Terrazzo cement floor tiles

Terrazo is known as flooring material since antiquity. Even today you can admire this sturdy material in many Venetian Palazzos from the Renaissance era. In the past, the entire terrazzo surface was cast on site in an elaborate procedure. With terrazzo tiles flexible utilisation is possible.

White, red, grey and black are the four typical terrazzo colours that we offer as plain tiles or mosaic tiles.

Manufacturing process

Terrazzo tiles are manufactured traditionally with a mix of coloured cement and coloured supplements, without resins or other synthetic materials. The mixture gets filled in a mould, is pressed under high pressure and cured afterwards. The characteristic surface structure is achived by subsequent polishing.

Specific product characteristics

Due to the characteristic grain structure of the terrazzo tiles the patterns of the individual tiles are not precisely the same. These slight irregularities give the floor its unique appeal. The tiles are polished with polishing pads with 120 grain size. In doing so, sometimes small single grains get torn out at the edges, thus leading to minor rock breakage or uneven edges respectively.

Surface structure

The surface of terrazzo tiles shows a porous structure, such as that of cement tiles. Impregantion has to be caried out after laying (see below). Through use and regular cleaning with re-fatting soft soaps a protective patina will develop and give the floor a vibrant look. Please be careful with acidic products (red wine, vinegar or the like). These should be removed immediately.

Suitability

Terrazzo tiles are very hard-wearing and wear-resistant (similar to marble). Thanks to their (R9) step security they are suited for bathrooms, hallways and foyers. If your tap water contains high quantities of lime we discourage from laying in the shower area, as cleaning should not be carried out with acidic cleaning agents.

Cement tiles can be layed on underfloor heating, if the floor is heated evenly with usual water temperatures (22-28°C). Please avoid large temperature fluctuations.

The tiles are not frost-resistant and therefore not suited for outddor use.

Delivery time

Please enquire current availability. If the tiles are not in stock; lead time may go up to 10 weeks.

Packaging and delivery

Terrazzo tiles can only be transported safely with a forwarding agency. Transport cost depends on weight and distance. Please state the amount of tiles you intend to buy and the postcode of the delivery address on your enquiry. The tiles are delivered from our central warehouse to your construction site.

Receipt of goods

Please note that tiles must be transported to dry premises immediately, and cannot be put into interim storage in the open due to potential moisture absorption.

Laying

All tiling work must only be carried out by a qualified specialist who is familiar with the product specific characteristics. We cannot accept any liability for damages due to incorrect installation.

• The surface must be clean, even, load bearing, and absolutely dry. A moist underground may lead to stains on the tile surface.
• Mix the packs among one another before laying.
• Use a quick-hardening and quick-drying adhesive with crystalline water binding (e.g. z.B. VIA-Plattenkleber u. VIA-Grundierung, ARRDEX S20, ARDEX S28 oder MAPEI MAPESTONE 1). Moisture absorption of the tiles should be reduced to a minimum as a second moisture penetration of the tiles may cause effervescence. CAUTION: Do not overwater quick-dry adhessives!!
• Apply the adhesive using a large-toothed (10-teeth) comb trowel. Apply adhessive also to the rear side of the tile (buttering-floating-technique). We recommend to work on small-sized areas.
• Align carefully by hand to achieve an even surface - laying with narrow joint width of max. 1-2mm

The tiles can be cut best with a diamond blade. Even mitres can be cut that way, so that clean mitre joints on outer edges are possible. The cutting should be done dryly.

If the laid out tiles need to be covered, this should be made with a breathable material.

Jointing

Jointing of the tiles is made with a slurry made of two parts trass cement and one part quartz sand (grain size up to 0.3mm) that are combined with water to a yoghurt like texture. Do not use prepared joint fillers with plastic content, as these may establish a grey film! Do not use grouting aid, as this may hinder impregantion! Only use joint filler in white, cream or light grey colour shades. Never use dyed cement joint filler! The joint filler is pressed into the joints with a grout board and is worked in until the joints don’t fall anymore. The joint filler should not get smeared across the floor. After finishing each accessible section, the area should get cleaned. Please do not use acidic cleaners or cement residue remover to remove stains!

Silicon joints should be made before the impregnation is applied. Please use natural stone silicon to avoid discolouration.

Basic cleaning

Cleaning the tiles after they were laid out constitutes the basis for impregnation. Begin with sweeping or vacuuming the floor, if necessary remove grout- and/or colour residues with a spatula; then go on with wiping the tiles with a damp cloth. Coarse constructional contamination can be scrubbed of with abrasive powder after. Never clean with acid! Rinse the tiles with pure water and leave the clean surface to dry out well.

Impregnation/Sealing

Terrazzo reacts like natural stones or other materials with open pores: It can be assumed that the impregantion is insufficient if dirt settles.

Before the impregnation of the tiles the floor must be clean and absolutely dry; the capillary may not be saturated with water due to the previous cleaning. Before the impregnation of the whole surface is done, it is necessary to establish a meaningful trial area. If the oil is not absorped a thin layer will form on the surface and liquids can diffuse.

The impregnation is made with tile oil from VIA. Suitable tools are paint rollers (foam) and a standard vibrating polishing machine. Soak the foam roller in tile oil to achieve a saturating application of the oil. If the oil is absorbed by the floor at first, you must apply more oil until a thin excess is left behind. Rub in the excess oil immediately with the polishing machine. In easily accessible sections consisting of 3 tile rows, work your way to the exit. The floor can be walked on after one day. The oil will be completely cured after 7 days and the floor will be ready for use. During curing you must not clean the floor.

After impregnation the floor may no longer absorb any liquids. This can be checked with some water drops. This is the only way to ensure that the floor will be easy to clean and no dirt will settle.

Tip: The floor should not get cleaned with grease dissolving cleaners or microfiber cloths for a longer period. Otherwise the protective oil will get removed from the floor and dirt may settle.

Maintenance and care

Every cleaning procedure consists of cleaning and care. It is important that the cleaning effect is not achieved by using acidic cleaning agents, but by using alcaline, slightly re-fatting cleaning agents!!! Acidic cleaners roughen the surface and should never be used. Traditionally, cement floors were cleaned with a re-fatting soft soap – soft soap contributes to the care of the floor as it is naturally re-fatting. Coarse contaminations can be removed with a "Glitzi"- sponge (sponge with steelwool on one side) and ATA (cleaner) or with a so-called "cleaning stone".

Haste makes waste – a patina will form over time and protect the floor.

Treatment

The tiles obtain extra shine when they are treated with diamond polishing pads. Use pads with different grain size in sequence.

Care instructions

Every cleaning procedure consists of cleaning and care. It is important that the cleaning effect is not reached by using acidic cleaning agents, but by using alcaline, slightly re-fatting cleaning agents!!! Acidic cleaners roughen the surface and should never be used. Coarse contaminations can be removed with abrasive powder. Traditionally, terrazzo floors were cleaned with a re-fatting soft soap – soft soap contributes to the care of the floor as it is naturally re-fatting.

Haste makes waste – a patina will form over time and protect the floor.

Sources of supply

We gladly offer the following optional products:

• tile adhessive
• subsurface primer
• tile oil
• polishing pads

Source of supply for additional products

The below mentioned products for laying and surface treatment are available at our company:

• 711.0000.GRU - VIA plate primer 5kg-containers consumption ca. 0,15 -0,25 kg / sqm
• 711.0000.KLE - VIA tile adhesive 25kg-bag consumption ca. 25 kg / 4-5 sqm
• 711.0000.SAN - VIA quartz sand 5kg-bag sufficient for approx. 100 sqm of laying area
• 711.0000.OEL - VIA tile oil 1 l consumption ca. 1 l / 30-40 sqm
• 711.0000.MIN - VIA mineral impregantion 1 l consumption ca. 1 L / 10 sqm
• 711.0000.SEI - VIA tile soap 1 l consumption 1 tablespoon for 10 l water
• 711.0000.DSG - big diamond pads 1 set white-yellow-green / diameter 402 mm
• 711.0000.DSK - small diamond pads 1 set white-yellow-green / diameter 201 mm