What is terracotta?
Terracotta (Italian for “baked earth”) is fired clay that is usually left unglazed and has a warm red to orange-brown colour. The colour comes from the iron oxide in the clay. Terracotta is fired at a lower temperature than stoneware or porcelain and is therefore relatively porous: it absorbs moisture.
Use in construction
- Floor tiles: handmade or pressed terracotta tiles, known from southern Europe as “cotto”.
- Roof tiles: from the Roman tegula and imbrex to modern pantiles.
- Architectural ceramics and ornament: capitals, cornices, facade panels and decorative elements. Particularly around 1900, architectural terracotta was widely used as a cheaper, mould-made alternative to carved stone.
- Facade cladding: modern terracotta panels and louvres in ventilated rainscreen facades.
- Garden: pots, wall copings and ornaments.
Properties and points to watch
- Porous: untreated terracotta floors stain easily. Seal them with a suitable impregnator after laying and grouting, and repeat as the supplier advises.
- Frost: not all terracotta is frost-resistant. Outdoors, only use products the manufacturer declares frost-resistant; otherwise tiles and pots can spall or crack.
- Laying: handmade tiles vary in size. Use a wider joint and a full adhesive bed.
- Restoration: damaged terracotta ornament is repaired with special restoration mortars or replaced with newly fired copies; on listed buildings, leave this to a specialist conservator.
Related terms
- Tegula
- Imbrex
- Terracotta floor tile
- Tiling
- Impregnating
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