Terrazzo Flooring in San Francisco, CA - a hard, polished floor laid on a checked slab
Tired of replacing floors every few years? We check your slab first, then lay terrazzo that's ground and polished to a smooth, hard finish.
- Licensed and insured.
- Free estimates at your property.
- We reply within 1 business day.
Is terrazzo flooring worth the higher price in San Francisco?
Terrazzo flooring is chips of marble, glass or other aggregate set in a cement or resin binder, mixed on site, troweled in place, then ground and polished, and in San Francisco we install it for owners who want one hard floor that lasts instead of several that don't.
You're probably weighing a floor that costs more up front against one you won't have to keep replacing, and that's the right way to think about terrazzo. The price moves mostly with the design, since a simple layout in one color is the least expensive and each choice beyond that adds to the budget, and with how much work your slab needs before we can start. The schedule turns on that same slab and on the system you pick, because a thin resin system usually goes in faster and costs less up front than a traditional thick set floor. When I come out, I'll check the concrete and tell you what each option means for your budget and your timeline.
How do you know it's time to look at terrazzo?
Old coating peeling or bubbling
When paint or a coating lifts off concrete in patches, it usually means moisture or a weak bond in the slab, not a bad can of product. If you lay a new floor over it without finding the cause, the same thing tends to happen again, and every month you wait leaves more loose coating to strip.
Cracks across the concrete
A crack you can see in bare concrete, or one that's shown up as a line through old tile or vinyl, usually means the slab has moved and may keep moving. It's far cheaper to find and treat before a new floor goes down than to live with a line running through a finished one.
Worn floors in busy rooms
Flooring that's scuffed, stained or worn through in a hallway, kitchen or shop entry usually isn't hard enough for the traffic it gets. Putting down the same thing again often means paying for it twice.
How we install terrazzo flooring, from slab to polish
Terrazzo is a floor for the long haul, so I start under it, taking moisture readings and looking for cracks in the slab before we plan anything, because a resin topping lets almost no vapor through and moisture trapped under it can push it loose. Once the slab checks out, our crew prepares the surface, places any membrane and the divider strips that set your pattern, then mixes and places the terrazzo. After the first set, we rough grind it, grout where it needs it, grind through finer stages, polish it and seal it.
Most of the hard work on a terrazzo job happens in the concrete, so concrete grinding and surface preparation is often the first part of it, whether that's taking off old coatings and adhesive or opening up the surface so the new floor bonds. If your space is below grade, our basement flooring work covers what a damp slab means for the floors that can go down there.
Epoxy terrazzo
The national terrazzo trade association says epoxy terrazzo has the quickest pour-to-grind time, is non-absorbent and has the lowest maintenance cost. That makes it the usual pick when you want a shorter job and less upkeep.
Cement terrazzo
Cement terrazzo is the traditional, thicker floor, and a sand cushion version floats on its own bed instead of bonding to the slab, so cracks underneath matter less to it. It suits a ground floor where the extra thickness and weight aren't a problem.
Get a terrazzo estimate, with your slab checked first
We reply within one business day to set up a visit to look at your floor and check the slab for moisture and old coatings. The estimate is free, it happens at your property, and there's no pressure and no obligation to go ahead.
(415) 918-5395Terrazzo flooring permits and landmarks in San Francisco
The city says you must have a building permit to do construction, so permit questions come up at the estimate, before you've committed to anything. When your job needs one, we help you work through it with the city's building office and do the work to what the permit asks. If your building is a landmark, SF Planning has to approve the work, which is why I want to know that early, before you've settled on a design.
A lot of the floors we open up here sit on older concrete that's been covered and recovered over the years, so we usually find old adhesive, coatings or patches to clear before we can read the slab honestly. We see the same in houses, flats and storefronts on jobs in Oakland and Daly City, and we work in the cities down the Peninsula and across the Bay from our base in San Francisco.
What happens when you call us about terrazzo in San Francisco?
Call or send the form
You call (415) 918-5395 or fill out the form, and we get back to you to set up a time to see the floor. We take calls early mornings through late evenings, weekends included.
I check the floor and slab
I come out, look at the floor and check the slab for moisture, cracks and old coatings. Then I walk you through the binder, the design and what each option means for your price and your schedule, so you choose with the reasons in front of you.
Our crew preps and places
If you go ahead, our crew prepares the concrete, sets the strips and places the terrazzo, with a lead installer running the job day to day. If your job needs a permit, the work follows what it asks.
Polish, seal and care walkthrough
We grind the floor smooth in stages, polish it and seal it. Before we leave, we show you how to care for it, since routine upkeep is what keeps that polish looking right.
Frequently asked questions
Why does terrazzo flooring cost more than other floors in San Francisco?
Terrazzo generally costs more to install than other flooring because it's mixed on site, troweled in place and then ground and polished in several passes. Over a building's whole life, though, the masonry trade counts it as the most economic floor finish there is, since a floor that lasts doesn't have to be bought twice. Your own number depends on your slab and your design, which is what the estimate is for.
How long does a terrazzo floor last?
With basic maintenance, terrazzo can easily last the lifetime of the building it's in. What usually cuts that short is under the floor, which is why the slab check comes first on every terrazzo job we plan.
Can terrazzo be installed on an upper floor or over plywood?
Epoxy terrazzo can, according to the national terrazzo trade association, which calls it light, flexible and ideal for multi-story buildings. The association also says it can go over plywood that's been properly installed and prepared, so on a wood floor I look hard at how the subfloor was built before we plan anything.
Do I need a permit for terrazzo flooring in San Francisco?
Your job may need one, since San Francisco says construction requires a building permit, so it's not something to assume away. We sort it out at the estimate, along with the landmark question covered above, so you know where your job stands before work starts.
How do I know my terrazzo floor will match the sample?
Expect it to be close but not identical, because terrazzo is a custom floor made mostly from natural products and slight shade differences are normal. Looking at a sample in your own room's light helps you judge how much variation you're comfortable with.
What is the best way to keep cracks from showing through terrazzo?
The best way is to deal with cracks in the concrete before the terrazzo goes down, which matters most on bonded systems like epoxy and less on a floating sand cushion floor. The trade association adds that a flexible membrane, specified as an extra, lets epoxy terrazzo absorb some horizontal crack or control joint movement, the shifting at the cuts made in a slab to guide where it cracks, so ask whether one is in your quote.
San Francisco, CA
Plan your terrazzo floor, starting underneath
Tell us whether the floor is concrete or plywood, which story it's on and whether the building is a landmark, so the visit can go straight to the options that fit.