Terrazzo flooring is a composite surface made of marble, granite, quartz, or glass chips set in a binder and ground smooth to a polished, decorative finish.
Understanding Terrazzo Flooring Systems
Terrazzo is one of the oldest decorative flooring methods still in use, and it has found new life in modern epoxy-based systems. The floor is built by embedding chips of marble, granite, quartz, or recycled glass into a binder, then grinding the cured surface down and polishing it to expose a smooth, speckled finish. The result is a seamless, durable surface that can be custom designed with almost any color combination.
Cementitious Terrazzo vs. Epoxy Terrazzo
Traditional terrazzo uses a Portland cement binder, which is thick, heavy, and requires a longer cure before grinding. Epoxy terrazzo uses a resin binder instead, which can be installed at a fraction of the thickness, cures faster, and offers a wider color range since epoxy resins can be tinted more precisely than cement. Most new commercial installations today use epoxy terrazzo for these reasons.
Where Terrazzo Is Commonly Installed
Terrazzo shows up heavily in schools, airports, hospitals, and retail spaces because it holds up to decades of heavy foot traffic with minimal maintenance. It is also popular for logos and custom design work in lobbies, since divider strips can be used to create sharp, clean pattern lines between colors.
Maintenance and Longevity
A properly sealed terrazzo floor can last well beyond fifty years with routine cleaning and periodic resealing. The main maintenance task is keeping the surface sealed so it resists staining, since the ground and polished finish leaves the aggregate slightly exposed. Damage is typically repaired by patching and re-polishing the affected area rather than replacing the whole floor.
Also Called
Terrazzo
