Restoring Terrazzo Tiles Hidden Under Carpet | Refurbished | Insider

Pinnacle Stone Restoration has specialized in the repair of terrazzo and other natural-stone surfaces for over 20 years. Owner Kosta Ebanoidze walks us through how the company restores 100-year-old terrazzo floors that were covered by carpet at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.
Restoring the 5,000 square feet of terrazzo involves removing the carpet, filling in nail holes, grinding the floors to even their surface, honing the terrazzo to remove scratches, and sealing the floors to protect from wear and tear. The entire restoration took five weeks, but despite heavy foot traffic, the floors will only require maintenance every two years.
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Cinematographer: Viktoriya Yakymenko | www.viktoriyad...
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Restoring Terrazzo Tiles Hidden Under Carpet | Refurbished | Insider

[@n40tom]

I did this for 38 years and I made a pretty good living from it. It is hard dirty work but I have to say at the end of the job when you turn around and look back and see how gorgeous everything is you feel proud. I used to always say to myself you did that. That would always make me smile leaving the job.

[@jamescoleakaericunderwood2503]

I've got 34 years in the trade . Where you at? I'm in California my Son is carrying on in Minnesota he's got 13-14 years in now...I make art on the side!✌️

[@drlol2781]

How do you find the right stone to fill holes?

[@jamescoleakaericunderwood2503]

@@drlol2781 We go by color and size...when working in the trade you become familiar with the different marbles...we go by color and aggregate size ...from #0-#7 #1#2 is the most common

[@jamescoleakaericunderwood2503]

@@drlol2781 the stone( marble chips) comes in 100lb bags... A lot of work goes on before we even start a job... samples must be made looked at and approved...Lots goes into the making of a Terrazzo floor...every color and mix is controlled...✌️

[@jamescoleakaericunderwood2503]

@@drlol2781 The marble is scrap from different quarries around the world lots of greens come from Texas... White from Georgia etc...

[@phyllismay4384]

Beautiful. In the mid 1990's I went to a customer's house to measure their foyer and formal living room for new flooring. The house was in an area of San Antonio where the houses were built in the 40s and 50s. The houses were huge and eclectic. Anyhow, I get to the house and the front porch, foyer, and formal living room were all the most beautiful Terrazzo I had ever seen. The aggregate stones used were like 3/4" to 1" in size in green, yellow, rust, and white...so colorful. So amazing. My amazement and awe at the beauty of their floor convinced them not to rip it out. I told them not to do it and I was happy to lose the sale. I'd do this in my new home instead of stained concrete.

[@32suuharja]

In our recent flat, we discovered terrazzo underneath some nasty PVC. We were lucky to find a company that resored and sealed the terrazzo for us. I really love the floor, it elevated the kitchen and it always looked nice and unique.

[@geneard639]

I love terrazzo. It can last hundreds of years of abuse, and with some work, it can be restored to the same quality as the day it was laid. Its one of the most durable floorings, able to take constant heavy traffic as seen in Grand Central Station and only shows wear after millions of feet have trod on it. It can have an artistic expression that is hard to surpass. I've seen a kitchen floor in terrazzo that an artist laid out a trail of leaves and flowers in the floor.... it was exquisite.

[@jamesbizs]

100’s of years? Did you see how destroyed this floor was after a couple decades?

[@lh8474]

its super ugly tho

[@jamescoleakaericunderwood2503]

@@jamesbizs There's acres of Terrazzo at Hoover dam...I think it's Indian patterns if I remember correctly...that's almost 100 years old and in excellent shape...

[@jamescoleakaericunderwood2503]

@@lh8474 This particular floor is awful ugly... But once repaired it will hold up well enough...I'm sure the decision was made due to how clean Terrazzo would be vs carpet...it will do Google Trans Bay Terminal San Francisco Hummingbirds in the floor... Introduction of epoxy Terrazzo got away from ugly color like you see here...

[@perpetualmotion767]

@@jamescoleakaericunderwood2503 I think the renewed floor looks amazing but like art it can't please everyone. I'd be super annoyed by dumb humming birds in the floor.

[@ReferenceBicycle]

Insider does a great job with these “How x is restored” videos. Well done as usual.

[@Regiom-vp8ju]

Amazing restoration work! I used to manage 2 Mansions where terrazzo floors required careful cleaning,especially in Chefs kitchen and monthly maintenance.

[@WhatistheplanCaroline]

Funny enough in my country that type of floor is seen as cheap 🤣 like hospitals, school and apartments hallways had them. Everyone hates it 😂

[@Jud7h]

Same in Italy where this was born :') it's something that your grandma may have

[@CLOYO]

@@Jud7h As a 20 year old I'd say it's absolutely beautiful

[@aoterou]

Same in Mexico, it’s like the kind of floor you’d find in a Dentist office from the 70s…

[@whoopsydaisy6389]

If it was cheap in my country I'd have it everywhere. It's excellent flooring when you have dogs. Durable and easy to keep clean.

[@natalieeis9284]

Same

[@wrightuniverse3952]

Stunning result! We have beautiful terrazzo that has lasted decades. Unfortunately, sometimes in shopping malls, they cover it with cheap ceramic tiles. Wonderful to see it restored with such care. 💖

[@jcm4923]

What a fabulous job you did! My high school's floor could have used your magic touch!

[@danieldavila6281]

Excellent job, Mr. Kosta!

[@windycitykitty]

A fascinating and satisfying video, thank you! Gorgeous floors!

[@glennbutler2861]

Just wow,to think that could have been re- covered and lost for more years to come fantastic reveal should be well pleased with your efforts

[@Zincchromeshema]

It's so beautiful after you restored it! I can't believe that it was ever covered up.

[@neilmurphy3239]

The amount off Terrazzo floors I use too cover up with flooring going back 25 years plus was unreal and Wee use too have Terrazo floor layers working with our company it was big business back years ago all the old buildings had it court buildings public office theatres you name it then went on too carpet linoleum great too see this job and floor come back too life it use too break my heart covering up grand motifs insane colours borders all done beautiful just because off the change off times I spent a bit off time working on the terrazzo floors doing the big jobs helping the guys out loved it same time covering them up later years too come great video 👍

[@allenseeallendo5844]

I have my carpet restoration license. Everything he did was so far above and beyond. My one problem is he should have had a HEPA 500 cfm-2000 cfm air filtration device to protect him and the occupants. It’s at the discretion of the restorer.

[@schmarrenheimer80]

Beautiful results! What a great job they did.

[@kapoiosgiorgos8399]

Amazing how the end result is so astonishing and beautiful. Really good work 👍👍👍👍

[@mrobinson]

Beautiful just beautiful! I have terrazzo floors also so am so inspired right now!

[@TecnoNerd]

I heard Terazo so many times that I’m absolutely sure what that’s video is about…

[@robertolsson86]

Really not sure about that, I had no idea what the floor was called

[@ThomasBMawn]

Its a terrazzo floor, just in case ya forgot. 😁

[@nannesoar]

...3D hyperrealistic mustaches

[@el-peiro3652]

Terrazzo is italian and it means balcony

[@gaetano2435]

@@el-peiro3652 hahahaha vero. Inoltre i macchinari che usano nel video sono prodotti anche nell' azienda in cui lavoro, che coincidenza.

[@samanthasimental3788]

I can't believe some one put carpet over that beautiful floor.

[@tommymack3210]

I never understood why americans have carpets as their floor. ESPECIALLY when they walk indoor with same shoes as outside… baffles me

[@masseyferguson9195]

What kind of moron wears shoes on carpet. You take your shoes off at the entrance.

[@FloopyNupers]

Not all of us do that bro

[@arewealone9969]

Carpets are fine but agreed with walking inside with shoes on with or without carpets. Of course not everyone though.

[@warbot2544]

N why they don't use after going to restroom

[@TomTomTomTom538]

Who says they do? It's much more common in the UK to have carpet downstairs because the weather is so miserable but the last 20 years has seen us move away from that and install LVT, ceramic tiles and engineered wood because heating systems have gotten better and it makes sense not to bring wet muddy boots onto carpet. The truth is though that there have been carpet free alternatives for hundreds of years and carpet was a fairly new trend booming in the 80s as carpet became cheaper. Before that there were: Marley tiles, thermoplastic, asbestos, Quarry tiles, clay, parquet wood, Stone flags and even brick floors.

[@MoGhotbi]

This is absolutely amazing craftsmanship. I’ve always loved terrazzo.

[@michaelj7069]

Wow. To cover that up was crazy. Beautiful work.

[@jc2926]

This is great !!! Well done guys!! It’s good to see the experts in action

[@chruutunuchruut8188]

wahnsinn.... fantastische aber aufwändige arbeit. respekt!

[@ninehundreddollarluxuryyac5958]

Looks amazing! I love terrazzo. As you say, its indestructible.

[@BlenderStudy]

That was an awesome repair..!! Thank you for the update, Insider..!!

[@adamhall5024]

Nothing simple about this process. You are flooring hero’s

[@jacobvie]

So much work, i admire your stamina. It’d be my nightmare to do it.

[@migzz7976]

Yeah you need more than one guy really, otherwise could took years😂

[@Thanos_Kyriakopoulos]

In Greece it was called false mosaic, and it was really popular from 1900 until 1990. Kitchens, bathrooms and corridors would have this, and living rooms and bedrooms would have wooden floors. Then it was replaced with tiles, so it can't be restored like in Italy. Only some old downtown appartments have it and it's now considered vintage.

[@buensomeritano1755]

I just got done doing fifteen hundred feet of glued carpet on terrazzo. Here's a tip. Use the coarsest sanding pads with copious amounts of water to keep the glue cold so it sands off and gets any glue stains. Much faster than by hand.

[@discman15]

Oh God scraping up all that dried glue by hand, my back aches just thinking about it

[@helenamcginty4920]

I live in Spain. I love having ceramic floors. So much easier to clean than carpets. Because I had dogs in the UK I sanded and sealed the wood floor in my living room. Much more hygienic than fitted carpets.

[@migzz7976]

Awesome restoration, great video. So professional and the final product looks 👌 !!

[@garygatto3410]

Retired from 45 years in commercial flooring,you just remind me of how much I don’t miss it 😅😅

[@petrolhead28]

Fantastic work and a beautiful result

[@esmoglo]

Looks absolutely fantastic and wonderful transformation

[@azashukri5322]

That is a tremendous amount of work.

[@marshallosantos9035]

I want terrazzo in my dream house. My grand father had this in his house. Best flooring ever.

[@andrewclarkehomeimprovement]

A beautiful job done by highly skilled trades. Floors to be proud of.

[@drewdemien481]

My dad was tike amd terrazzo for 28 years. That looked great. I laid tile and labored. I'm an architect now. That's a beautiful job. Bet rh university is happy now that they're smart enough to know why they put it there instead of concrete or wood floors. Well it is concrete dot dot dot....but.

[@JokeeGA5]

That looks amazing!

[@randomme3095]

That looks like a heck of a lot of work

[@barrymccaulkiner7092]

Amazing work on the floor. The camera work, not so much.

[@dar3726]

Beautiful work! So much better than carpet!

[@jesstatz8695]

I love that flooring!

[@commentkiller3368]

It was very common in India , especially Mumbai the place i live every building/apartment had it in 90's. Infact some apartments not renovated since 20 years surely will have this flooring. Because it was common it was considered cheap and eventually it disappeared very rare now .

[@sotosboi]

Beautiful work, well done to the workers!

[@SuperMan-xy8ui]

Bravo! Well done!

[@simonlunt353]

Very nice 😊 it’s good to see something brought back to its original form well done everyone

[@migzz7976]

Terrazzo down in South America seems still more common today than in US. Too bad so much was replaced with carpet here in America, and the brass lettering than can accompany it in commercial buildings is so cool too.

[@lemagreengreen]

Hugely labour intensive process, can only imagine how much this must cost.

[@georgerioni3153]

Bravo. Nice job you done

[@abnc799]

Terrazzo is absolutely the worst tile to use, needs regular maintenance, stains easily and very porous. Would not recommend

[@gaetano2435]

That's why it is treated with epoxy and other stuff. To make it evenly and not porous.

[@tenthdimension9836]

Would like to see an after shot of the cracks and patches specifically.

[@michaelbrownlee9497]

They could throw down, area carpets, for warmth, decor and soft for walking on. In high traffic events, they could roll up the carpets and store them. Also they can remove them for cleaning and sanitising. This is for areas of low potential of vandalism and theft, so restricted areas.

[@LyubomyrSemkiv]

Beautiful! Does anybody know how to process corners? It is a mystery to me.

[@lulutileguy]

will not be amazed to see the return of terrazzo my first skill in hard surfaces industry

[@DampRaccoon]

Anything that isn't carpet is beautiful

[@Urapnes75]

Beautiful transformation!

[@russofamerica]

Gorgeous work! And I love the detailed walkthrough by the gent in the voiceover.

[@z1zuc]

Amazing, thanks for sharing 💗

[@electrojones]

This was fascinating.

[@matthijndijkstra25]

Who at some point looked at that floor and was like, you know what is a good idea? Carpet over that.

[@idnafabdo8621]

Great job 👍😊

[@Highland_Moo]

Did a beautiful job.

[@krishaky]

Wow looks beautiful!

[@shinigamikuroshitsuji336]

Some very old houses still have this floor, with restoration and/or maintenance it would be like new

[@miobeato23]

Wow, Beautiful!!

[@InfinityFofus]

I will never understand why some people cover floors with carpet. It looks bad, stains a lot, looks dirty, gets odors...

[@Natan9000]

Nice! Can u imagine having such a floor and then putting carpet on top 😅

[@Casual_Henry]

Wow, this is wonderful

[@lijath]

Absolutely gorgeous

[@libertycan6959]

Beautiful

[@michaelgeorge5436]

Looks amazing

[@jojoanggono3229]

In the last 30 years where I live terazzo was seen as cheap and old. Now you can only get it from a artisan shop and it's quite expensive.

[@rulu3345]

Stunning!

[@potatokat7]

I audibly gasped when they did the reveal 🤣

[@STARDRIVE]

Do stairs and bathrooms get a different finish to prevent slipping?

[@JohnnyRingo1863]

Beautiful floors

[@theposguy1435]

Love that floor.. thanks for the video

[@sgnt9337]

Beautiful!!

[@YuriusSan]

Bro its called terrazzo? Finally. Thats all we have here in Greece.

[@bananahands84]

Would never want to question a tradesman who obviously know what he’s doing; however, no respirators during that initial grinding process?

[@JohnKruse]

In Italy, I see terrazzo floors everywhere, to include homes. The word in Italian literally means "terrace". I don't know what it is actually called here. Often, the stones are quite large here, and frankly don't look as good in such cases. Sadly, I think it has gone out of style here as one only tends to find it in buildings of a certain age. It may just be a price thing though as one can buy natural stone tiles here quite inexpensively.

[@balcomoz]

Nice to see people without respiratory protection

[@arnaudnono951]

amazing !

[@BluJns]

So beautiful

[@rickramos8471]

Badass work

[@DavidDavid-ip1xf]

Nail holes??? What was they using as nails railroad spikes??

[@Mike__B]

Don't forget the part where all the doors now have a pretty massive gap under them because they brought the floor level down so much. I did something similar when I moved into my house some 25 years ago, ugly old dingy carpets through the whole house, what was under it? well hardwood floors of course because the previous owner was an old lady who didn't like cold feet, tore out all the carpet and then there was a good 3/4" gap beneath every door except the bathroom (because only an idiot puts carpet in there), I've learned to live with the gap because it's my house so the it really isn't necessary to have the doors closer to the floor but for a shared space like a dorm? Maybe a little more necessary.

[@p.s4677]

Beutiful hard work. Must be very expensive, right?

[@janeteholmes]

Very interesting. Terrazzo is a great surface.

[@buzzsah]

You are an artis. Great job.

[@MananAnwar]

I wonder how much it costs.

[@tinutolat2433]

Good job

[@bashiraluma-yd6oc]

Ur mixing what to pour between cracks

[@masterplaiia]

fun drinking game to this video, take a shot everytime they say terrazzo

[@asdsad17]

why would you glue carpet?

[@sardinesandpyjamas]

Because it's permanent carpeting, you don't want the carpet to move around when you move furniture etc

[@johncameron4194]

Wow intense