About Us: From terrazo to stained and/or polished concrete floors
"The synergy of art & technology combined."
"The synergy of art & technology combined."
"The synergy of art & technology combined."
"The synergy of art & technology combined."
"The synergy of art & technology combined."
Michael Ortiz, the chief technical artist, is a decorative concrete consultant who was a project manager for geological/environmental/mining- geophysics-exploration companies. He also had many years in the chemical and wastewater treatment business as well as being an artist.
He has personally done over 300 projects in decorative concret
Michael Ortiz, the chief technical artist, is a decorative concrete consultant who was a project manager for geological/environmental/mining- geophysics-exploration companies. He also had many years in the chemical and wastewater treatment business as well as being an artist.
He has personally done over 300 projects in decorative concrete and concrete floor transformation projects. He teaches contractors. Contractors and artists regularly come to him when they are stuck, need advice, want to learn techniques, or want things done technically correct.
How did left brain/right brain Michael start? In 2007 he was working on a terrazzo floor restoration project (using American-made chemicals) in an ancient historic Roman building in Venice. He was astonished by the timeless durability and craftsmanship of the remarkable ancient terrazzo floors there and discovered that terrazzo floors were still being created by the Italian artisans. He volunteered to work for and 8th generation terrazo floor master Paolo Pisano on a six-month projects (for food and Piemonte wine as payment!) and learned the labor-intensive art of traditional Italian terrazzo floor creation. Understanding that the terrazzo floor costs were way too high for the American market (which was dominated by relatively inexpensive concrete slab sub-floors that were covered with tile, linoleum, carpet, etc.), he learned from an inventive American company (called HTC) the art of creating decorative concrete floors by using concrete polishing, concrete staining, and concrete sealing technologies, which are VERY cost-effective and the results can be nearly identical to many ancient terrazzo floors.
Michael integrated the HTC diamond grinding techniques and the staining and sealing technologies into concrete floor techniques that are the "synergy of art and technology combined" (which is our logo).
Concrete floors are not a what you see is what you get (WYSIWYG) process like painting or coatings. They can be functional, artistic, practical, cost-saving, sustainable flooring alternatives. There are situations where site-specific coatings are a requirement or request, but exposed concrete floor options will continue to grow in popularity due to the advancement of "polishing" systems.
He is happy to answer your sincere questions!
