Photo: XYHTG (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Job description
The work starts with measuring and mixing ingredients to exact formulas, then applying and setting the terrazzo base, often pressing in metal division strips to form color patterns or control cracking. Once cured, workers grind and polish the surface with power tools, handling tight or curved areas like stairways by hand grinder. Because terrazzo is a small, specialized trade, workers typically learn it through an apprenticeship under an experienced finisher and often move project to project across commercial and residential job sites.
Pros
- Pay can reach over $126k at the top of the range for a skilled trade requiring no college degree
- Specialized craft skill in mixing, grinding, and pattern work sets workers apart from general laborers
- Learned entirely through on-the-job training and apprenticeship rather than formal schooling
Cons
- Employment projected to shrink sharply over the next decade (-11.1%), among the faster-declining trades
- Only about 100 positions nationwide, making this one of the hardest trades to break into
- Regular exposure to hazardous equipment, dust, and noise while standing for most of the shift
A typical day
The morning starts with the mix design for a lobby floor -- epoxy resin tinted to the architect's sample, marble and glass chips batched by weight, and a test patch cured overnight for approval. Placement is the athletic part: spreading the matrix, seeding chips, and troweling to flat before the working time runs out. Divider strips set yesterday define the pattern's crisp lines, and today's pour fills them section by section. Days later the payoff comes at the grinder, as passes through finer and finer diamonds turn a rough slab into stone glass underfoot.
Tasks at the job
- Measure designated amounts of ingredients for terrazzo or grout, according to standard formulas and specifications, using graduated containers and scales, and load ingredients into portable mixer.
- Modify mixing, grouting, grinding, or cleaning procedures, according to type of installation or material used.
- Grind curved surfaces or areas inaccessible to surfacing machine, such as stairways or cabinet tops, with portable hand grinder.
- Clean chipped area, using wire brush, and feel and observe surface to determine if it is rough or uneven.
- Grind surfaces with a power grinder, or polish surfaces with polishing or surfacing machines.
- Cut metal division strips and press them into the terrazzo base for joints or changes of color to form designs or patterns or to help prevent cracks.
Workplace & working conditions
Most of the day is spent on your feet. Noise levels can be distracting or uncomfortable. The role involves regular exposure to hazardous equipment or conditions and contaminants, and standard protective equipment (gloves, safety glasses, and similar) is expected.
The pace is often fast, with real time pressure to meet deadlines. Precision and accuracy are essential to the work.
Education necessary or common
High school diploma; some on-the-job training or apprenticeship
Licenses & certifications
- OSHA 10
- Finishing trades apprenticeship (where available)
Career path
Related fields
Courses to take
- Chemistry -- resins, cements, and cure times behave chemically
- Geometry -- patterns, layouts, and dividing a floor plan
- Art -- terrazzo is decorative craft at architectural scale
- Shop classes -- tools and finish work
- Algebra -- batching ratios and coverage
Clubs, activities & competitions
- SkillsUSA masonry/finishing trade events
- Art class projects with mosaic or cast materials
- Habitat for Humanity builds
- A summer job with a flooring or concrete contractor
First steps you can take now
- Make a small mosaic or cast-concrete stepping stone to learn aggregate and matrix
- Take the free OSHA 10 construction course
- Watch a terrazzo pour-and-grind video series start to finish
- Ask flooring contractors about finisher apprenticeships
