Continental: 2nd and Market, Philadelphia, PA

Floor: Concrete over terrazzo

Hours of Operation: 10:AM until 2:AM. 

Scope of Work: Grind off 1/4" of concrete to expose existing red and black terrazzo.  Bring terrazzo up to 180 grit.

Continental is located across the street from Cuba Libre.  It is a very popular restaurant that features great martinis and good food - (especially the Crispy Calamare Salad.)

They wanted to add some tables and, through research, discovered the building  had been divided over the years.  The hair dresser next door was moving out, and with luck, the floor underneath might be the same terrazzo pattern that is in the whole restaurant.

Don't get me wrong, we don't want to spend our lives grinding through concrete to see what is underneath, but we'll do what we can to try to help a customer.  This wasn't substantially different than what happened with RATS.  We had a great customer who wanted something unusual done.  We take pride in the fact that we hire capable mechanics - possibly from other industries or job titles, but always good with tools.  We had the equipment, read about the process, and started grinding away.

After we ground our way through rubberback carpet, vinyl tile, cut-back adhesive,  and 1/4" of concrete, we found the same terrazzo floor that was throughout the whole restaurant.  A couple more days of grinding, and polishing, and the floor was brought back into service.

The floor, through good maintenance by others, has become lustrous and beautiful.  It's hard to understand why it was covered up in the first place.