Terrazzo Flooring - A Comprehensive Guide
Last Updated: Feb 20, 2025Floors are a defining feature of a house, so it is essential to consider the variety of options available to make the best choice for you. Terrazzo is a practical option that many overlook and still manages to have sustainable benefits built in.
Terrazzo designs are most commonly associated with public buildings' floors. Think of the speckled, glossy floors of many schools and hospitals. However, terrazzo is low maintenance and highly durable flooring option capable of many unique and beautiful finishes to fit your specific tastes. In recent years there has been a modern resurgence of terrazzo in homes with new imaginings of contemporary designs. Architectural Digest recently named terrazzo, along with white kitchens and exposed brick walls, as one of the design trends that have stood the test of time.
Table of Contents
- What is Terrazzo?
- What Are the Benefits of Terrazzo Floors?
- Is Terrazzo Flooring Durable?
- How Do You Maintain Terrazzo Floors?
- Does Terrazzo Flooring Contain VOCs?
- Is Terrazzo Flooring Made From Recycled Material?
- Can Terrazzo Floors Be Sourced Locally?
- Does Terrozzo Flooring Contribute to LEED Points?
- How Much Does Terrazzo Floors Cost?
- Terrazzo for Your Home Building Projects
What is Terrazzo?
Terrazzo is a composite material made by mixing chips of granite, marble, quartz, shell, glass, or other suitable materials into a cement or epoxy resin binder. Terrazzo has a very long history but gained traction with designers about 1,500 years ago in Italy. Venetian workers noticed many high-grade scrap marble from work projects going to waste with no function ability on their own. The workers combined the marble scraps with cement to create a scattered mosaic look. They used this new material to decorate their residences and terraces, which “terrazzo” is the Italian word for a terrace. The worker’s innovation brought about a low-cost solution to reuse high-grade material in new, exciting designs.
Today, many materials and designs are available to produce exquisite and unique colors, shapes, and terrazzo flooring patterns. The material chips can be quite large or small and speckled. The chips and the binding material can come in almost any color you could imagine. You can go with a classic, neutral look or a fun kaleidoscope of colors. Terrazzo flooring can also be poured into place to create a seamless flow throughout the room(s) or prefabricated into tiles. Essentially, let your abstract, creative mind run wild!
Is Terrazzo Flooring Durable?
Terrazzo is an extremely durable substance. You can expect that terrazzo floors will outlast even the life of your home.
How Do You Maintain Terrazzo Floors?
The original luster can be restored time and time to make the floors look brand new. For both cement and epoxy resin terrazzo floors, maintenance requirements are few and extremely cheap. Routine maintenance includes sweeping up sand and soil, which act as abrasives and damage the floor. It is also important to dry or damp mopping any spills immediately to prevent staining. Occasionally, you can thoroughly clean the floors with neutral liquid cleaners (meaning cleaners that are neither acidic nor alkaline).
Is Terrazzo Flooring Made From Recycled Material?
Choosing terrazzo makes it super easy to use recycled content for your flooring. The aggregate can come from post-consumer recycled glass or stone and marble salvaged from processing quarries or other construction projects. The binding material, which constitutes 25%-30% of the volume of terrazzo floors, can also have recycled content. Both cementitious terrazzo and terrazzo set in an epoxy resin binder can have varying degrees of recycled material.
Can Terrazzo Floors Be Sourced Locally?
Since terrazzo flooring is mainly comprised of recycled content, it is usually not hard to find regional and even local supply for terrazzo. The terrazzo market in the United States is broad. It is projected to grow as people will demand its strong durability and recycled content properties.
Does Terrozzo Flooring Contribute to LEED Points?
Sourcing terrazzo flooring locally can help lower your home's embodied energy. The qualities of terrazzo flooring can help you if you are pursuing LEED certification for your home. A typical terrazzo flooring project will contribute five LEED points on the following basis:
- 2 points for Recycled Content (MR Credit 4.1 and 4.2)
- 2 points for Local Regional Materials (MR Credit 5.1 and 5.2)
- 1 point for Indoor Emitting Materials (EQ Credit 4.1)
Terrazzo is ideal for seeking LEED credits or choosing flooring with a low environmental impact with added benefits of long durability and low maintenance!
How Much Does Terrazzo Floors Cost?
Terrazzo has a slightly higher per-square-foot cost than comparable flooring options such as natural stone floors. Home Advisor estimates that installing terrazzo flooring on typical projects will range from $25-$90 per square foot. This higher price is because it is relatively more complicated to create the terrazzo, particular tastes. Terrazzo requires professional installation, so labor costs increase the rate as well. Using prefabricated terrazzo tiles, however, may help to lower costs. Terrazzo tiles cost between $15 and $70 per square foot; however, including installation, you may pay anywhere between $25 and $80 per square foot. Poured floors may cost between $25 and $70 per square foot, and with installation costs, a total of $30-$90 per square foot. With the higher cost of poured floors, you also get more design power to create a unique look. You can also choose higher-end materials that may not be available in prefabricated tiles.
Although this price may seem shocking compared to other flooring options, remember that terrazzo floors require little to no maintenance and will last the lifetime of your home. The costs are all upfront, and savings accumulate over time. Also, consider that there is a limited need to mine/extract new materials from the earth by choosing terrazzo. Perhaps the premium may be justified by not contributing to the depletion of the earth’s natural resources.
Terrazzo for Your Home Building Projects
If you are interested in using terrazzo as a beautiful and utterly unique flooring in your home, suppliers have plenty of choices. Unlike natural tile and hardwood products, there are no specific brands for terrazzo. Instead, professional terrazzo manufacturers and specialized contractors provide terrazzo design and installation services. Skilled workers help to create a quality, specialized product. Typically, you will contact a local contractor, who will then reach out to a manufacturer to design. The National Terrazzo and Mosaic Association helpfully offers a contractor map to find local contractors near you to start your search.
Samantha Aimone
Samantha Aimone is a student at Fordham University pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with dual concentrations in finance and social innovation. Samantha is a change maker and she is driven to help businesses attain sustainability through disruptive innovation.
