Terrazzo has been experiencing a renaissance for years and is a popular material among planners and building owners, used in modern construction projects and in the renovation of listed buildings. The mineral floor covering is characterised by its durability, special appearance and versatile application options in living spaces and public buildings.
What characterises VIA Terrazzo?
VIA Terrazzo is an innovative floor covering which, in addition to its diverse design options and robustness, is characterised above all by its practical processing and environmentally friendly composition.
Terrazzo, which emerged in Venice in the 16th century and experienced its heyday in the 18th century, was originally based on lime. These lime terrazzo tiles were not only durable and hard-wearing, but also elastic enough to compensate for movements in the substrate. In the 19th century, lime was replaced by Portland cement, which simplified production.
The company VIA has managed to build on these traditional roots. Today, it once again offers terrazzo with lime bonding, which is hard on the surface and flexible at the same time thanks to activation with water glass. This lime-bonded terrazzo from VIA can be sanded almost dust-free, making it a traditional and seamless flooring solution that harks back to its Venetian origins.
Unlike conventional terrazzo, VIA Terrazzo is cement and epoxy resin-free. VIA Terrazzo is a floor covering made from an ecological binder that can be produced with various aggregates such as marble, granite or glass and hardens by crystalline setting.
The terrazzo ready-mix is mixed with water on site and applied to the dimensionally stable and vibration-free substrate. After a drying time of just 24 hours, the flooring is sanded dry for the first time and impregnated with mineral after the final fine sanding. Depending on aesthetic preferences and area of application, a silky matt, glossy surface can be created by polishing with diamond polishing pads.
VIA Terrazzo
Ecological. Robust. Beautiful.
VIA has reinvented terrazzo: Environmentally friendly water glass is used as a binding agent. The terrazzo is therefore cement and epoxy resin-free and contains no other environmentally harmful components.
- Fast and practical application
- Ready-mix in a bucket
- Low installation height
- 100 % recyclable
- Customised mixtures possible
- Free of cement and epoxy resin
- Fire protection class A1
- Durable and easy to clean
VIA Terrazzo is designed to meet the demands of modern construction and renovation projects. It is practical and quick to work with and can be ideally integrated into all projects.
Further advantages of VIA Terrazzo
Fast and practical processing:
The application of VIA Terrazzo is practical and clean. The finished mixture is delivered to the construction site in 25kg buckets, mixed with water and levelled. Each bucket contains the same mixing ratio, which guarantees an even grain layer from the first to the last square metre. Modern sanding and extraction techniques enable the material to be dry sanded. This significantly minimises the workload for those processing the material.
Low installation height:
With a minimum installation thickness of +/- 1cm, the finished floor has a thickness of +/- 0.7cm after sanding and is therefore particularly interesting for projects in which only a low installation height is available for the floor covering.
Durable and easy to maintain:
A high stone density and tightly sealed surfaces make terrazzo flooring particularly hard-wearing and durable, making it the ideal flooring material for buildings and rooms subject to heavy use. The seamless surfaces are easy to clean with VIA Soap for Terrazzo. The granular aggregates make the surfaces resistant to dirt and dust and crumbs are visually absorbed.
Versatile design options:
Almost limitless possibilities in the selection of aggregates and the option to create individual mixtures results in a wide range of individual designs and colours.
Combinable:
The seamless VIA Terrazzo can be perfectly combined with terrazzo tiles. The tiles are laid first, then the terrazzo compound is applied. The two are then sanded together. Living areas can be separated, corridors framed and accents created. Transitions to other materials, such as wooden floors, can be created easily and well with end profiles or expansion profiles made of aluminium or brass.
Low moisture ingress:
25kg of terrazzo mixis mixed with just 2.4 litres of water and then processed. VIA utilises new grinding and extraction techniques and the surfaces are ground dry. This minimises moisture ingress on the construction site, which is particularly interesting for existing buildings.
... rough sanding
VIA Terrazzo is sanded dry. The rapid setting with the VIA binder means that the flooring can be sanded after just one day of drying (at least 24 hours). The first coarse sanding involves sanding the grain size. Sanding is carried out in uniform movements until the machine runs smoothly.
... putty
A visual inspection reveals isolated cavities, so-called blowholes. These are filled with VIA pore filler - mixed with the sanding dust from the coarse sanding - and a joint board.
... fine sanding
In the first fine sanding, the levelling compound residues are sanded off until the floor is clean. For a higher gloss level, a final fine sanding can be carried out. Depending on the degree of sanding, VIA Terrazzo achieves a slip classification of R9 to max. R 11.
Further information on the individual sanding steps can be found in the sanding guide.
... impregnate
Finally, the dry and clean terrazzo floor is sealed with VIA mineral impregnation. This is applied crosswise with a floor wiper.
Areas of application
Terrazzo is known in existing buildings as the floor that is tough. It was traditionally used in kitchens, laundry rooms, stairwells and entrances.
VIA Terrazzo is suitable for all interior spaces in private and commercial buildings. It is also a popular floor covering in hotels, restaurants, museums and churches, as well as in schools and residential neighbourhoods.
Whether a new office building or the renovation of a 60s concrete skeleton building. Terrazzo blends naturally into the surroundings. VIA Terrazzo fits in wonderfully with the architectural style of the 50s and 60s and builds a bridge to the period in which it was created. Expansion joints are defined by the subfloor and can be incorporated as a design element by using aluminium or brass expansion profiles that can be sanded down.
Private interiors and living spaces:
Thanks to its robust and easy-care properties, terrazzo is ideal for use in all interior spaces. Due to the increasing use of underfloor and panel heating, it is also the ideal surface covering in living and dining rooms. And when living with children and pets, VIA Terrazzo can show what it can do. Its nickname "crumb eater" is no coincidence. So if you prefer to put your feet up in the evening instead of vacuuming, nobody will be bothered.
Commercial use:
VIA Terrazzo is the ideal material for use in the commercial sector and in public buildings where it can withstand heavy use.
Refurbishment of existing buildings:
Terrazzo can also be used in existing buildings without any problems. The low and customisable installation height of at least 7 mm means that connections to existing floors can be made seamlessly and without height offset. Processing is very quick and clean and therefore particularly interesting for renovations.
Wall and property design:
Terrazzo is also suitable for use on walls and for creating objects. For this purpose, the material is processed in moulded components and then installed.
