Introduction and quality

Different similar names for the same material

In general, you may also find terraced or terrazzo paving. The most common name is terraco. Not the difference. Do not confuse terrazzo with terracotta - it's made of burnt clay, red and rough. It is quite different, albeit with a similar name.

Teraco is a traditional material used thousands of years ago

Teraco is one of the oldest floor constructions ever. We're already meeting it for buildings built 4,000 years ago. It was often used in conjunction with the mosaic. About their qualities, durability, strength and beauty, we can admire it today.

Previously, a teraco was poured on the place of laying and subsequently ground or otherwise surface-treated to highlight its drawing. The floor made in this way was very demanding, but it was rewarded with a long life even with high traffic.

The most common use of teraco is today in the form of paving tiles

By using modern vibropress methods and easier machine grinding, new teraco flooring options have been opened. Their main advantages over cast terrazzo floors are in particular: a wider range of chippings, high surface strength, better surface quality and quicker floor laying.

In addition to flooring, terrazzo material can also be used for other interior accessories such as terrazzo stairs, window sills, terrazzo finishing elements in interiors. These are produced either in the tile artwork that is used on the floor or according to the design of the architect.

One of the great benefits of teraco is a wide range of designs

Teraco paving design is made from marble, terrazzo or limestone chipping of different colors and fractions. The tile strength is given by the cement core, for which Portland gray and white cements are used. Paving can be pigmented into cement.

Terrazzo tiles are made as single-layer or double-layered . The top layer consists of terrazzo chipping and variously colored cement putty, the base layer is made of river sand and portland cement. Machine production allows the use of larger fractions of aggregates, where the grinding will better show its drawing.

The most important properties of teraco

Teraco is a predominantly natural material, with about 70% of the weight of each element being terrazzo chipping or marble, of different colours, fractions and shapes. The binder is portland cement, white or gray. The use of modern production methods creates a floor element with excellent utility properties, including:

• High load capacity and resistance to point loads. Due to its construction, terrazzo pavement transfers high point loads due to traffic, especially transport, to a larger floor area.
• The high operational toughness and surface resistence which the tile takes from its base stone material.
• Possibility of great variability in drawing, patterns, colours and dimensions, which is given by the possibility of a large assortment of different stone crushes, possibilities of colouring into matter and using modern production methods and subsequent possibilities of surface treatment - grinding, blasting, stamping etc.
• Frost resistance and resistance to thawing salts
• Easy and inexpensive maintenance of the floor or staircase
• Environmental harmlessness resulting from the use of aggregate as the basic item of an element

The terrazzo pavement is primarily due to the properties of the limestone feedstock little resistant to acids which distorts the surface. On the contrary, resists to lyes very well .