Terrazzo
Plan for your school’s future.
When planning the curriculum for a school year, great care is taken with every lesson in order to build a strong foundation.
Care should also be taken when selecting the building blocks of primary schools, secondary schools, and universities.
Proper building materials transform the brick and mortar of a building into an institution for learning.
Design should begin where you step, with the selection of a school’s flooring; and, terrazzo is at the head of the class in educational institution’s flooring options.
Tested Durability
The first flooring choice in the history of school construction had been terrazzo which lasts for a building’s lifetime.
Over the years budgets tightened and school administrators turned to less expensive flooring options.
Unfortunately, these alternate flooring options did not stand the test of time. Regular wear and tear led to additional maintenance and replacement costs.
Savings on the capital investment of remodeling or new construction turned into budget shortfalls for maintenance and repair funds.
A Lifetime of Service
The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Best Practices Manual for Building High Performance Schools states the life expectancy of carpet is 10 to 15 years, compared to terrazzo, which will last for a building’s lifetime.
A school’s daily activity includes messy arts & crafts, food spills and climatic weather.
Through generations, terrazzo has passed these tests. Terrazzo offers maximum sustainability, with minor restoration and re-polishing, a 50 year old terrazzo floor can be as good as new.
Cost & ROI
Initial cost vs. life-cycle cost, don’t get caught in the trap of saving now to pay later.
Less expensive flooring options like carpet and vinyl tile are not the right answer.
During the lifetime of a building, the total cost of flooring may exceed 35 times the initial cost.
With terrazzo systems, floors will typically last the lifetime of a building.
Air Quality
Terrazzo flooring is seamless and does not support the growth of bacteria, mold or mildew typically the cause of this concern.
Choose terrazzo and reduce the transfer of germs among children, keeping students safe and healthy.
Eco Friendly
Interested in sustainable design and building materials?
Terrazzo flooring was one of the original recycled products, and today, terrazzo aggregates, binders and finished systems can help your projects contribute to US Green Building Council’s (USGBC) credits, under the LEED Rating system, version 2.0.
Aesthetics
Avoid the tired finishes that haunt some school hallways and common areas.
Show your school spirit incorporating the school mascot and colors.
The rich color and flexible design elements can surpass any other floor system.
Care
Requiring only a bucket of warm water and a mop, historically terrazzo has been the most easily maintained flooring option.
Now there are also ways to make it even easier. Eliminate the “Wax On, Wax Off” build-up that has added unnecessary dollars to terrazzo flooring.
Revolutionary finish systems have returned terrazzo maintenance to daily cleaning and periodic scrubbing.
