Is terrazzo better than marble?

Terrazzo is harder and will not etch; marble is softer, looks better close up, and etches on contact with anything acidic. Terrazzo is more uniform because it is engineered; marble varies slab to slab, which is either its appeal or its problem. Neither is better — they answer different requirements.

Reference photograph of a terrazzo surface, s42. Not a photograph of our goods. — Marble chip in a pale matrix: the aggregate is calcium carbonate, which is why acid etches it.

Reference photograph of a terrazzo surface, s11. Not a photograph of our goods. — Glass chip in a dark matrix: inert, does not etch, and is why a glass-aggregate floor behaves differently in a kitchen.

Reference photographs. They show the material and the finish; they are not photographs of goods we made, and the colour on screen is not a colour-match.

The figures, and where each one comes from

Property	Terrazzo	Marble
Hardness	harder, engineered	softer, natural
Acid resistance	unaffected	etches on contact
Variation	low, repeatable	high, slab to slab
Repairability	patch and re-ground	patch, but the match is visible
Slip	matte finish available	honed available, still slippery wet

Why the processes are not interchangeable

The etching difference is the one that decides most projects. Marble dissolves on contact with lemon juice, wine and most household cleaners, and the mark is not removable — it is a loss of surface, not a stain. Terrazzo does not care. In a kitchen or a bar, that single fact usually settles the question before any other criterion is reached.

What these figures are, and what they are not

No figure here is ours. Hardness is measured on the Mohs scale and published values differ between binders and between aggregate mixes; this table states the relationship and not a number, because a number here would be quoting somebody else's test of somebody else's slab.

Measured data sheets and test reports

If you are specifying this

We have not published products against this question yet. Send us the process, thickness and quantity and we will quote it against what we can actually form, rather than against a catalogue.

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