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It’s hard to deny the meteoric resurgence of terrazzo in modern commercial design. We love seeing this material come back in a big way and there’s a really clear reason for it! Though it originated as little more than an innovative way to fix flooring in Italy in the 1500s, today, terrazzo is a surprisingly sleek way to fill a busy space with lasting visual impact. In fact, it does so much more than that, it has the resilience to back it up. As one of the world’s premier suppliers of terrazzo, Yuanda Stone has seen what our modern product can do in day-to-day commercial operations, and believe us when we say it exceeds industry standards. Learn what makes our product outshine the rest:
The Inherent Material Strength and Composition
So how can this seemingly delicate finish withstand such a harsh battering? Let’s take a look at its secret ingredient, literally! The construction of terrazzo is fundamental to its strength. In essence, terrazzo is made of aggregates such as chips of marble, granite, quartz and glass, which are bonded together with a cement or epoxy resin binder. This hard aggregate mixed into a very strong matrix creates a tough material that stands up to impact and abrasion beautifully. While a monolithic material will be easily marked and show signs of scratching easily, the varied appearance of terrazzo means that these superficial blemishes are lost in the pattern of the overall floor. In more recent years, the addition of epoxy systems has increased the resistance of terrazzo to chemical damage and has increased the strength of the binder compared to conventional concrete. Our experience at Yuanda Stone, shows that with carefully selected aggregates and accurate mixing, our high quality terrazzo has the compressive strength to match many natural stones and will withstand decades of heavy foot traffic.
Superior Resistance to Commercial Wear and Tear
Business is tough on a building’s floor. People trudge across it wearing spike heels, rolling heavy-duty carts, dropping things – the surface must be constantly resilient. Thanks to its exceptionally hard, non-porous structure, terrazzo can handle the job. After the application of a quality sealant, terrazzo flooring will ward off typical commercial spills like coffee, oil and cleaning agents – which are often a death sentence for things like untreated marble or wood floors. Terrazzo resists abrasion, so its surface won’t wear down in high-traffic areas like entranceways, corridors and checkout lines to create uneven grooves or ‘cupping’-something that is inevitable with softer substances. A terrazzo installation can be expected to last more than 20 years without significant wear, thereby minimizing expensive floor replacements.
Minimal Maintenance and Long-Term Lifecycle Costs
Spending on terrazzo floors means that it’s going to pay for itself. True, it costs a bit more initially, but when you tally it up at the end of the day, it makes solid sense to go with a terrazzo installation. How do I know? For starters, it doesn’t take a whole lot to maintain this stuff. While carpet, luxury vinyl tile (LVT) and wood need to be waxed or stripped and treated several times throughout their lifecycle, terrazzo simply needs to be cleaned. In fact, excessive waxing will actually cause terrazzo’s polish to dull and soil to collect. Instead, simply sweep or dust mop each day and wash periodically with water, a mild neutral pH cleaner, and a damp mop. So, you eliminate ongoing costs associated with expensive, specialized cleaning teams and a plethora of chemicals. Not to mention the fact that once terrazzo is installed, it virtually never needs replacing. The lifetime cost associated with this product will always come in well under that of LVT, carpeting, or even hard-wood flooring over a span of 20 to 30 years. We always encourage our terrazzo clients to think of the “premium” they are paying for a top-quality product like ours as something that pays for itself through maintenance and replacement savings over the years.
Sustained Aesthetic Integrity and Performance
The other great feature of terrazzo is that it ages well without diminishing the visual impact and quality. Some building materials get faded and can become yellow or can turn into other colors after the wear and the influence of light over years. A quality made terrazzo is colorfast because of UV protected pigments used in its binding agent, so the colorful shards remain shining as from the first day of the installation. Moreover, if over time the terrazzo surface has cracks or gets destroyed the surface can be refurbished by grinding and then polishing, so it looks as if newly installed and has a second life, without need of replacing the floor completely. The durability and renewability of this floor are unmatched. This feature enables a business to keep up high-class appearance and impression for a client no matter for how many years the commercial space will be in operation.
So the long term value of terrazzo isn’t simply about the inherent strengths but about the integration of that toughness with the practical benefit of cost, wear resistance, and timeless beauty. When the goal is building a sustainable, timeless legacy for your business, no other material compares to terrazzo—and no partner compares to Yuanda Stone.
