Terrazzo is a highly versatile solid surface material invented by Venetian mosaic workers in the 15th century. ... Although marble is still the aggregate of choice for most applications, terrazzo can also be made from recycled glass and metallics, as well as natural aggregates such as mother of pearl.
History and Benefits
Why should you choose Terrazzo? Design flexibility, beautiful aesthetics, environmental friendliness, sanitation benefits, durability, low maintenance, and life-cycle costs
Aesthetics
Terrazzo brings design flexibility. Over the years, we've learned never to tell a designer or architect that “it can’t be done” with Terrazzo. Every time we thought Terrazzo had design limitations, we were proven wrong.
An unlimited color range coupled with a plethora of aggregate options from mother of pearl to marble, to recycled glass; these are among the many advantages offered by Terrazzo.
Terrazzo is Green
In terms of green technology, there are no surfaces that compare with Terrazzo. Possessing a compressible strength of nearly 500 pounds per square inch, some of the earliest Terrazzo-like floors created thousands of years ago still exist in the middle east today.
Ancient Terrazzo is remarkably analogous to modern cementitious Terrazzo, almost to the point of indistinguishability. The fact that these floors are still serviceable and beautiful after many centuries is clear confirmation of the superior sustainability of Terrazzo. Terrazzo also provides the option to incorporate post-consumer and pre-consumer recycled content such as glass and stone into the materials of these timeless Terrazzo floors. For more information, please visit our Going Green with Terrazzo page.
Sanitation
Terrazzo’s meets the most stringent of environmental standards, even the indoor air quality emission requirements for the State of California EPA, section 01350.
This non-porous system does not support microbial growth and does not allow accumulation of moisture, absorbing which results in an abnormally high stain resistance.
Additionally, this lack of water absorption and porosity results in a surface requiring only minimal cleaning processes, without the need for use of any harsh cleaning chemicals.
Durability
Ancient Terrazzo floors created centuries ago still stand in many buildings throughout Europe, the middle east and far east. Epoxy terrazzo floors are even more durable and can often be expected to outlast the life of the building in which they are installed.
Low Maintenance
Given the non-porous nature of Terrazzo, only minimal cleaning is required. Unlike Fiberglass and Acrylic Tubs that yellow over time due to ultraviolet rays
Terrazzo Bath Products will almost certainly never need replacement.