When terrazzo beats all other flooring materials
High traffic buildings like shopping malls, hospitals, and factories are usually floored with terrazzo because it is as tough as it is long-lasting. It is trusted to withstand conditions in basement parking spaces.
What you need to know:
Terrazzo is durable, easy to maintain, and can be found in a wide range of colours and textures to match any décor. Less susceptible to mold and cracks, surfaces can last anywhere from 75 to 100 years. While it costs more per square foot than other flooring materials to install, it is ultimately a great investment for your money over time.
Terrazzo is a combination of several materials poured in place to create floors, stairs, and even coat walls. It consists of cement mixed with small pieces of marble, granite, quartz, and other such materials, creating a speckled surface. It is very versatile when it comes to colours and textures depending on the oxide used and the size of stone chips chosen.
With a terrazzo floor, it is easy to install decorative patterns or logos in the floor. Strips of zinc, brass or plastic are used to divide the floor into sections to mitigate cracking, making it easier to repair the cracked section without redoing the entire floor.
For many Ugandans, the first time we ever saw a terrazzo floor was at the hospital. And it was for good reason; this type of floor is best suited for high traffic public buildings such as malls, markets, hospitals and schools because it is tough, long lasting, easy to clean and demands minimal maintenance.
Terrazzo ingridients
Terrazo Looking at how floors of nowadays can make one believe that they no longer make terrazzo the way they used to. You remember entering a hospital as a child and looking at this black and white speckled floor that boasted of such great workmanship you remember being impressed even as a child.
It was the consistency, the smoothness and the patina from the constant cleaning that simply made terrazzo look classy. Why do current terrazzo floors not look as good? Because most masons are not well quipped to install it, according to Mansukh Gondrya, a Kampala-based terrazzo specialist of over 25 years.
Terrazzo can be used to decorate and protect walls or pillars as seen in this picture taken at Esso corner. PHOTOs/Tony Mushoborozi
The right stone chips
“There are many reasons why terrazzo will fail to come out right one of which is using the wrong stone chips. Good terrazzo must be installed with terrazzo stone, marble or quartz chippings. Other stones are simply not hard enough to do the job. As it turns out, stones in Uganda are not hard enough to use in terrazzo,” Gondrya says.
Press-rolling right
It must also be press-rolled the way road constructors press-roll tarmac. According to Gondrya, the pressure from the press-roller must be a certain weight and at specific intervals or the terrazzo will not come out right. So it is not just having the right equipment but the right expertise to know what works and what does not.
“When it comes to terrazzo, workmanship and the right materials rule. For instance, whenever we are doing terrazzo, we must press-roll it in a very specific way. We press-roll with a 150 kilo roller. We roll with a 60 or 70 kilo roller for two hours for the terrazzo to set. After three hours, we step it up to an 80 kilo roller so that the pressure comes up to 150 kilos. Anything below that will be substandard,” Gondrya says.
Installing right base
The third major factor that usually contributes to poor quality terrazzo is not installing the base screed properly. And this starts with thoroughly cleaning the slab before pouring the base screed and the dividing strips, leaving no dirt or dust at all according to Gondrya.
“But the base screed also has to be a proper mixture ratio of one cement to seven sand or the base is not strong enough to put Tarazzo on top,” he says.
The screed should be 25 to 30 millimetres in thickness. If you make 50 millimetres, the terrazzo will crack.
The base blending ratio
The one to seven ratio may sound a bit too weak to some engineers but Gondya insists that if it is harder than that, then it is too hard and the terrazzo stones will not penetrate it. The blending ratio for the base is 1:7.
“It has to be a bit flexible for the bonding to take place. Not very hard. But if, for instance, you take it up to 1:9, then it is too soft and it will not work either. And anything below 1:6 is too hard. In future you’ll get problem. In some places the client forces us to do below 1:6 and whenever we do that, we get complaints,” he says.
The chips blending ratio
But that is not the only blending ratio to worry about. The terrazzo stone must also be blended into cement before installing them into the base. The blending ratio for cement and terrazzo stones is one to two and a half according to Gondya.
One bucket of cement and two and a half bucket for terrazzo stones. This is because the top surface should be neat enough and strong. Anything higher than that will create a soft top.
Setting time
After the application of the terrazzo mortar, one has to wait eight to nine days for the setting to happen before the grinding can to start. According to experts, if you grind before that, the terrazzo stones will come out, because the bonding is not yet complete.
Grinding
After nine days of setting, the first of three grinding sessions starts. The right way to grind is to use a wet grinder to level out the rough mortar.
After a four-day-wait, the second grinding session commences and after waiting four more days, the third grinding session takes place. This is when the terrazzo becomes beautiful and shiny, according to Gondrya. Now it is ready for polishing.
Terrazzo cements
Terrazzo is made from two types of cement; grey and white cement. While grey terrazzo cement is readily available in Uganda because it is manufacture in the country, white terrazzo cement is imported and very expensive.
A bag of white terrazzo cement sells for Shs75,000 while the former costs Shs35,000. The cement often determines the final color of the floor but depending on preference, oxides are added to achieve other colors.
When is terrazzo best?
So when is Terrazo the best option? According to experts, terrazzo is the best option when flooring malls, factories, churches, hospitals, generally high traffic places where minimal disturbance for maintenance is key.
It is can also be applied to staircases, basement parking spaces and walls. Terrazzo will not need major repairs in at least 80 years, if it is done professionally making it a permanent solution.
“When terrazzo is done right, the only ‘damage’ on it in 20 years will be getting slightly rough on top, losing its shine and needing re-polishing. After re-polishing, it will become like new, which is not the case with tiles for instance. In ten years, tiles are coming off. Terrazo is permanent solution and though it is expensive, it is affordable in the long run,” Gondrya says.
The proper cleaning
Experts advise that to protect your terrazzo from corroding, you must avoid the use acidic chemicals for cleaning. When you use acidic chemicals to get stains off, the surface becomes rough and it will lose its shine. They recommend that you use normal soap from a standard company, not the homemade kind.
“Homemade products are mostly made by mixing 50 percent acid and 50 percent green liquid. The truth is, most cleaning agents are made by mixing in some acid. Because they want the cleaning to show immediate results with minimal scrubbing. This can spoil your terrazzo,” Gondya says.
He adds, “I recommend that you use normal soap and a mopping machine because these machines come with a cleaning pad. And you have to make sure you use the white and red pad. If you go with black and green they will scratch your terrazzo because they are rough.”
How to choose the best terrazzo tiles
Terrazzo tiles are a perfect solution for great looking floors. It can be used in any section of your household. May it is a bathroom or living room, these tiles will achieve their charm in every section. Despite its increasing popularity be cautious with certain choices so that a space does not look outdated.
The type, shape, size and colours of your tiles will determine the outcome of your design. From an expert perspective, you need to carefully choose your terrazzo tiles to make your home look its best. Originalmissiontile.com, tips on how to choose the best terrazzo for your project.
Study the theme in your mind
Everyone has a bit of idea in their mind regarding the theme of their household. So, to make sure that you get the perfect set of cement terrazzo tiles, start off with looking for the most desirable pattern.
Materials of the tile
The material of the cost is the factor which influences the end-cost of the tiles. This is why it is important to choose a terrazzo tile that is not too expensive for you to take care of. The type of terrazzo tiles you also use matters in creating your preferred design. Terrazzo is categorised based on their appearance. Standard terrazzo tiles come with small stone chips and polished surfaces, so it is easy to identify them in stock.
Another common type is the Venetian which also looks ground and polished. The difference between standard and Venetian is that the stone chips in Venetian terrazzo are more prominent than standard terrazzo.
Rustic terrazzo is another common type and has a uniformly textured finish and exposed stone chips. Meanwhile, the type of terrazzo you use depends on the functioning of the space. Some terrazzo tiles are good in the kitchen, while some are not suitable for the bathroom.
Go for a low maintenance solution
Maintenance is an important factor that helps in the post-installation life and care of the tiles. There are many varieties in terrazzo tiles are too porous or are easy to get stained. This is why choosing one with a longer cleanliness and tiles’ life is an option that you should seek.
Calming symmetrical patterns
The best part about having a terrazzo tiling is the symmetrical pattern of their designs. Just as cement tiles, it is a very great way to get the design you see fit. As most of the times, the designs are made of a completely random layout. Meanwhile, there are some terrazzo tiles that are made by poring over the material in a tile-sized cement mix. This is one of the reasons for the overall beauty of a Terrazzo tile.
Cheap and affordable
Cement terrazzo tiles are a great alternative for expensive marbles. They are easy to make and are available in most of the areas which makes them cheaper and easily affordable tiles.
Costs
If you consider future maintenance, terrazzo is cheaper than tiles. The price of terrazzo depends on whether the cement used is grey or white and the surface area.
White is very expensive because it is imported compared to grey terrazzo cement which is made here. White cement costs Shs75,000 one bag while grey terrazzo cement costs Shs35,000 a bag making it much cheaper to install grey terrazzo.
Terrazzo installation is priced in square metres. White cement costs Shs150,000 per square meter, plus VAT. However, if the surface area is bigger than 600 square meters, then that price goes down to Shs85,000 per square meter plus VAT. The bigger the surface area, the lower the price.
Grey terrazo costs Shs95,000 per square meters and Shs75,000 if the surface area is larger than 600 square metres.
It takes a minimum of one month to do a complete terrazzo job because the process includes several wetting days.
History
Terrazzo first became popular around 500 years ago in Italy. It is said that masons in Venice would come home with marble fragments from high-end building sites and use them to floor their own homes by sticking them onto the floor using a clay mortar.
As the technique gained fame, marble chips would be mixed with wet cement and ground smooth before polishing it.
Thus, terrazzo was born; pieces of stone bonded to a cement base. Whoever could not afford a marble floor decided to go with terrazzo.
The terrazzo industry has evolved over the centuries, of course. Creating this old world style became much easier in the late 1920’s, with the invention of electric grinders and other power tools.
