The Inspired History of Terrazzo Tile

Necessity, it&#;s said, is the mother of invention. But for Venetian mosaic workers, it could be said &#;the love of beauty&#; was the driving force behind their invention of terrazzo tile.

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Terrazzo was created over 500 years ago when mid-16th century artisans began wondering what to do with odd-sized marble chips discarded during construction projects. Lovely to look at, but essentially leftovers, an inspired idea was born. Why not use the marble remnants to build terraces that would bring added luxury to their own working-class homes?

At first, they took these precious remnants, set them in clay, then smoothed out the rough edges by hand with heavy rubbing stones. The end result was an even surface that was comfortable to walk on. Terrazzo was born! As time went on, clever workers attached the heavy rubbing stones to handles to create tools they called &#;Galeras.&#; Intended to ease the back-breaking work while improving the quality of the terrazzo, craftsmen leaned into their Galeras to create a force with their body weight that could achieve a much smoother surface than hand rubbing.

General Installation for Terrazzo Floors

Installation &#; Cementitious Terrazzo

The installation of cementitious and epoxy terrazzo is different to the degree that each binder requires a different installation method based on its makeup. Cementitious terrazzo is traditionally a mixture of 2:1 ratio of marble aggregate and cement (grey or white). For coloring, add iron oxide to the mix. Mix the materials thoroughly with water. The mix is then poured in within the specified panels and troweled to the preferred height.

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Aggregate is then sprinkled (seeded) on the floor in a uniform manner. A set roller is rolled across the floor in alternating directions embedding the marble chips in the floor while simultaneously working excess cement and water to the top which is then removed from the floor. Repeat the rolling process a few times with differently weighted rollers continuing to extract excess water and cement from the floor creating a tight grouping of the marble aggregate. Once this process is complete the floor is lightly troweled. The floor cures for several days before the grinding is to start.

Installation &#; Epoxy Terrazzo

Epoxy terrazzo is less labor-intensive and doesn&#;t require many of the skills that a cementitious system does. Epoxy terrazzo is a mixture of a Part A (Base color) and a Part B (Hardener). The typical ratio is 5:1.  The part A & B are mixed together with filler powder (marble dust) and the aggregate. The epoxy and aggregate mix is then poured on the floor and placed at the required height with hand trowels then closed with a power trowel to flatten and tighten up the aggregate. It is the practice of some installers to also seed the floor prior to power troweling. Epoxy installed in the proper ambient conditions can be ground within 24 hours.

Grinding, Grouting, and Polishing Stages

Grinding of both cementitious and epoxy terrazzo are relatively the same procedure with the exception being the process for the initial rough grinding. Epoxy terrazzo rough grinding is done dry with vacuum systems to collect the grinding dust. In contrast, cement terrazzo is wet-ground so a grinding slurry is created. After the floor is rough ground until the metal or plastic divider strips are exposed and the aggregate is uniformly exposed, both systems are grouted. In this step, an installer matches binder material to fill any pinholes or voids. After proper curing of the grout, the floor is then polished.  Typically polishing is done wet in both systems to the required finish level ranging from 120 grit up to grit. Both cementitious and epoxy systems are thoroughly cleaned, dried and treated with a minimum of 2 coats of the appropriate sealer.

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