When it comes to planning an exceptional polished floor design, we often get the question “what’s the difference between Cementitious Terrazzo and Bomanite’s Modena SL System?”

Cement Terrazzo has a gapped range of aggregates within its field mix. It’s simply a Portland cement binder with marble aggregates often blended with a polyacrylate “glue.” It is generally not polished, as it lacks the fine hard aggregates typically found in concrete needed to do so. It’s typically ground open and sealed with an acrylic sealer, then waxed when complete.

Our Modena SL Line of products are based on cement, though are not at all like traditional cement Terrazzo. Modena is engineered and factory blended to be polished. Modena has no Portland cement and no polymer. It instead uses a sulfo-aluminate cement that gains strength very quickly, has a higher compressive strength than Portland cement, and is a greener cement choice as it requires a much lower temperature to manufacture.

Modena SL also uses hard quartz aggregates to fill in the gaps around the softer decorative aggregates, allowing it to maintain that hard polished surface naturally rather than relying on waxes or floor finishes. It is designed to be installed rapidly, making it ideal for large time-sensitive projects. A typical crew can install several thousand feet per day and have other trades walking on the floor the next day.

The Modena system transforms existing or worn surfaces into beautiful walkways, showrooms and lobbies and is available in a range of colors and patterns using decorative sawcuts. The Modena system is a low-cost alternative to Terrazzo, and provides unmatched durability and strength. With the industry’s lowest lifecycle costs, low-to-zero VOC and minimal maintenance requirements, Modena is the optimal choice for renewed surfaces and highly decorative concrete.