10/30/2008

Contents
• Functions of floors
• Types of floors
FLOORS • Floor Finishes

1 2

Functions of floors Strength and Stability

• Various use of the building should be taken account in
• Strength and Stability the design work of floor
• Durability • The main important function of all the type of floor is
that throughout its life time, it should safely support
• Fire Protection the loads placed on it and could maintained its strength
and stability
• Sound Insulation
• The load of floor is made up of:
• Thermal Insulation 1. Dead load or “self-weight” of the floor (including the weights
of the various materials used in the construction of the floor)
• Under floor Services 2. Superimposed load (weight of building users, plus their
belongings such as furniture, equipment, or machinery)

3 4

Durability
• The material used must have a
reasonable life to avoid premature
replacement with resultant extra cost
and inconvenience
Fire Protection
• An adequate degree of fire resistance is
required by a floor, especially relates mainly to
multistory block of flat, and in building where
parts are in different ownerships, where there
are many occupants or where large quantities
of combustible goods are stored.

• Typical construction to give required period of

fire resistance

5 6

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Fire Protection
7 8
Sound Insulation
• In multi-storey buildings it is sometimes
necessary to limit the amount of impact
noise transmitted through a floor to rooms
below.
– e.g. hotels and apartment buildings.
9 10
Sound Insulation
• There are several mechanisms for dealing with
impact noise and these may be used on their own
or in various combinations.
– Padded carpeting or cushioned resilient flooring may
be used to reduce the amount of impact noise
generated.
– A resilient underlay is another way to reduce impact
noise.
– Cellulose fiber and non-woven plastic filament matting
are two materials marketed for this purpose.
11
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10/30/2008
Fire Protection
Sound Insulation
• Sound transmission may be either caused by
direct impact or by airborne.
– Impact sound transmission occurs only downwards.
It is generated by footsteps and/or machinery and is
transmitted as structure-borne vibration
throughout the material of the floor to become air-
borne noise in the rooms below.
– Airborne sound transmission occurs in both
directions. The degree of airborne sound
transmission through a concrete floor depends on
its weight and density.
Sound Insulation
• Another method is to construct an air-tight
ceiling below a problem floor.
– This should be constructed of a heavy, dense
material such as plaster or gypsum board -
mounted on resilient clips or on hanger wires
with springs.
– The springs or clips absorb most of the sound
energy traveling through the structure.
12
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Sound Insulation Sound Insulation

• Many floor-ceiling assemblies are tested for sound
transmission and are rated for both Sound
Transmission Class (STC), (which is concerned
with the transmission of air-borne sound), and
Impact Insulation Class (IIC).
• These ratings will be found in trade literature and
give a ready comparison of acoustical
performance.

13 14

Sound Insulation
Thermal Insulation
• In some situation, it is important that a floor
should function in such a way as to prevent loss
or gain of heat to the room above or below it.
• There has various type of controlling the
thermal in the building such electrically
warmed floor, radiant floor heating - dry
system hydronic and hot-water heated floor.

15 16

Thermal Insulation Thermal Insulation

17 Electric Heated Floor 18

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 10/30/2008

Thermal Insulation
Under floor Services
• Floors are frequently used for the distribution of
electrical and communications wiring -
especially in areas that are wide and have few
fixed partitions.

• If the needs for electrical and telephone services

Radiant Floor Heating- Dry System Hydronic
are minimal and predictable, an economical
solution to the horizontal distribution of these
services is for wiring in conventional conduits of
metal tubing that are cast into in-situ concrete
floor slabs (or screeds - where pre-cast slabs
are used).
19 20

Under floor Services

• However, in most commercial buildings
greater flexibility is required to
accommodate wiring changes that will
occur through the life of the building.
• There are several alternative systems for
creating this flexibility…
– cellular raceways
– poke-through systems
– raised access flooring
– under-carpet wiring
21 22

Cellular Raceways Cellular Raceways

• These may be used in buildings with
in-situ concrete floor slabs.
• These are sheet metal duct that can
carry many wires.
• Working through access boxes that
rise from the top of the raceway to
the surface of the slab, electricians
can add or remove wiring at any
23
time. 24

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 10/30/2008

Cellular Raceways Cellular Raceways

• Electrical and communications
outlets can be installed in any of the
access boxes.

25 26

Poke-through Systems Poke-through Systems

• Poke-through electrical fittings
allow wiring flexibility over time
without the need for raceways or
cellular decking.
• These systems do, however, require
electricians to work from the floor
below the one on which changes are
being made. This can be an
inconvenience for tenants on the 27 28

lower floor.

Raised-Access Flooring Raised-Access Flooring

• This approach is advantageous in
buildings where wiring changes are
frequent and unpredictable.
• Raised-access flooring has a virtually
unlimited capability to meet future wiring
needs and changes to wiring are
extremely easy to make.
• If the access floor is raised high enough,
ductwork for air distribution can be run
on top of the structural floor, possibly
eliminating the need for a suspended
ceiling below.
• This can be useful in buildings
where the structural system is
meant to be left exposed as a
finished ceiling, or in older buildings
with beautiful plaster or wood
ceilings.
• This method works well in older
buildings because its pedestal
29 heights can be adjusted to 30
compensate for uneven floor

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 10/30/2008

Under-carpet Wiring
• This method
uses flat
conductors
which are laid
under carpets
• These are
suitable for
new and
retrofit
projects.
31 32

This Lecture… Types of floors

• Functions of floors √ • Solid Ground Floors
– Strength and Stability √ • Suspended Timber Floors
– Durability √ – Ground Floor
– Fire Protection √ – Upper Floor
– Sound Insulation √ • Raised Access Floor
– Thermal Insulation √ – Partial Access
– Under floor Services √ – Full Access
• Pre cast Concrete Floor
– Pre cast Hollow floors
• Types of floors (Next) – Composite Floors
– Beam and Block Floors
• Floor Finishes • Hollow Blocks & Waffle Floors
(Afterwards)
33 34

Solid Ground Floors Notes: Suitable materials for DPM

•Polythene sheet (LDPE)
• The construction of a solid ground floor •Hot poured bitumen

Solid Ground Floors •Cold applied bitumen/rubber emulsions

•Asphalt/pitchmastic

Sandwich Membrane
• Most solid ground floors are not structural
members in the sense of being part of the
building’s structure
• They rest on the ground and are usually Damp Proof
isolated from other building elements Membrane below Slab
• The solid ground floor is designed as non-
reinforcement concrete. Even the slab contains
steel reinforcement, but its purpose is to
control cracks but not to add flexural strength Damp Proof
Membrane above Slab
35 36

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 10/30/2008

Suspended Timber Floors (Ground

Suspended Timber Floors (Ground Floor)
Floor)
• Suspended timber ground floor consist timber beams or joists,
place on the edge and supported at the ends of the walls
• The main consideration to decide whether to use suspended
timber ground floor or solid ground floor is about the cost
• Suspended timber ground-level floors are useful on sloping sites
where a great deal of filling would be required to level the ground
for a solid floor
• In addition, this type of floor can be relocated, easily altered,
accessible for services, nailed direct (no bolts), continuous process
(no curing).
• However damp or badly ventilated timber floors can be attacked
by insects and fungus and this may lead to heavy repair and
maintenance costs.
• Further more, the thin timber board finish gives poor insulation
against heat loss. The timber also possible to shrinks on drying
out, then cause draughts through the joints.
Area to be filled for concrete
37 38

Suspended Timber Floors (Ground Suspended Timber Floors (Ground

Floor) Floor)

39 40

Suspended Timber Floors (Upper

Floor)
Suspended Timber Floors (Upper
Floor)
• The upper timber floor built with a covering of
boards or chipboards fixed to timber joists and
load bearing wall
• This type of floor is suitable for lightweight
loading given to the floor
• Upper timber floor are built with deeper and
longer span of joists compare with ground
timber floor
• Normally the ends of upper floor joists are
supported by load bearing internal walls,
partition or inner leaves of external cavity
walls.
41 42
3D view of suspended timber upper floor

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 10/30/2008

Suspended Timber Floors (Upper Suspended Timber Floors (Upper

Floor) Floor)

Ends of joists supported on hangers

43 44
Ends of joist built into wall Ends of joist supported on corbels and plate

Raised Access Floor Raised Access Floor (Partial Access)

• Partial Access
– The floor finish is secured and access is limited, possibly into
simple ducts or trunking
– Most suited for access to mains cabling for power and lighting,
with voids depth limited to about 100 mm

• Full Access
– Consists of interchangeable floor panels elevated on adjustable
pedestals to provide multidirectional void space
– Heights usually vary between 100 to 600 mm, but extremes 50
mm to 2 m

45 46

Raised Access Floor (Partial Access) Raised Access Floor (Full Access)

47 48

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 10/30/2008

Raised Access Floor (Full Access)

49 50

51 52

Pre cast Concrete Floor

• These floors are constructed of factory made pre-cast concrete
units to overcome some or all of the disadvantages of in-situ
reinforced concrete slab

• The following factors must be taken into account before any

system of precast concrete flooring can be considered:
– Max span
– Nature of support
– Weight of units
– Thickness of units
– Thermal insulations properties
– Sound insulations properties
– Fire resistance units
– Speed of construction
– Amount of temporary support required

53 54

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Pre cast Concrete Floor
• Advantages
– The use of pre-cast units’ means that as soon as they arrive on site
they can be hoisted into position and once located can be used
immediately as a working platform for following trades and to
support the loads for which they were designed
– Pre-cast flooring units are factory produced under ideal conditions.
The concrete mix is therefore correctly proportioned, the moulds are
accurate in shape and clean, and placing and consolidation of the
concrete will be carefully controlled. The concrete units will be cured
and allowed to develop their ultimate strength under ideal conditions.
– The use of pre-cast units also ensures that the amount of water used
in the construction of a building is considerably reduced. Pre-cast
work implies ‘dry construction’ as opposed to the ‘wet construction’
of in-situ work, and something of the order of 70% of the water used
in in-situ concrete has to dry out by evaporation over a considerable
period of time, a process which may well continue after a building is
occupied
55
Pre cast Concrete Floor
(Precast Hollow Floors)
• The system can be considered as either Precast Hollow
Floors or Composite Floors or the combination of both,
which can be called Beam and Block Floor
• Available in a variety of sections
– Box planks or beams
– Tee sections
– I beam sections
– Channel sections
57
Pre cast Concrete Floor (Precast Hollow
Floors)
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Pre cast Concrete Floor
• Disadvantages
– They do not form a monolithic structure with the
frame of the building and consequently, much of the
bracing effect imparted by in-situ slabs is lost
– It is less easy to provide a rigid connection between
a pre-cast unit and a supporting beam or wall
– For the most economic construction, repetitive
standardization of spans and units is desirable, a
requirement that places some restraint on the
designer
56
Pre cast Concrete Floor
(Precast Hollow Floors)
• Advantages compares to in-situ floor
– 50% reduction in the volume of concrete
– 25% reduction in the weight of reinforcement
– 10% reduction in the size of foundation
• Little or no propping is required during the construction
• Normally some means of mechanical lifting is required to offload
and positions the units
• the voids in the units can be used to house the services which are
normally incorporated in the depth of the floor
58
Pre cast Concrete Floor (Composite
Floors)
• Combination of precast units and in-situ concrete
• The precast unit provide the strength of the floor and at the same
time act as permanent formwork to the in-situ topping which
provide the compressive strength required.
Composite Floors – prestressed plank
60
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Pre cast Concrete Floor (Composite Pre cast Concrete Floor (Beam and Block
Floors) Floor)

61 Beam and Block domestic ground floor 62

Pre cast Concrete Floor (Beam and Block

Floor) Hollow Blocks & Waffle Floors
• Hollow Blocks Floors
– The blocks act as permanent formwork giving a flat soffit
suitable for plaster application, thermal insulation and fire
resistance
– Advantages: light weight, less than comparable floors of
concrete construction and low cost

• Waffle or Honeycomb Floors

– Used mainly as an alternative to an in-situ flat slab or a beam
and slab suspended floor since it requires less concrete,
reinforcement, reduce the no. of beam, & column thus saving
on foundations.
– Add visual aspect of the ceiling
– Min support since the mould are arranged in parallel row and
span

Beam and Block – upper floor intermediate support 63 64

Hollow block floors 65 Waffle or honeycomb floors 66

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 10/30/2008

This Lecture…
• Functions of floors √
– Strength and Stability √
– Durability √ Floor Finishes
– Fire Protection √
– Sound Insulation √
– Thermal Insulation √
– Under floor Services √
• Like other interior finish components, floor
finishes must also be selected with the following
• Types of floors √ in mind:
– Solid Ground Floors √
– Suspended Timber Floors √ – combustibility
• Ground Floor √
• Upper Floor √
– fire resistance ratings
– Raised Access Floor √ – the structural loads they will place on the
• Partial Access √
• Full Access √
building
– Pre cast Concrete Floor √
• Pre cast Hollow floors √
• Composite Floors √ • Floors also react in various ways to light:
• Beam and Block Floors √ – some materials give mirror-like reflections
– Hollow Blocks & Waffle Floors √
– some give diffuse reflections
• Floor Finishes (Next)
67
– some don't give any reflections at all 68

Floor Finishes
• Dark flooring materials absorb most of the light
incident on them - contributing to the creation of
a darker room
• Light flooring materials reflect most incident
light and help create a brighter interior
• Floors are the primary wearing surfaces of
buildings
• They are subject to water, grit, dust and the
abrasive and penetrating actions of feet and
furniture
• They require more cleaning and maintenance
effort than any other component of a building...
69 70

Floor Finishes HARD FLOORING MATERIALS

• The finishing materials must be designed to deal
with:
– skid resistance
– sanitation
– noise reduction between floors
– electrical conductivity (in sensitive areas
such as computer rooms and hospital
operating theatres where static electricity
poses a problem)
• There are two types of flooring materials:
– Hard Flooring Materials
– Soft Flooring Materials
• Hard finish flooring materials (e.g.
concrete, stone, terrazzo, brick and
tile) are often chosen for their
resistance to wear and moisture
• Being rigid and thus unyielding, they
are not comfortable to stand on for
extended periods of time
71 72

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Concrete
• Different textures can be given to
concrete floors:
– with a wood float (and, sometimes,
broomed) finish concrete makes an
excellent finish for parking garages and
many types of agricultural and
industrial buildings
– with a steel trowel (including the use of
powerfloats) concrete finds itself into a
vast assortment of commercial and
institutional buildings - and even into
Stone
• All the common building stones are
used as flooring materials, in surface
textures ranging from mirror-
polished marble and granite to split
face slate and sandstone
• Installation is relatively
simple - the stone is
bedded in mortar and
joints between are filled
with grout. 77
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10/30/2008
HARD FLOORING MATERIALS
• They also contribute to a live, noisy
acoustic environment
• However, many of these materials
are so beautiful in their colors and
patterns, and so durable, that they
are considered amongst the most
desirable types of flooring by
designers and building owners alike
73 74
Concrete
• Color can be added (either by way
of oxides mixed into the concrete -
or by paint)
• The main advantage of concrete in
this context is its low initial cost and
durability
• On the negative side, extremely
good workmanship is required to
75
make an acceptable floor finish - 76
and even the best of concrete
78
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Stone Brick and Brick Pavers

• Most internal stone floorings are • Both bricks and half-thickness
coated with multiple applications of bricks (called pavers) are used as a
a clear plastic sealer (which needs flooring finish.
to be re-applied from time to time). • Pavers are often
• Some are simply waxed periodically preferred because
throughout the life of the building. they add less
thickness and less
dead weight to a
79 floor. 80

Brick and Brick Pavers Quarry Tiles

• Bricks are usually laid with their
largest surfaces horizontal - but are
also sometimes laid on edge.
• As with stone and tile flooring,
decorative joint patterns can be
designed specially for each
installation.
81
• These are not, as might be implied
from their name, made from stone.
They are simply fired clay tiles,
usually square but sometimes
rectangular, hexagonal, octagonal or
otherwise shaped
• Sizes range from about 100mm to
300mm square with thicknesses
ranging from 9mm to 25mm. 82

Quarry Tiles Quarry Tiles

• They are available in a myriad of
earth colours as well as certain kiln-
applied colourations.
• They are usually set in a mortar
bed- though in some residential
work they are applied to a strong,
stiff wood or plywood sub-floor
either with an epoxy mortar or with
an organic adhesive. 83 84

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Ceramic Tiles
• These are fired clay tiles
• They vary in size
– some are smaller in size than quarry
tiles
– some are larger
• They are usually glazed.
• The most common shape is square,
but rectangles, hexagons, circles
and more elaborate shapes are also
available.
Terrazzo
• Terrazzo is an exceptionally durable
flooring when constructed properly.
• It is made by grinding and polishing
a concrete that consists of marble or
granite chips (selected for size and
colour) in a matrix of coloured
Portland cement.
• The polishing brings out the pattern
and colour of the chips 89
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10/30/2008
Ceramic Tiles
• The smaller sizes of tiles are
shipped from the factory adhered to
large backing sheets of plastic mesh
or perforated paper so that the tiler
is able to lay many tiles together in
a single operation - rather as
individual units.
85 86
Grout (To Brick, Stone and
Tile)
• Grout colour has a strong influence
on the appearance of brick, stone
and tile installations.
• Pre-mixed colours are available -
or site-prepared grouts may be
coloured by the addition of pigments
87 88
Terrazzo
• A sealer is sometimes applied to
further enhance the appearance of
the floor.
• Terrazzo may be formed in-situ or
installed as factory made tiles.
• The endless variety of colours and
textures of terrazzo leads to its use
in decorative flooring patterns,
where the colours are separated 90
from one another by dividing strips
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Terrazzo
• The dividing strips are installed in
the bed under the terrazzo prior to
the placing of the terrazzo.
• They are ground and polished flush
with the terrazzo in the same
operation as the terrazzo itself.
Terrazzo
• Traditionally, terrazzo is laid over a
thin bed of sand that isolates it from
the structural floor slab, thus
protecting it (to some extent) from
movements in the building frame.
• This sand cushion terrazzo is thick
(overall 70mm) and heavy.

91 92

Terrazzo Terrazzo
• For greater economy and reduced
thickness, the sand bed may be
eliminated to produce bonded
terrazzo.
• Another alternative is where both
the bed and the underbed are
eliminated to produce monolithic
terrazzo.
93 94

Wood Flooring
• Wood is used in several different
forms as a floor finish.
• The most common in strip flooring
where the strips are blind nailed -
after which the entire floor is
sanded smooth, stained if desired
and finished with a varnish or other
clear coating.
95 96

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Wood Flooring
• When this surface becomes worn,
the flooring can be restored to a
new finish by re-sanding and
finishing.
• Another approach is to use square
cut strips approximately 8mm thick
which are face nailed to the sub-
floor. The nail holes are filled
before the floor is sanded and
finished.
SOFT FLOORING
• The original resilient flooring was
linoleum - a sheet material made of
ground cork in a linseed oil binder
over a burlap backing.
• Asphalt tiles were later developed
as an alternative to linoleum.
• Most of today's resilient floor
sheeting and tiles are made of PVC
often in combination with mineral 101
reinforcing fibres.
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10/30/2008
Wood Flooring
• Yet another method of using wood
involves prefinished wood planks
and parquet tiles. These are
available in many different woods
and patterns.
• The are fastened to a sub-floor with
a mastic adhesive. Most of these
applications are too thin to be able
97 to accommodate subsequent sanding98
and re-finishing.
99 100
Resilient Flooring
• Thicknesses of these PVC materials
are of the order of 3mm (slightly
thinner for light duty floorings, and
slightly thicker if "cushioned").
• Most resilient flooring materials are
glued to the concrete or wood of the
structural floor.
102
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Resilient Flooring
• The main advantages of these
flooring materials are:
– the wide range of available colours and
patterns
– a moderate degree of durability
– low initial cost

103 104

Resilient Flooring Resilient Flooring

• Tiles made from vinyl have the
lowest installed cost of any flooring
material except concrete - and is
used in vast quantities on the floors
of residences, offices, classrooms
and retail space.
• Tiles are usually square (ranging in
size from 200x200mm to
105 300x300mm) 106

Resilient Flooring Resilient Flooring

• Sheet material is available in rolls of
various widths (1.8m to 3.6m).
• If skillfully made, the seams
between the flooring sheets are
virtually invisible.
107
• Most resilient flooring materials are
so thin they show even the slightest
irregularities in the floor deck
beneath.
– Concrete floor surfaces must thus be
scraped clean of construction debris
and spatters.
– Plywood decks are covered with a
layer of smooth underlayment panels
108
(usually of hardboard or particleboard).
Joints between underlayment panels

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 10/30/2008

Carpeting
• Carpet is manufactured in fibres,
styles and patterns to meet almost
any flooring requirement - indoors
or out - except for rooms that need
thorough sanitation.
• Some carpets are tough enough to
wear for years in public corridors,
whilst others are soft enough for
intimate residential interiors.
Carpeting
• Costs of carpeting are often
competitive with those of other
flooring materials of similar quality -
whether measured on an installed
cost or a life-cycle basis.
109 110

Carpeting
• Carpets are either glued directly to
the floor deck, or stretched over a
carpet pad and attached around the
perimeter by means of a tackless
strip (a continuous length of wood
fastened to the floor with protruding
spikes along the top that catch the
backing of the carpet and hold it
taut).
Flooring Thickness
• Thicknesses vary from the 3mm of
resilient flooring to 80mm or more
of brick flooring.
• Several different types of flooring
are used on different areas of the
same floor.
• If the differences in the thicknesses
of the flooring materials are not
great, they can be resolved by using
111
tapered edgings or thresholds at 112
changes of material.

This Lecture…
• Functions of floors √
– Strength and Stability √
– Durability √
– Fire Protection √
– Sound Insulation √
– Thermal Insulation √
– Under floor Services √

• Types of floors √
– Solid Ground Floors √
– Suspended Timber Floors √
• Ground Floor √
• Upper Floor √
– Raised Access Floor √
• Partial Access √
• Full Access √
– Pre cast Concrete Floor √
• Pre cast Hollow floors √
• Composite Floors √
• Beam and Block Floors √
– Hollow Blocks & Waffle Floors √

• Floor Finishes √
– Hard Flooring Materials √ 113
– Soft Flooring Materials √

19
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