How to Choose Marble Chips for Terrazzo Flooring

Start with topping thickness

The largest chip in your mix must sit comfortably within the terrazzo topping. If the topping is thin, large chips will be cut through during grinding and can loosen. Confirm the topping thickness with your flooring contractor before choosing a chip grade.

For a standard cement terrazzo topping, 3-6 mm is the safe and conventional choice. Epoxy terrazzo is thinner, so 2-3 mm is often the practical maximum.

Decide how visible you want the chips

A fine grade gives an almost solid field with a subtle grain. A medium grade gives the classic speckled terrazzo. A coarse grade gives a bold, graphic surface with fewer, larger stones. None of these is more correct — they are different design intents.

Blending two grades, for example 3-6 mm with a smaller fine fraction, produces a denser surface with fewer visible matrix gaps after grinding.

Cement colour changes everything

White cement with white or peach chips gives the brightest, most contemporary result. Grey cement mutes every chip colour and pushes the floor towards a industrial look. Decide the matrix colour and the chip colour together, not separately.

Sample before you commit

Always have your contractor cast and grind a small sample panel using the actual chips and cement for the job. Photographs and small loose samples never show what a ground and polished surface will look like at floor scale.