I came across this counter top/flooring product last month that looks interesting. Its product, Polytrazzo is similar to the other recycled-glass products like Vertrazzo and IceStone, but it’s made in Canada. At the moment it’s made in Vancouver, but following an email exchange with Dan Stubbs, the Director of Sales and Marketing for Polytrazzo, their ultimate goal is to be able to manufacture this product in various locations across Canada.
Polytrazzo’s originated from eurocrete(.com), a similar product designed for industrial flooring in the food manufacturing business, so you know, that if it’s good enough for an industrial food manufacturing facility, it has to be a pretty resilient material. It was a simple switch to to recycled material when developing this new product that made it perfect for the commercial/residential market.
Polytrazzo is a product that consists of 80% recycled glass, 12% “not feedstock competing, non petroleum-based” vegetable oil and 8% white cement. Regarding the 8% cement in the product, Dan says: “ And yes, we know that white cement is frowned upon in the ‘green’ world; but we feel a product that is 92% environmentally friendly is step in the right direction. We have done a significant amount of testing and 8% is what is optimal right now.” The finished product is twice as hard as concrete and has a long lifespan. In fact it will outlast the concrete it sits on.
It is available in a variety of colours and thicknesses depending on if it’s going to be used as paneling, flooring or counter tops. It is scratch and chip resistant, non-porous, food grade, chemical resistant, waterproof membrane, zero VOC and it doesn’t need sealing. It’s one of the lowest maintenance products I’ve come across.
Polytrazzo is available in a variety of natural resin colours including: blue, red, yellow, green (several shades) and grey (several shades), mixed with two different aggregates.
The product is available two ways: it is either pre-cast in the factory to order and sent to its final destination for installation by a traditional tile installer, or it is ready to be cast in situ, meaning that it is poured on site and left to cure and can be done by a professional terrazzo installer.
The cost: Locally in Vancouver, the product cost ranges from $7-8.50/square foot, in Toronto and outside of Vancouver, it’s about $8-9.50/square foot. Installation will cost $2-5/square foot, depending on the type of installation being done. The company has recommended installers they work with in the Toronto area.
The company’s goal is to set up more centres across Canada in order to manufacture the product in the area in which it’s used. At the moment, however, it’s manufactured in Vancouver and shipped across North America.
For more information contact Polytrazzo directly: polytrazzo@gmail.com
Website: polytrazzo.com
It’s a good feeling to know people regard our product as “too good to be true”, we must being doing something right. If you’d like, I can easily raise the price to 30-50$/sf.
The truth about eco-friendly and or organic products is that they rarely cost more to produce. Instead, many people are paying extra for the idea of going green or saving the environment; something marketers know is worth it’s weight in gold.
In bringing together our materials we were approached by a number of companies that specialize in colored crushed glass. Suffice to say it wasn’t recycled glass and it wasn’t cheap. Instead we manufacture both the crushed glass and the polymer matrix with which the glass rests in. We have a real hay-day getting bottles from the local depot and crushing them up.
In the end, we’ve sourced everything ourselves without all the middle-people taking their cut. In the end, the customer gets a great product, at a great price.
This sounds almost too good to be true. Seriously $13/sq ft installed?? Got to be a catch. Icestone is more like $50/sf
I hear what you’re saying Terrell. I was surprised at the cost too, but the director of Marketing is the one who gave me the price. His name is Dan Stubbs, and he can be reached at polytrazzo@gmail.com if you’d like to contact him directly.
I’m looking for a backsplash material for my kitchen. Right now this product is a definite option.