AL ELEMENT DESIGN GUIDE INTERIOR ELEMENTS This last phase of our new-build Element Design Guide deals with major interior elements, We begin with intermediate floors (those above ' damp/ground level), primarily timber joisted and precast concrete floors. We then move on to built-in finishes—in-situ and tile terrazzo, ceramic and fi quarry tile, In looking at fitting out spaces we begin with simple construction—jointless ceilings and traditional masonry partitions. We complete the series by looking at the proprietary elements—suspended ceilings, partitions and raised floors. We look first at how they go together, or Not, to create an ‘inner shell’ to the building; then at the performance of each element in turn, AJ15.7.87__1 Joist.and precast floors AJ 22.7.87 2 In-situ and special floors 3 In-situ and tile terrazzo AN29.7.87 4 Ceramic and quarry tile _ 5 Jointless ceilings — Al 5887 6 Traditional partitioning AJ12.8.87 7 The inner shell ___ 8 Proprietary elementsAlan Blanc sets out the technology of intermediate floors (those above ground level) of timber joist and precast concrete, drawing attention to where one takes over from the other in terms of economy. 2 Sega plan, which uses different timbers for diferent structeral purposes. Typically posts and ‘beams could be Douglas fr, jolsts in base structural qalty (Canadian hemlock. Alan Blane san areivect an at teen technology toto athe Barlete sd the Paytecn of North London, te eS ELEMENT DESIGN GUIDE INTERIOR ELEMENTS 1 JOIST AND PRECAST FLOORS Timber joist floors ‘Timber floors are the cheapest solution in domestic construction, provided the designer respeets the span limitations of around 45 m, Beyond that, up to 6-0 m, the extra cost of stress graded timber (Douglas fir o larch) will ‘mean that precast floors become competitive ‘The smaller dimensions are however the norm for low cost housing and starter homes and for many forms of timber prefabricated house shells. Figure 1 gives simple comparison ‘between timber floors spanning 4-5 m and 6:0 m, Caleulations My Segal training from the 1950s ensures that I still ealculate floor joists and their deflections, my further confession being that 1 prefer imperial calculations as itis easier to spot errors. One needs to calculate to the requirements of BS 268 (Part 2) and to look at the integrity of structure, in particular floors and walls acting together. So today itis necessary to employ a structural engineer on domestic structures, however simple, as well as for conversion jobs where new flooring is inserted or partitions relocated Old floors sized from tables in Regulations may not comply today even though the timbers have been in place since the late nineteenth century. The revised Regulations [essen 2 do, however, omit control of deflection or deformation of a structure. This is only relevant ifit would impair the stability of another building. Economic spans and selection of materials, ‘The new Regulations define two grades, SC3 (equal tothe old classification General Structural) and SC4 (equal to Special Structural). Machine testing for timber stresses has given a scientific way of selecting wood for structural roles from SC3 grades. ‘There are, ofcourse, higher strengths in glued/aminated and ply beams, but these lie Outside the Regulations tables and require ‘an engineering approach to obtain building consent. ‘The most economic specification will retain European redwood (not whitewood which is the least durable pine) for normal earpentry work and for simple spans up to 4-5 m. By way of illustration, for 4-5 m spans the current Regulations call for 200 x 50 mm joists at 400 mm centres. Structural roles and secondary beams (with larger sizes up to 300 x 75 mm) are reserved for the more expensive Douglas fir, BC pine, larch or western hemlock, Figure 1 shows just how costly these structural timbers ar if used generally for joisted floors with spans of 4-5and6-0 m. ‘Stick-buil” frames on Segal principles, 2, oF the Scandinavian glued/laminated structures are based on fully engineered structures with differing grades of material used for primary and secondary joists, Seandinavian frames sive the possibilty of clear spans up to 30 m. ‘The current practice of ‘regularising’ joists by planing to give aclean, accurate nailing surface to top and bottom has produced problems with acceptance under the "86 Regulations which only set out ‘sawn finished’ timber sizes, A useful way out of this dilemma for those specifying ‘regularised’' or ‘surfaced? lumber is to use the TRADA leaflet Stress graded softwood span tables, section 4, sheet 8. A yt 6 Arbetabae cust 23|3 Stability and defection problems ‘wth ong span floors. ‘Allarcingbonestratting. '5 Metal strutting fr larger Jost contre. 6 Traditional strutting using slid briaing. ‘The economics of timber floors also depend upon the sizes of material available, the limitations with Buropean redwood being not only structural but with the fact that lumber ‘over 200 mm depth or 4:7 min length is very difficult to obtain. The more expensive West Coast timbers are stocked up to 300 mm depth and 6-0 mlength. Maximum detlections The eritcal aspects with long span timber floors are excessive deflections and deformation of the structure. The old GLC Codes specified 1/884 ofthe span as the maximum deflection, a formula which leads to the following: 4-5 mspan 12 mm deflection (0 mspan 16 ram deft © 7-5 mspan 20 mm deflection. The disadvantages of spans over 4:5 mare cracked ceilings, sagging upper floors and Soffits that visibly sag, 3. Laminated timber beams have the advantage for deflection that reverse cambers can be built into the profile, But the cost of such refinements is equal to. precast concrete or steel secondary beams for intermediate domestie floors. ‘The proper connection of decking to joist frame provides a composite structure, though calculated values are not commonly used to exploit this. Fixing methods for large sheet ‘materials like chipboard or ply should be by appropriate serew nails at specified eentres— refer to board supplier's recommendations. Sheets ran at right angies to oists with fixings (at 150 mm centres) at edges, ends and intermediate joists. T&G boards require two nails per joist fixing, unless the boards are narrower than 100 mm (three runs of nails, {for wide boards, over 175 mm, are used inthe US). BamTes 25 mm T&G 600 12-5 mmply 400 19 mmply 600 25 mm T&G ply 1200 for open ceilings) 18 mm T&G chipboard “100 22 mm T&G chipbosrd 600 410 mm plasterboard ‘400 12-7 mm plasterboard 600 Strtting and stiffening ‘The ranges of joist spacing, table, are commonplace in both timber frame and masonry structures. However, effestive Wooden herringbone strating will nt be achieved at strut angles of less than 30°, 4, implying 400 to 450 mm centres for joists. 400 mm spacing works perfectly well with standard 1200 x 2400 mm sheets of plasterboard and ply, and gives excellent Support for chipboard, a material liable to sag at wider spans. Wider centres ike 600 mn have resulted in robust metal strutting being marketed, 6, I till prefer the traditional ‘method, as the few extra joists ineurred cost little compared with the benefit of firmer floor decking. ‘In times past, solid bridging was the preferred technique 6, particularly below light partitions that ran at right angles to joist rans. Such methods are na longer permitted by building inspectors in the London area, ‘The which makes conversion work a far more costly job now that RSJs, structural bressuimers or laminated beams have to be inserted into the fabric of existing buildings. Ttalso means that the former laxity in setting. ‘out new partitions in new-build sno longer feasible. ‘The Regulations call for a line of struts mid span for spans over $ m, But I like to see two lines installed and to move these out ata 1:2:1, proportion so as to brace joists nearer the bearing ends and thus prevent twist which is ‘the main cause of eracked plasterboard ceilings. This preeaution is particularly important when using joist shoes instead of building into pockets in masonry, or when timbers are just notched into RSs acting as secondary beams—for these, end restraint is especially necessary. Building Regulations call for straps between, envelope walls and joists running parallel to ‘them, Firms like BAT have developed range of components to meet these requirements. Current economies have brought i thicknesses down from 50 mm to 38 mm. where prepared lumber is offered by timber house kit suppliers, the problem with the thinner timbers being their liability to corkscrew in the length of timber and the poor factor of safety against notching and drilling by wayward electricians and heating, ‘engineers, 9. ‘The Regulations cover this aspect, 10, but houses get chopped and changed. Older‘Joist tapping at loadbearing walls through ‘Plate connectors create the continuity missing x gue 7. 9 Typical uncontrolled wood butchery by fallowing trades. 10 Allowable holes and notching of joist, (froma goed reference The Regulations explained and ‘astrated by V. Powell Sith and 1M.1.Bilington. Cts 111 Means of providing iaterat support toexternal cavity walls to {€P141: 1970. From the BDA's Low ‘ise domestic construction iy Vietorian stock with 50 mm girth timbers usually havea factor of safety to eope witha Jot of abuse. The other advantage of construction 100 or more years ago is that prime clear timber was used, close grained (sans knots) as compared withthe second rowth lumber of the late twentieth century ‘Which is of minimal quality. To my mind that is another good reason to Keep using 50 mm thickness joists at 400 centres. Bieta maar tearing so Holes Bearings ‘The use of 200 mm joists and 25 mm nominal flooring makes it easy to relate the bedding and flooring levels to vertical brick heights, 11. This allows filing between joists with brick or block to stiffen the ends of joists; wrapping, them with felt being used as a precaution if cavity filing is possiblity Jostsare never perfectly true (unless specified as regularised) so that packs of slate or tle will be needed at, bearings, the erowning sides of joists being laid upwards. The use of shoes saves roughly 200 mm per length of each joist, but implies careful bedding of the metalwork with greater accuracy in levelling the inner blockwork leaf around floor levels, 12. Its worth looking at actual samples of shoes, their fabrication and galvanising, and referring to test data (published by the late GLC) since the stability of ‘shoed’ wood floorsis very dependent upon these folded and welded pieces of Le-gauge steel. ‘There are obvious advantages where building against old solid walls of using shoes ‘as compared to building into ‘wet pockets’ with their risks of dry rot. Lateral stability is not as good as the traditional pocket, 11, hence my preference for two lines of strutting. Lapping joists over walls, 7, instead of twin shoes either side, will improve continuity of floor elements as the joists ean be bolted or spiked together. Alternatively, joists ean be aligned using end butting and connector plates, 8, solarge decking sheets can have continuous runs without cutting and trimming. Older methods of fixing joists over partitions used steel flats cogged into the joist soffit at bearings, 18. This is worth reviving. where modern high quality blockwork is utilised for walling, the steel flat being as thick as the blockwork joint and having the possibility of bolu/serew down fixings into ‘the walling. Building timbers into solid party walls is not permitted under the surviving Party Wall ‘Byelaws in London and the traditional14 Typical rimming and jst ay {or builder. 15, 16 Stet joists in timber floors. Note separation of steel from floor ‘boarding. AT Author’ detail for sound ‘reducing party flr. 18 Toi Joists to party walls, es solution of holted stel angles may give an tasier solution particulary when working in new buildings agains existing party Structures, the poor end restraint being improved by strapping joists tothe brickwork, 18 Preservation of timber ‘The key problems the risk to softwood from dey rot, arising ifthe moisture content exceeds 20 per cent. This easily happens on a building site due to iack of elosing in or from wet trades like plastering and sereeding. The risk subsequently is infection from existing structures or from unattended leaks. Ideally, all softwoods should be treated with a preservative, especially where new and old buildings are adjoining and where timbers are in contact with external cavities such a8 joist pockets. ‘Trimming layouts ‘Trimming layouts are needed by contractors so that materials can be pre-cut and for setting out stair wells and duets, 14. Remember to increase thicknesses by 25 mm. for trimming and trimmed members. Connectors are available for trimming joists though I still use tusk tenons and traditional joints where working on one-off jobs with. craft orientated tradesmen. ‘Specifying exact joist centres isa waste of time unless chipboard or ply decks are intended. It is helpful to number the joists for ordering and supervisory checks on site, and to identify extra loaded joists that piek up non-loadbearing and loadbearing partitions. A different colour treatment for preservatives to such structural members helps to get them located eorreetly on ste. ‘Secondary beams If roof and upper floor loads are carried down to oisted floors, then severe settlements of 25 mm and over are going to occur. Reverse ‘camber laminated beams are one solution but. ‘that involves special suppliers and caleulations, Steel beams are easier to obtain Isat some anal sae Fis ab sion, 7 71003 75 oman wise 7 —~ See taige re stag tyra ima pes cs ‘exstock and, where sizing can be taken from steelwork tables, the deflections can be taken. care of by choosing a slightly heavier seetion. "There are few honest notions in constructional expressionism and it is significant that Vietorian architects like Norman Shaw and Frank Lloyd Wright seized ‘upon steel technology so that their open ‘ground floor plans could float below compartmented upper floors carried on a veritable grid of steelwork. The cantilevers of Robie House have eamouflaged beams. ‘Joining wood primary joist to stee! secondary beams has a number of problems: preventing ‘squeak’ of flooring bridging the differing surfaces and ensuring a tight fit between dissimilar materials, Figures 15 and 16 show typical detail, Ifbudgets limit floors simply to timberwork without the aid of steel for secondary beams, then the designer should look first to designing a masonry box structure— loadbearing wall over loadbearing wall—and to keeping light partitions as slender as possible (50 to 75 mm studs) where these rest ‘on timber framing. Sound insulation Ply or T&G boarding nailed to joists provides ‘stressed skin structure that is drumlike in terms of sound transmission. Regulations for sound insulation in party floors rule out such structures in new flats, The new Regulations provide three specifications for floating timber floors. Itis the edge details and avoiding nailing through resilient layers ‘where considerable care has to be taken to prevent sound transmis ‘There can be cases where quiet rooms are planned over noisy ones, children’s bedrooms over kitehens/utiity areas for example, where19 Cost and span for precast ‘ooring. _Boabe Proprietary thor system. ML better standards of ound inmlaton are todd: fenoney parma le tprove fest floor dla oimproveeslaten fetwech foo inmediam cot constrain. Inareent job with pane sound 6, {found precast ots cheaper than Doulas rst, lsconeete elements by vireo their self-weight being far superior in sound Fesstance to nated Smber floors The minum sound reduoon fuse inthe Regulations document Bor party ors bci8 dBaiiorne, 66 dB impect sound, The detain document p20, have eter ® for deck nals oot, estent ayer, fronting deck above atin deck on battens separated from joists by a resilient strip. Choe of renent atria ie rai Sinetten sucha thermal noting ults aickl lve her elec ‘Nanette flor asin Sie, ves dB sstbome sound reduction ands peteablein Precast concrete floors Lam currently involved in constructing a substantial house with a budget of around ££55/sq ft and where room sizes have spans of 6 to7 m. The engineers’ costing reveals that precast conerete is 25 per cent cheaper than secondary stecl beams at say 3 m intervals with normal sized European redwood joists. ‘There are a number of clear advantages to concrete floors in domestic scale construction, Partition lines ean be redrawn and revised and changed yet again after completion. Services cean be run above or below the structure ‘without fear of weakening it. There is, freedom ta select finishes, wet or dry, and itis ‘easy to make service ducts simply by cutting, out panels, 2oabe. Calculations The integrity of structure between the conerete floor and the building shell will need technical appraisal by a consulting engineer and advice sought on where areas of reinforced concrete will be needed for non-rectangular floor zones or for trimming ‘work at stairs and lifts. The extra weight of cconerete will increase load bearing walls from 100 to 140 mm or more and multi-storey ‘masonry shells will require ring beams at every second floor level to stabilise the envelope walls Economic spans "The dead weight of normal precast reinforced concrete is the limiting factor (apart from site crane capacity). Figure 19 gives span to cost ratios showing the choice available and the ‘way aerated concrete elements and prestressing extend spans to9 m. The most ‘economie structure is the one that takes, advantage of repetitive rectangular units (cellular plans, say for lets, hostels and. hotels, being an obvious application) and ‘where masonry structures (cross wall and spine wall) support the floors. A further application isin educational or laboratory buildings where fixed size classroom ‘accommodation can be laid out side by side ‘with cross wall separation, A further useful reference is the span:depth ratios in table 13 ‘of CP 114: Part 2: 1969 Structural use of ‘reinforced comerete in building. locations like flats, hostels or hotels where the solidity gives greater flexibility in use for locating functions. Fire resistance ‘The following standards of fire resistance are provided in the Regulations with scheduled finishes and thicknesses at soffit level: ‘modified half hour (@ forms) @ half hour (2 forms) © one hour (single form). Other standards such as two-hour resistance cean be achieved where metal lathing is used to rreinforee 25 mm lathing grade plaster, the Iathing being wired to the joist sides. The key aspect in case of fire is integrity at ceiling level, since heat and flames rise. But in a fierce blaze, falling burning debris will ignite floor coverings 80 that one should eonsider also fireproof hardboard for underlays to carpet or vinyl flooring in eonjunetion with. timber floors in multi-oceupied buildings. | | om Pia | \ | om | cae |» | | eas tle foot \ 2 layer tose or ativan Seite Bein Bebe 206 ‘There are obvious places where clear spans are the prerequisite such as parking garages and warehouses, but the subdivision of ooring into primary and secondary elements can provide similar clear spans with less A ey 18121 Precast concrete beams and panels. False cellings and ‘decoration are not needed ifthe basi structure conceived in Single span flor with no primary boas. Tis would need henry ‘Teams (or slab) a, Primary beams with precast units spanning. Detwoen. Better spread ‘wall sides of building and wider loading withthe structure restrained in each direction. However, with spine columns and a ‘wide grid facade columas may have fo be added toring cladding panel size to practical lit, RESUS wight of for uitempayd. Typical Tompurhlelaneme cn digress ‘eeu grin prcictconree rte increase rll pts Th esse so Iekat rus gure fou enon ae ‘Sabet eas ar rughl un soos theclmbeing deo oe Mou foto mio costly Composite units Engineers like Nervi, Felix Samuelly and Charles Weiss pioneered precast work as wafer-like permanent shuttering for in-situ concrete or structural screeds, the reinforcement of both elements being tied together to form a composite floor. Proprietary systems now exist like the Francis T'T Series, their primary purpose being long span flooring for multi-storey garages. Fast track solutions depend upon off-site precast repetitive elements with composite flooring that are custom made or a combination with precast columns and beams, ‘Such concepts become economic where the total concrete cost isin excess of a million pounds, the solution chosen by Arup “Associates for the CEGB at Bedminster Down ‘or Lloyds at Chatham being in that league. Deflection and cracking Codes of Practice are more complex than for timber but 21/800 of the span deflection limit represents the average permitted value Reverse cambers are used in prestressed and composite forms to counter sagging floors, Jong span floors for parking garages having eambers of 50 to 60 min for 16:5 m floor units. Prestressed floors are springy and therefore cracking of sereeds and directly plastered soffits are common. Floating subfloors and suspended eeilings need therefore to be considered where crack-free finishes are required. All forms of precast conerete suffer from drying shrinkage, around 0-025 per cent, the crack width being 0-75 mm per 3-0 i. Such cracks will pass through screed beds unless isolated by quilt underlays. Another problem with individual floor planks is that individual deflections take place ‘under point loads so that, over the years, each plank is revealed by movement eracks on the soffit, Decorative measures such as linen backed paper or painted hessian will hide these blemishes but not every low cost job can afford expensive decorations. One-coat plastic paints (such as Artex or Hi-Build) will not bridge precast cracking. Self-finished tundecorated conerete, though the easiest solution, does not accord with current tastes. Deformation under load isa feature of both precast and poured concrete floors. This creep of wide span structures, say over 12 m, leads to difficulties with aligning partition plinths ‘and heads, Raised floors and suspended ceilings are essential if fine tolerances are needed for the fitting out trades. Creep is a progressive failure; one reason why elderly precast or in-situ structures are eventually demolished. Figure 17 shows detailing fora high quality domestic job with accessible chipboard for the floor overlay, suspended ceilings and a eornice mould so that edge cracking is camouflaged—the only way ‘of combatting clients’ complaints about precast work. and. ay aroun 80% of repeve bass 0 Sie Sains manos ‘Sound insulation ‘Though the construction shown in figure 17 ‘can provide 51 dB airborne reduction, that figure will be much reduced ifthe gaps. between units are not filled or aerated conerete substituted for normal conerete. In buildings where lightweight concrete is normal, its possible that heavier in-sita work ‘will have to be retained above or below noise sources to help with sound deadening. It ‘would certainly be wise to point up or fll the ‘gaps between precast planks to help sound deadening and reduce fire penetration, Services Duets are easily formed, either by leaving out infilling blocks in the beam/block floors o by leaving out planks and reinforced in-situ filling at hole locations. Fixing to soffits ean be. problem with prestressed elements, s0 holes are cast in the units and thatalso helps with lifting arrangements, ‘The shell formwork is often made with standard perforations that are extremely "useful for electrieal drops. Suspended false ceilings are arranged via plate bolts through such conduit holes or by flat metal straps tueked between the units, with the top leg. turned up for casting into the screed. Fire resistance Precast conerpte can he cast with cover to provide one-, €wo- or three-hour fire resistance. Prestressed elements will give problems, solved with fire resistant false ceilings or by use of special spray cement. Outstanding examples Itis worthwhile recalling that the outstanding structures of Nervi were largely composite structures with superbly finished precast elements forming the visual delight at soffit level. Gilbert Scott's new HQ for Blue Circle shows much the same skill 27. AAD oly sr 6 2