Concrete @ your Fingertips

Terrazzo tiles and concrete flags

As with in-situ Terrazzo mixes, Terrazzo tiles consist of crushed marble in a cementitious matrix, however the tiles often have a plain cement mortar lower half. The tiles should be laid on a clean concrete base and often the joints are formed using strips of brass or plastic. As with in situ terrazzo, wear resistance depends on the hardness of the aggregate, soft marbles being susceptible to damage. Terrazzo tiles can be very durable and are often used in highly trafficked public areas such as station concourses but they can be very slippery when polished or when wet.

Concrete flags used for flooring are basically the same as those used in external applications but normally in a smaller size. Concrete flags benefit from the advantages of precast concrete in that they can be manufactured to a consistent quality and cured under controlled conditions. The normal method of laying concrete flags internally is to bed them in mortar on a clean concrete base. Wearing and slip resistance is variable depending on the mix and surface characteristics.

Other references:PYE, PW and HARRISON, HW. Floors and Flooring, BRE, 2003.
CIRIA Report C652 Safer surfaces to walk on, reducing the risk of slippage, 2006