A Beautiful Terrazzo Tile Floor in Victoria, London
At DirectStone we love being part of projects that bring buildings back to life! Victoria’s Terminus Place was built in 1909 and has been a splendid shopping arcade, a restaurant and a super club. Then the arcaded bays sat abandoned until a new development brought it back to life. From November this year, the Market Hall, Victoria will provide a dizzying array of global food and drink to local residents, commuters, and tourists.
DirectStone Grinds Non-Rectified Terrazzo Tiles for Perfect Finish
And what part did DirectStone play in all this? We were delighted to be asked to grind a new terrazzo tiled floor that will grace the refurbished building. Our skills were needed because the terrazzo tiles were non-rectified. This means that there are small differences in their dimensions and the thickness of the tiles. Grinding is required in order to achieve a beautiful flat, smooth surface for the finished floor.
Applying Diamond Grinding Expertise
Terrazzo tiles require specialist installation because of the non-uniformity of the tiles. Using an HTC grinding machine, we used metal bond diamonds to remove ‘lippage’ caused by the slightly different thicknesses of the terrazzo tiles. This initial grinding process also allowed us to remediate any chips or damage which would have occurred in the process of installation.
Honing Terrazzo
Honing requires the use of industrial diamonds to bring the floor to a smooth finish. The DirectStone team used ceramic bond diamonds to 200g to remove scratches and create a uniform appearance for the tiles. It’s at this stage that you begin to get a clear idea of just how spectacular your terrazzo floor will look when finished.
Sealing Stone Floors for Durability
Once the floor was honed, it was sealed with two coats of impregnator. This particular type of sealant penetrates into absorbent stone surfaces and fills the natural pores and cavities with polymers. The result is a floor surface that prevents staining from water-based dirt, oil and grease. The seal is effective for up to 5 years, making it durable for use within an environment where spillages will be a daily occurrence.
Buffing to a Beautiful Finish
The final stage in the process was to buff the terrazzo floor with a diamond impregnated soft pad to finish. This particular diamond polishing pad is used where the floor requires a gentle buff in order to avoid scratches. We were delighted with the results of our work. The grinding process had brought out the innate elegance of the muted colours, and the distinctive texturing added a natural beauty to the floor.
This job was around 175m2 terrazzo, and we can work with quantities up to roughly 600m2.
If you like the terrazzo tile floor finish we achieved for the Market Hall, Victoria, why not call us to find out more about our work?
