How poured terrazzo differs from terrazzo tiles
Poured terrazzo (in situ) is cast on site in a layer a few centimetres thick and then ground, so it reads as a single surface. Terrazzo tile is cast in moulds at a factory and laid on adhesive, with joints between tiles. The difference is not only visual. A monolithic floor allows complex forms: steps, a staircase, skirting and floor in one material, with a custom design. Tile is simpler, quicker to lay and easier to repair.
A monolith needs a craftsman and curing time, and an error in the mix or the substrate shows as a crack across the whole floor. Tile is predictable: the sample and the batch are what you get, and a single piece can be replaced. The choice depends on what you value more: uniformity and form, or control and simplicity.
Terrazzo as a Catalan tradition
Terrazzo came from Venice, where mosaic floors were made with marble offcuts in a lime mortar. In Catalonia it took root alongside the hydraulic tile (mosaic hidràulic): Barcelona's factories cast patterned cement tiles, and terrazzo with marble chips was their neighbour. In many mid-twentieth-century Eixample flats, terrazzo lies under linoleum or carpet, ready to be revived.
The current material differs in other ways: large chips, clean colour, a thin polymer binder and brass dividers. It is the same craft, but looks different from the 1950s: then a small speckled chip, now sizes up to 2–3 cm and a calm palette. For a quiet-luxury interior, a soft monochrome version works well: a pale base with chips in the same tone.
Which chips and dividers to choose
Chips are divided into fine (2–5 mm, a calm granular look), medium (6–15 mm) and large (15–30 mm and more, an expressive pattern). Fine looks like stone, large like graphics. On the large area of a living room, medium and large work well; on a small area, fine, or the pattern is lost.
Dividers in brass, stainless steel or zinc are not decoration but movement joints: terrazzo shrinks and expands and without joints it cracks. They go every 1–1.5 m, around the room perimeter and at junctions. Brass darkens and becomes part of the pattern; stainless is colder. In a contemporary design the divider can be part of the geometry: a diamond, a grid, an arc.
Can old terrazzo in a flat be restored
Most often, yes. The old floor is cleared of adhesive and coverings, ground with diamond discs from coarse to fine, cracks and losses are filled with a matching mix, ground again, polished and sealed. After that the sheen returns and the pattern opens up. It is cheaper than replacement, lasts longer and keeps the history of the building.
Before starting, the substrate is checked: terrazzo can sit on a hollow screed, and voids are found by tapping. Cracks along old joint lines can be closed, but a crack from slab movement will return until the cause is fixed. Old terrazzo can collide with the design: if you want to keep the floor in one room and lay parquet in another, a well-resolved transition is needed at the boundary.
Terrazzo over underfloor heating
It is compatible, with conditions. Cement-based poured terrazzo 30–40 mm thick is heavy and slow to warm up, which dulls the response of the heating. Thin poured terrazzo on a polymer binder (6–10 mm) warms up quickly and is the one chosen for heated floors. Terrazzo tile on thin-bed adhesive also works.
In all cases movement joints are needed at heating circuit boundaries and a planned regime: gradual start-up, no jumps. Joints between circuits show in terrazzo if thermal movement has not been allowed for. One more detail: cement terrazzo weighs about 90 kg per square metre, and in an old house with timber floors the load is calculated beforehand.
Terrazzo for worktops: is it practical?
It is practical if the binder and chips are chosen well. A cement terrazzo worktop with granite chips is resistant to scratches and heat. With marble chips, acids attack it, so for a kitchen granite, quartz or glass chips are used. The surface is ground and sealed and then behaves like stone.
Drawbacks: weight, fabrication cost and a chip that is hard to repair. Advantages: a pattern that cannot be repeated and the option of casting the worktop with an integrated sink. In a kitchen where terrazzo is already on the floor, a worktop in the same material ties the space together, but if the floor has already taken the budget, a stone more tolerant of acids is worth considering for the worktop.
How BCN YARD can help with terrazzo
We assess what lies under your current covering: whether to restore old terrazzo or make a new one. We find the craftsman and prepare a sample. We run the project in Russian and Spanish, with staged payments under contract. Write to us and we will reply within an hour.
Frequently asked questions
Is terrazzo slippery?
Polished terrazzo is slippery in a wet zone, like any polished stone. For a bathroom and a terrace a matte finish or light grinding is chosen; for a living room, polish is acceptable. Ask the craftsman for the pendulum test result of the chosen finish: you see the real coefficient, not an advertising claim of non-slip.
How long does poured terrazzo take to cure?
Cement terrazzo reaches most of its strength within several weeks and is ground after curing. Furniture can go on the floor later than you might think. The exact time comes from the craftsman based on the mix and conditions; curing cannot be rushed or cracks and stains appear.
Is terrazzo suitable for a staircase?
Very suitable: poured terrazzo steps with skirting look unified and take wear for decades. Anti-slip grooves or a matte edge treatment are needed, and in the shared areas of a building slip requirements are taken into account. Many old Eixample staircases are preserved in terrazzo for just this reason.