Is terrazzo more expensive than tiles?

Less than people assume. At from KES 1,600 per m² laid and polished, terrazzo sits inside the KES 2,000–4,000 range for mid-range tiling supplied and installed. The real difference is lifespan: terrazzo can be reground decades later, tiles cannot.

Why is there no separate material cost?

Because in-situ terrazzo is mixed and laid on site, so the material is part of the laying. That makes it simpler to compare than tiling, where material and labour are quoted separately and often confused.

What does restoring an existing floor cost?

Quoted at survey, because it depends entirely on condition. A floor needing only the final grits is a fraction of one needing taking back hard, and nobody can tell which yours is from a photograph. It is almost always far cheaper than replacing.

How long does it take?

Longer than tiling. Laying, then curing which cannot be rushed, then grinding in stages, grouting and polishing. On a renovation we schedule the grinding before any other finishing because it is a wet, messy process needing the space empty.

Terrazzo Flooring Price in Kenya: Laid, Polished and Compared to Tiles

What terrazzo costs

From KES 1,600 per square metre, laid, ground and polished. There is no separate material line: in-situ terrazzo is mixed on site, so the material is part of the laying.

That single-figure pricing makes terrazzo unusually easy to compare, which is worth noting given how confusing tiling quotations are.

Against tiling

Mid-range tiling supplied and installed in Kenya runs KES 2,000 – 4,000 per square metre. So terrazzo starts below mid-range tiling and overlaps the bottom of that band.

Given that, the decision is rarely about price:

Terrazzo: seamless, no grout to discolour, cool underfoot, and it can be reground decades later rather than replaced. Slower to install, and a repair is harder to hide.
Tiles: faster, enormously more variety, easy to replace one damaged tile. Grout lines will eventually discolour, and a tiled floor has a finite life.

What moves the price

Chip choice. Marble is standard. Granite and glass aggregate cost more. Divider strips. Brass costs more than aluminium, which costs more than PVC, and on a floor with an elaborate strip layout, the strips are a real proportion of the job. Area and shape. Small awkward rooms cost more per square metre than a large open floor, because setting out and edge work dominate. Access for grinding. It is a wet process. Floors that are hard to reach with equipment, or where water cannot be managed easily, cost more.

Restoration versus new

If you already have terrazzo, restoring it is usually a fraction of laying new, and in the older Muthaiga, Lavington and Parklands houses the existing floor is often better than anything we would lay to replace it.

We quote restoration at survey rather than by the metre, because condition is everything.

Rates

Work	Rate	Notes
Terrazzo, laid and polished	from KES 1,600 / m²
Terrazzo polishing, existing floor	Quoted at survey	Depends on condition and how many passes it needs

Rates reviewed 2026-08. Every job is confirmed with a written quotation before work starts.

What a floor price usually leaves out

Between 10 and 20 percent of a flooring budget sits in these, and almost no Kenyan quotation itemises them. We do, so you can see the real number before committing.

Subfloor preparation: levelling, patching or a self-levelling screed where the slab is out
Damp-proof membrane or moisture barrier where the slab tests wet
Underlay, on laminate and SPC
Skirting, beading and threshold strips between rooms
Removing and disposing of the existing floor