Identify this concrete floor material

[Marc]

I can't recall what it's called. Saw it yesterday.

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Thanks in advance.

Marc

[Bryan]

It actually looks lie tile. However, if it is a concrete like material, i would say terrazzo.

[Marc]

It actually looks lie tile. However, if it is a concrete like material, i would say terrazzo.

It's not tile, just something they threw into the concrete before pouring it.

Terrazzo...I'll use it.

Thanks.

Marc

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[gtblum]

Are you sure it's not an epoxy coating on the concrete?

Terrazzo is poured in a slurry between metal strips that either border or separate sections, and are sometime formed to create patterns. Once it sets up, They grind and polish it with a diamond disk.

[Marc]

Are you sure it's not an epoxy coating on the concrete?

Terrazzo is poured in a slurry between metal strips that either border or separate sections, and are sometime formed to create patterns. Once it sets up, They grind and polish it with a diamond disk.

I'm sure.

Marc

[kurt]

Definitely terrazzo.

[tim5055]

I spent many hours on my hands & knees cleaning corners of terrazzo floors in a Publix supermarket during high school. All their stores had terrazzo. I remember one new store being built had a beautiful brown terrazzo floor poured. Probably 30,000 sq ft. It didn't match the color chip so the contractor had to jack hammer it out and re-pour....

[Jim Baird]

...never saw terrazzo in a house. Marc's pic does not have the metal seams either.

I would call it fauxrazzo.

ps

I live near the "granite capital of the world", and around here I have seen a whole lot of granite countertops that look like that...just that the material is likely way too slippery for floor use. Terrazzo, however, is pretty darn slippery too. It is obviously very durable in public buildings where lots of foot traffic and lots of scrubbing occurs.

[Bill Kibbel]

I live near the "granite capital of the world"

I'm curious. Was that title earned within the last half century? A very large majority of granite in historic buildings came from New England. Specifically, in order; MA, ME, RI, VT & NH.

[kurt]

Elberton, GA. Since Civil War times. Supposedly, they produce more than any other city in the world.

Wikipedia sez.....

It may not be going into historic buildings; it might be all the other uses, and nowadays, a lot of countertops.

[Marc]

Stone Mtn, GA too. I lived near there for a few years, walked to the top of it several times. It's solid granite. Over 7 1/2 million cubic feet of stone have been taken from it.

Marc

[Bill Kibbel]

[Marc]

That's just one year - 1894.

Marc

[Bill Kibbel]

The chart is a good snapshot. A quick look through other publications shows the New England quarries produced far more granite than others throughout the 19th century until at least the late 1930s. It's likely why most granite in buildings I've been involved with came from NE. I've visited granite quarries in 4 of the 6 NE states.

[kurt]

A little googling found several states and cities that claim to produce the most granite.

I'll agree with everyone that thinks they're right.

[Jim Baird]

To quote Kurt Vonnegut, "Everyone is right from his own point of view."

Basic rule of advertising too is that everyone can claim to be the best or the biggest.

"...It may not be going into historic buildings; it might be all the other uses, and nowadays, a lot of countertops..."

Around here its gravestones. Tiny little churches with sprawling stone gardens beside them.

[Bill Kibbel]

I wasn't questioning the claim from Georgia. I'm genuinely curious when the shift of the granite capitol from the Northeast to the South occurred.

[kurt]

I was too, so I googled a while. It's all over the map, from 19th century onward. Lotta claims as being the biggest.

I always thought it was VT, NH, and MA for building stuff. There's a ton of black granite buildings in Duluth, MN; lotta stone up there too.

Never thought about the gravestone angle. Could be GA has an edge on that part, not necessarily architectural use.

[Marc]

A little history on Elberton granite.

Marc

[Jim Baird]

Thanks Marc,

I have friends who own tracts where abandoned quarries lie. They are usually full of water and make great swimming holes. In my youth I used to join groups who "sneaked" into abandoned pits to swim. (Getting in was usually a matter of wiggling thru a barbed wire fence).

See below my last "paving" project with Elberton crushed stone (#7), spring of '11.

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[kurt]

The history seems to imply that gravestones, statues, and other non-architectural uses may be a big chunk of the output.