved by burnishing using the last of the set of burnishing pads which is a 3000 grit. This last pad is applied using only a little water sprayed onto the floor and it leaves the floor dry and ready for sealing.
The Terrazzo floor was then sealed using several coats of Tile Doctors Colour Grow, this is a colour enhancing impregnating sealer that’s fully breathable and therefore idea for older floors like this one that won’t have had the benefit of a damp proof membrane installed.
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Finally, we left instructions on maintenance along with a bottle of Tile Doctors Stone Soap to clean the floor without damaging the sealer. This would ensure the floor maintained its new finish. The client was very happy with the newly renovated floor and was very pleased they had called on Tile Doctor to carry out the work, they were confident they could maintain it moving forward.
Source: Terrazzo Floor Repair and Renovation Service in Knighton Leicester
Covering Leicestershire including Knighton, Steve and Kay Sylvester is your local Stone, Grout and Tile maintenance expert. Additionally they are agents of Tile Doctor, the largest professional Tile, Stone and Grout restorative cleaning network in the UK. Tile Doctor has developed products and techniques to handle a multitude of issues surrounding tile, stone and grout, interior, exterior, domestic or commercial.