Stone and terrazzo get specified because they last. What they do not do is survive a construction programme, a delivery trolley or a dropped tool without showing it. These are four on-site stone repairs we carried out, all of them on surfaces that were already installed and finished.
Cracked terrazzo floor, new development, south-west London
The largest of the four. A terrazzo floor in a new residential development had developed significant cracking, and we were called in by the flooring contractor to repair the cracks in place across two visits.
Terrazzo is unforgiving to repair because it is not one material: it is aggregate suspended in a matrix, so a filled crack reads as a line unless the fill carries the same chips and the same scale of chips as the floor around it. The repair is matched by eye to the mix, worked back flush and polished to the floor’s own sheen.
Replacement would have meant breaking out and re-laying a poured floor in a finished building. On our terrazzo repair in London page we go through how cracks in terrazzo are assessed.
Solid surface sink unit, retail unit, Essex
A damaged sink unit in a retail and leisure development, repaired as instructed for the fit-out contractor. Moulded sink units are a single piece, so damage near the bowl means either a repair in place or a new unit and a plumber. We repaired it in place.
Tiled surface, hotel, Essex coast
A single tile repair in a hotel. One cracked tile in a tiled run is the classic case for repair over replacement: lifting it risks the tiles around it, the batch almost certainly no longer matches, and the grout lines never quite go back.
Sanitaryware, private house, Essex
A repair to a stone toilet pan in a private house in rural Essex. Not glamorous, and a good illustration of the point: the item was intact and serviceable, the damage was cosmetic, and the alternative quoted was a replacement unit and the trade to fit it.
What these four have in common
In every case the surface was installed, finished and surrounded by other finished work. That is what makes stone repair worth doing:
- Nothing comes out. No breaking out, no re-laying, no second round of damage to the finishes next to it.
- No match problem. Stone and terrazzo are natural or batched materials, so a replacement piece next to an existing floor rarely matches. Repairing the original sidesteps that completely.
- Done in days, not weeks. No templating, no lead time, no trade sequencing.
What stone repair will not fix
A crack running right through the body of a slab, movement in the substrate underneath, or a floor that is failing rather than damaged. If the cause is still active, repairing the symptom is a waste of your money and we will say so on the first look. Honest assessment first, then the repair.
How we assess stone damage before anyone travels
Almost every one of these jobs started with photographs, and there are only a few things we are looking for in them.
- Does the damage go through, or is it in the surface? A chip in the surface of a stone top is routine. A crack you can see on both faces of a slab is usually not repairable.
- Is it still moving? A crack that has opened up since it appeared, or that sits over a joint or an unsupported span, means the substrate is the problem and the stone is only the symptom.
- What is the material, really? Terrazzo, engineered quartz, marble, limestone and solid surface all look similar in a photograph and behave completely differently under repair. Where we are not sure, we ask.
- What is next to it? The repair has to be matched to the surface around it, so we need to see that surface and not just the damage.
A photograph straight down at the damage and a second one from a few feet back is usually enough for us to tell you whether it is worth us coming.
If you have damaged stone on a site
We repair stone, terrazzo, marble and solid surfaces on site across London, Essex and Kent, for contractors, developers and private clients. Photographs first, assessment before anyone travels. See construction surface repairs and marble and stone worktop repair.
Clients and sites withheld. Details are taken from our own site reports; no property is identified.
