Update: There is a new line — different material, “terrazzo look” (not true terrazzo) — here.
- >> Here’s another company we found and featured in 2016: Terrazzio terrazzo floor tiles in 14 colors.
- Note, there may both other makers of such tile, especially given terrazzo’s resurgence in popularity — I have not done more research on the topic.
Update: This story was originally published in 2009 and since then, Daltile seems to have discontinued this product. Meanwhile, I will keep the text of this 2009 Daltile story up for historical purposes:
Daltile snuck these in on me: Authentic terrazzo tiles. Terrazzo is a wonderful authentic retro product for mid-century renovations — and this is the first product of its kind that I have seen. To be sure, buying terrazzo tiles is gonna be a lot easier than trying to find someone to lay a complete (albeit seamless) terrazzo floor. These terrazzo tiles are available in many color ways, as either 12″-, 16″-, or 24″-squares. The 24″ squares are almost an inch thick.
It looks like Daltile is specifying these for living area floors — not bathrooms or kitchens or places where water would likely spill and the terrazzo could get slippery. Always check manufacturers’ specifications for recommended uses. And, you can put them on walls. Remember, this is essentially polished marble — the terrazzo are ‘marble chips’. In my mind, terrazzo always has been a floor most appropropriate for warm climates … it’s a cold surface. In fact, get yourself a 24″ square of this tile – and you could use it to roll out pie crusts, I bet! Many thanks to reader Kimberly — a new homeowner (woo hoo!) for spotting these tiles first, I saw them in her flickr photostream. Can’t wait to see your house, K!
Angela says
Help! Can anyone tell me what this is lurking beneath the awful carpet in my family room? I can’t tell if it’s terazzo or what. I want to rip the carpet out entirely and restore the tile, but I’m not sure how. My house was built in 1957. Thank you! Sorry about linking the photos, I can’t figure out how to post them here or if I can.https://www.dropbox.com/s/1zjvd6xg4alq1ls/IMG_20140416_105504.jpghttps://www.dropbox.com/s/kiw08te5nekrh17/IMG_20140416_105514.jpg
pam kueber says
link doesn’t work… beware of vintage nastiness in vintage materials – get your own properly licensed professional to determine what you have so that you can make informed decisions.
Pat Wieneke says
In older government buildings they used to have, and still often do under the u*** [edited] commercial carpet they seem so fond of, terrazzo floors. Between the tiles are thin shiny metal strips. Slitely rounded on top. This was used instead of grout.
Was this method ever used in homes with terrazzo floors?
Pat Wieneke says
I was just thinking about these the other day and my husband and I were talking about their use on radiant floors heated by a geothermic furnace. This is all our dream home stuff and in our 60’s I think it will stay in the dream stage.
If you had radiant heated floors, these tiles would hold the heat beautifully and transfer it to your footsies and every one knows that when your feet are warm so is the rest of you.
Then, in the summer in more moderate climates ( not Florida) the 58degree F water circulating through the radiant heat floor pipes with the heat turned off, would cool them and they would hold that cool, 58 degree temp, making your footsies cooler and therefore the rest of your body. The help of a ceiling fan and vented skylight to run hot air passively out of the house may do the trick. A dry climate like the central pains states would be best of this, we would think.
HUMMM?
Jess says
I had Bisazza terrazzo installed on the floor of my kitchen and bathroom in my ’57 Fickett about 12 years ago. It still looks new, it’s gorgeous, easy to maintain and has never stained or have I had any problems or complaints. Easy to clean with a mop or swiffer. It does get slick when wet but nothing a small towel can’t quickly solve (we keep a small bath rug outside of the shower in case of slipperyness).
Amy says
We just priced this in our area — $14.60 per square foot for the 24″ squares, including polished finish, seal, and freight. So that’s about $58.40 per tile, and they are sold in cartons of four. I hope this information is helpful to someone.
We LOVE the idea of terrazzo countertops, and we are seriously considering these for a DIY countertop installation. Has anyone used the 24″ terrazzo tiles for this? I can’t find any examples on the web. These tiles are expensive, but when compared to prices of other countertop surfaces, the square footage cost isn’t so bad.
Thanks for blogging about these tiles! Never would have heard about them otherwise, and they are a very interesting option for our mid-century kitchen.
Travis says
Even later with my comments, I should say that those tiles are made by Wausau for Dal (and others). These particular terrazzo tiles are about 1/2 thick, but some terrazzo tiles can up to a full 1″ thick. The cool thing about THICK terrazzo tiles is that you can often butt them up together during installation and have very little visible grout line, but the THIN ones require you to space them like a ceramic tile which means big “ugly(?)” grout joints. The tiles shown above are of the thin variety. The good news is that the thin ones weigh a lot less and don’t require the substantial subfloor/framing preparations that are sometimes necessary for the thicker/heavier tiles. Terrazzo tiles are made like poured tarrazzo (concrete type mix), so they WILL require a sealer no matter what the manufacturer says. They are OK to go in wet areas IF you use a sealer designed specifically to minimize slip hazards (VERY important!!). Terrazzo, if installed properly, will make the IDEAL radiant heated floor material. It won’t be as “responsive” as a wood or laminate floor, but once the terrazzo is heated up, it will hold the heat longer due to it’s greater thermal mass.
pam kueber says
Thanks, Travis, including for your reminder about ensuring you are specifying the correct material and finishes if slip-resistance is important. Readers: Consult with properly licensed professionals when specifying flooring.
sandy retroSpective says
Piping in LATE here, but man oh man, do I ever love that spearmint colour of terrazzo!!! I would love a whole house done in that. As for, better suited for southern climates, my cousin who, like me, lives in the city affectionately known as ‘Winterpeg’ put in tile in her amazing renovated (but not, alas, retro) kitchen. She first had floor radiant heating put in, as part of her reno. And wow, it is so toasty warm you don’t want to leave the kitchen.
Pam, I know and fully understand that you don’t want prices put in this part of the blog. But what I would really appreciate seeing is some kind of general price comparison of various surfaces or materials. So, a list from cheapest to most expensive for various options for retro flooring or countertops. It would be great to know where on the scale terrazzo is. Of course, more $ than vinyl sheeting or marmoleum/linoleum. And terrazzo tile is less $ than poured terrazzo. But… is terrazzo tile comparable to wood flooring, for instance? I would love to see a list, showing what might be comparable in price from cheapest to most expensive, and all the retro-friendly options. My two cents.
june cahill says
I have now put two terrazzo kitchen counters in two different mid-cent ranch homes! The terrazzo came in a “slab” from Italy – “Bisazza” is the maker – the slab (or tile) is very thin – it’s almost like shards of glass in a resin that’s been polished. I’ve never had any stains occur – red wine, oils, food coloring, etc.
I had a really difficult time finding a contractor to lay the slabs and “finish” them – but they look stunning.
It was pricey – like granite – but really gives the home that 1950s-60 feel – that’s what I was going for – I wanted a counter without grout lines, and that wouldn’t stain, but looked as though it might have come with the house. With the terrazzo, the look was achieved.
Puzzy says
Wow, for the counters? Sounds great. What do you have for flooring in these kitchens?
Puzzy says
Has anyone recently installed Terazzo floors? If so, where and which company’s tiles did you get?
michelle hotchkiss says
in 2007 I got my 12? recycled glass terrazzo tiles from Wausau Tile. I think it was $8/sf + shipping, 500 sf minimum.
ck says
we are considering making an offer on a really swell 1963 house, terrazo and maple wood floors throughout. no one has has played with her original bones, she just needs sme body to love her again…one thing that has me stumped, what to do with the original barbque pit in the kitchen? When one steps in you feel out of place without a Martini or two…thoughts on that barbq? anyone? many thanks,ck
Puzzy says
ck-why can’t you leave the bbq? sounds fab! did you buy the house?