Do you include grinding and sealing as material?
They are process steps of the specified system. Include them when the section says the installer performs them. Do not hide them inside a matrix unit price unless the quote says they are included.
Poured and cementitious systems
Terrazzo is a strip layout plus a matrix
A terrazzo floor is drawn as a pattern of divider strips and a matrix thickness. Estimating it as “decorative concrete per square foot” drops the strips, the joints, and the grinding sequence the system requires.
Trace the divider strips
Measure each strip type in linear feet from the pattern drawing. A logo or a border with a tighter spacing can hold more strip than the field. Zinc, brass, and plastic strips are different items when the spec names them.
Thickness is the system, not a guess
Epoxy terrazzo and sand-cushion cementitious terrazzo are different thicknesses and different underbeds. Use the thickness and the underbed the specification section requires. Coverage of the matrix comes from that system’s data, not from a tile-waste table.
Stairs and bases are details
A poured base or a precast tread is counted from the stair section. Do not smear the lobby area up the stair.
Worked strip total for a simple border
Illustrative panel layout so the linear-foot scope is obvious. Not a standard pattern.
- Field 60 ft × 40 ft, divided into 10 ft panels: 5 lines along the length and 3 lines along the width, plus the perimeter.
- Lines parallel to the 60 ft side: 5 × 60 = 300 ft. Lines parallel to the 40 ft side: 3 × 40 = 120 ft. Perimeter: 2 × (60 + 40) = 200 ft.
- If interior lines are not double-counted at crossings, the raw sum overstates the length. Mark crossings on the drawing before ordering strip.
- Matrix area remains 2,400 sq ft and is priced from the specified system’s coverage, separate from the strip order.
Related reading: concourse floors, slab preparation, resinous systems.
Questions this page answers
Can a terrazzo crack control joint be ignored?
If the structural joint is drawn through the floor, the terrazzo detail at that joint is part of the takeoff. Skipping it is a missing item, not a smaller area.