Q: Does your company do residential work?

A: Yes. Even though most of the larger refinishing companies will only accept commercial jobs (especially for terrazzo projects), we would be delighted to restore your home's floors or countertops. Virtually no job is too small. Of course, we can accommodate larger commercial projects too.

Q: How much will it cost to rehab my floors?

A: It's impossible to say until we've seen the condition of your floor and discussed what service you require. We offer several services like complete grinding, polishing, professional sealing, buffing, chip and crack repair, stain removal, and grout repair. We will be happy to come to your location free of charge, discuss what needs to be done, and provide you with an estimate of the costs. Since we are a small, hands-on company with relatively low overhead, we can provide state-of-the-art results usually at a significantly lower price than our larger competitors. We strongly advise you to get multiple estimates before choosing a contractor.

Q: Is my terrazzo floor really worth saving? Maybe I should just cover it with ceramic tile, laminate or carpet.

A: Your choice of floor covering is a matter of taste, and the options you listed are certainly reasonable alternatives. But for durability and sheer beauty, it's hard to beat terrazzo. In most cases, we can make your terrazzo shine like glass, and its durability is the reason you see terrazzo as the floor of choice in high-traffic environments like banks, schools, airports and government buildings. Realtors often tell us that a home with terrazzo flooring in good condition is worth $15,000 to $25,000 more than the same home without it. The main reason you don't see terrazzo in new homes today is because the labor and skill required have made it prohibitively expensive to install. For instance, to pour and finish 1,400 square feet of good onyx terrazzo in a new home would cost $60,000 to $80,000! So, if you have a home or business with existing terrazzo, you really have a very valuable heirloom.

Q: My floor has areas that are discolored or stained. Can you fix that, and how do I prevent it from reoccurring?

A: Yes, in most cases, we can eliminate or mitigate discoloration and staining. Not all stains are equal, however, so we have to inspect you floor to determine the nature and depth of the problem. The cause of most stains is simple: exposure to acids. Terrazzo and marble are composed of mostly calcium carbonate which reacts chemically with even very weak acids. Here is a tiny list of common household acids: soft drinks, wine, many leading floor cleaning products, pet and human urine, most bathtub and toilet cleaners, even tap water in some areas. You get the idea. To make things worse, these floors are generally quite porous, which allows spills and drips to soak-in and do damage. The two-fold solution is just as simple: (1) Wipe up spills when they occur so they don't have time to interact with the floor. (2) Most importantly, keep your floor professionally sealed. The sealer fills pores and acts as a barrier between the floor and damaging agents. If you decide to seal the floor yourself, please be sure that the sealer is pH neutral. Some sealers are acidic and can actually harm your floor. Unless you really, really know what you're doing, it's best to call in a pro.

Q: Are you guys really Italian, and can I place football bets with you?

A: No, we're Italian-American. We don't take bets, we have never put a competitor in the trunk of a car, and we don't know Tony Soprano.