Airport floors?

[ScaldedDog]

I spent a lot of time in airports this week, and was noticing their floors. Both DEN and IAH have similar floors: They appear to be flaked like epoxy, but look to be tiles of some sort, with what appears to be metal edging instead of grout between them.

What is this stuff? Would it work in a garage, and would it be cost effective?

Mark

 

[22lover]

I have been wondering the same thing. Parts of the floor in Love Field (DAL), around security, are original to the structure which dates from the early 1960's if not before. It is the type that you describe. It has got to be some seriously tough stuff. The city is in the middle of renovating the airport, to include the floors, but they're keeping the old area I'm referring to (with a globe illustration) because it's kinda a Dallas icon.

 

[Toolman12]

Sounds like terrazzo floors. Very tough long lasting a lot of older schools have this type of flooring not sure on cost but you could check a contractor

 

[AlphaGarage]

I'd vote for terrazzo also.

Back in the day they'd put down 3 to 4 layers of cement, sand etc with a total depth of 5 to 6 inches. The top layer usually has a aggregate, and then it's all ground smooth. Now they use an epoxy binder and it's maybe half an inch thick, tops.

For the aggregate they can use rock, polymer bits, glass, I've even seen a floor where they used nuts & bolts - pretty cool.

 

[Rogue1987]

Terrazzo

 

[ScaldedDog]

Looks like you guys are right. According to p.5 of the link below, though, it would be cost prohibitive to install in a garage.

http://www.tmsupply.com/trade/files/Terrazzo/Marketing_Tools/Terroxy_Brochure.pdf

Mark

 

[kbs2244]

Terrazzo floors it is.
Basically pretty concrete.
Very expensive (and very messy) to install but used in pedestrian areas of public building because it is almost unbreakable.

 

[Jack Olsen]

Also, like a lot of great floor solutions we see in industrial settings, there's a maintenance routine that would be kind of a pain for a garage.

http://arcadianflooring.com/maintenance-cgp.html

http://www.tmsupply.com/terrazzo-care.htm

 

[JimVonBaden]

Terazo, these days, is about an inch of total thickness after grinding it down. It is often used in places like airports, and is incredibly strong.

This is Miami International terminal. I have been delivering equipment there that weighs 3500 pounds. We rolled it over 400 feet across Terazo with no damage. Here is a shot of it rough, before the last layer was installed:

Close-up after grinding, but before final polish.

One of four units near its final location.

Jim

 

[Bad Idea]

It's terrazzo. The nice part about terrazzo is you can go back every 10 years or so and grind off the coatings and dirt and reseal the floor, making it look brand new. The bad part about cementitious and epoxy terrazzo is that they are fairly brittle and can crack. If you look hard enough you'll see plenty of cracked terrazzo in airports.

On a related note, I have a version of terazzo in my garage. It is definitely cost prohibitive and will stain with auto fluids unless it is sealed well and maintained properly.

link to my floor pictures:
http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=140426

 

[thegarageguy]

$40 to $75 per sqft.....mostly done on public projects and by Union shops