Green Terrazzo

Since ancient times when Italian quarry workers took home small, fractured pieces of marble, blended them with sand and goat’s milk, and spread the mixture over their terraces, Terrazzo has been a recycled material.   Terrazzo has long been valued for its life cycle characteristics: low maintenance, durability, and indoor air quality - with recycled content being an additional attractive feature.  DePaoli has extensive experience working towards LEED and MA-CHPS standards.  Click for a list of our LEED certified projects. Today’s epoxy Terrazzo can contribute to the US Green Building Council’s credits, under the LEED Rating System, Version 2.0. Based on the standards set forth by the LEED Rating System, epoxy Terrazzo may contribute in several different categories:

ENERGY & ATMOSPHERE

Minimize energy usage within a building by utilizing a seamless flooring system for easy maintenance (1-2 points).

MATERIALS & RESOURCES

Epoxy Terrazzo flooring utilizes natural materials and conserves resources due to the long life- cycle of the product (1-2 points). Terrazzo systems are poured and set on-site, thereby eliminating transportation costs associated with off-site production.  This helps to reduce fuel consumption and eliminate harmful emissions (1 point). Marble chips are often by-products of quarried stone, which may have otherwise been disposed of as waste.  Glass and synthetic aggregates utilize both post-industrial and post-consumer glass and plastics (1 point). Epoxy resins can be shipped directly to the job-site in recycled drums.  Once empty, the drums can be used to store residue from the grinding operation.  Chemical precipitators can be added to this residue to separate the water from the solid material.  This reduces the amount of grinding residue which must be transported to the landfill and allows the Terrazzo contractor to recycle the water and complete additional grinding (1 point).

INDOOR AIR QUALITY

Seamless floors like epoxy Terrazzo help maintain IAQ as they are easy to clean, non-porous and do not harbor dust or microbes.  In addition, epoxy terrazzo will seal the concrete and prevent radon and other gases from migrating into the building (1-2 points). The resins used in epoxy Terrazzo contain no Volatile Organic Compounds (1 point).

RESOURCE REUSE

Epoxy Terrazzo flooring is exceedingly durable and will last for the life of the structure in which it is installed.  While other flooring systems will require repairs or even replacement, Terrazzo required extremely low maintenance cost.  This ease of maintenance reduces the floor’s embodied energy, as well as reducing the need to consume valuable resources in the future (1-2 points).

Contact Us

If you still have questions or if you would like to discuss Terrazzo options for your upcoming project, please contact our office.

GREEN TERRAZZO

Terrazzo’s unique characteristics make it the perfect material for today’s green building projects.  Below is detailed information on Terrazzo’s contributions to the US Green Building Council’s flooring and air quality credits.   If you would like to discuss Terrazzo’s suitability for your next Green Building project or require additional information please contact us at info@depaolimosaic.com