For all intents and purposes it’s a sure thing that using Terrazzo Tiles is not your number one priority in choosing a material for your flooring requirements. But, frankly speaking the unforeseen benefits of this wonderful 15th century discovery to the construction industry until today is without parallel. Beauty, durability and ease of maintenance are but just a few of these benefits. Since its accidental yet practical use in Venice over 500 years ago when Venetian workers were left with oddly shaped fragments of marble from where the custom made marble slabs they cut from the invention and construction of “ Venetian Terraces” as a result where the word “Terrazzo” in Italian was derived. The leftover marble shards were utilised by the workers and artisans to cover their earthen clay living quarter’s floors and terraces. Although the fragments were rough, in time as the fragments set in the earthen floor, the workers decided to smooth the irregular edges with hand stones making for a more comfortable even walking surface. This basically was how the now highly sought after and vastly regarded terrazzo tile was discovered and put to good use in the construction and building industry today, hundreds of years after.
Today, Terrazzo is highly considered by architects and interior designers as the best contemporary flooring and wall, steps and partition material available for interior and exterior use for shopping centres, top of the line shops, glitzy restaurants, splendid hotel lobbies, high rise buildings and impressive homes. Terrazzo has been proven in the past as an exceedingly practical choice for floor surfaces that necessitate resistance to heavy abuse and heavy foot traffic, at the same time retaining its natural beauty and low maintenance costs.
Terrazzo offers the builder a Flexible and beautiful design with high foot traffic durability plus low maintenance and life-cycle costs.
Beautiful Designs
Terrazzo brings about a design flexibility that is limitless. The “it can’t be done” phrase will not hold true with terrazzo. Only the architects’ or interior designers’ or homeowners’ imagination is its boundary.
Its infinite range of colours together with an excess of combined options of marble aggregates, and pigments, are just a few among the many advantages offered by terrazzo. Whether you’re considering a modern monochromatic feel or an artistic piece of classic mosaic design, or an artistic work coupled with a photographic quality, terrazzo is your canvas.
Ancient terrazzo is remarkably similar to modern cementitious terrazzo. The fact that some ancient terrazzo floors around the world are still serviceable and beautiful centuries after confirms the superiority and durability of terrazzo. With modern technology and the introduction of epoxy terrazzo, modern terrazzo floors are now even more long-lasting than cement terrazzo floors. Ancient terrazzo floors made centuries ago still stand in many buildings throughout Europe and the Middle East. Epoxy terrazzo floors are even more durable and are expected to outlast the life of the building in which they are installed.
Low maintenance
Given the non-porous nature of epoxy terrazzo, only minimal cleaning is necessary, a terrazzo floor will almost certainly never need replacement, even when located in high foot traffic areas.