The Case of the Peeling Terrazzo Floor
A Rough Morning at Flo’s Diner
It was one of those mornings where the coffee at Flo’s diner barely did its job. I slid onto my usual stool and before I could even ask, Flo topped off my cup.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” she said, giving me that look over her glasses.
“Peeling terrazzo,” I muttered. “Whole floor is coming loose.”
The Admiral, sitting two stools down, snorted. “That’s what happens when you don’t do it right the first time.”
He wasn’t wrong, but I still had to find out exactly what went wrong.
Heading to the Job Site
After a quick breakfast and some wisecracks from Flo, I headed to the Woody wagon. The old car groaned a bit but she always starts for me. This job was a few towns over, and I had a feeling it was going to be one of those head-scratchers.
When I got there, I was met by a facility manager who looked like he hadn’t slept in a week. “The terrazzo is peeling up all over the lobby,” he said, pointing toward the mess.
Sure enough, chunks of terrazzo were coming up like loose tiles. You could almost peel it off with your fingers. That’s never a good sign. I got down on my knees, took a closer look, and then did what any good stone detective does. I started tapping, scraping, and pulling samples.
Finding the Clue
The substrate looked fine, no cracks, no moisture problems, nothing obvious. But the surface had a slight sheen. That got my attention. I pulled out my little field test kit and did a quick solvent rub. Sure enough, it was a sealer. Someone had sealed the concrete slab before installing the epoxy terrazzo.
That was it. The epoxy had nothing to bite into. Instead of bonding, it just sat on top until traffic, cleaning, and time did their thing. It was a failure just waiting to happen.
Breaking the News
When I explained this to the manager, he shook his head. “So what do we do now?”
“Well,” I said, “the bad news is you’re looking at a complete tear out. The good news is once you strip that sealer and put it back down right, this won’t happen again.”
He wasn’t happy, but at least he had an answer.
Another Case Closed
Back in the Woody, I couldn’t help but chuckle. Another case closed. By the time I got back to Flo’s, the Admiral was still holding court.
“Well?” he asked as I slid back onto my stool.
“Sealer on the slab,” I said. “No bond.”
He nodded like he knew it all along. “Told you they didn’t do it right.”
Flo just shook her head and poured me another cup. “One of these days,” she said, “you’re gonna run out of floors to fix.”
“Not a chance,” I said. “Not a chance.”
