Gary – was this advise from a professional terrazzo installer? I agree with everyone – get the strips the heck out of there. From everything I’ve ever read, and all of the tile jobs I’ve done – you don’t want anything on the floor – period. I’ve never done terrazzo, but I would assume anything left in the floor would telegraph to the finished product – even with poured concrete over it. The nails left in the floor would surely move and pop up from the floor.
Can’t wait to see the finished product!!! Good luck.
-- No matter how many times I measure, I always forget the dimensions before I cut.