NDID 1104: Materials in Interior Design and Application

Sri Lanka National Design Institute (SLNDI)

Study guide, definitions, and notes

Floor finishers
A floor finish is a general term for pavement covering a floor. It is expected to proceed and entered
the life of the floor while providing an attractive, appearance and slip-resistant surface.

There are five basic categories of floor finish ingredients.

1. Polymer
2. Film formers
3. Preservatives
4. Water

Type of floor finishers

1. Terrazo flooring
2. Stone flooring
3. Timber flooring
4. Brick flooring
5. PCC flooring
6. PVC flooring

Selection of materials depend upon the below factors,

- Initial cost
- Appearance
- Cleanliness
- Durability
- Damp resistance
- Sound insulation
- Thermal insulation
- Fire resistance
- Smoothness
- Hardness
- Maintains

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What is a floor finish?
 As many as twenty-five ingredients, some evaporate while others remain after death.
 Those that stay on the floor are ‘non-volatile’ components.
 Ingredients are used to enhance floor finish characteristics like hardness, gloss, clarity, stuff
resistance, slip resistance, water and detergent resistance, buff ability, removability, recoat
ability, and toughness.

Terrazzo flooring
 Terrazo is a flooring material traditionally made by exposing marble chips on the surface of
concrete and then polishing until smooth.
 However, terrazzo is now available in tile form.
 Its often used in public buildings because its long-lasting and can be refinished repeatedly.

Components / ingredinets.
Best use,

- Flooring
- Walls
- Countertops
- Backsplashes.

Installation process.

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Defects
1. Cracks
2. Discoloration
3. Scratches
4. Sealant failure
5. Water

Why use terrazzo flooring?

- Extremely hard-wearing
- Easy to clean and maintain
- Attractive
- Flexible – can be designed to be kept with other architectural features and color schemes.
- Hygienic – suitable for some areas of food preparation and in hospitals
- Cost-effective – will outlive most other types of hard flooring

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages Disadvantages
Unique beauty Terrazzo is quite slippery
Elegance Expensive
Longevity Need skills for installation
Comfortable under feet Polishing is needed to maintain the look.
Controls noise

Stone flooring
 Stone flooring is a type of flooring in which the flooring is covered with stone slabs or stone
tiles.
 Used in public buildings because of its durability and hardness.
 There are three basic types of rock from which we carve out the stone floor.
- Sedimentary floor
- Igneous
- Metamorphic

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Types of stone flooring
1. Marble flooring
- Various colors depending on origin.
- Fine and prosperous-looking floors.
- Mainly used in homes for interior flooring reasons.
- Expensive flooring
- Available in a different size.
2. Slate flooring
- Can be used in homes for outdoor flooring reasons.
- Very hard in nature.
- Variety of colors.
- Extremely durable.
- Slip-resistant
- Available in different sizes and shapes.
3. Granite flooring
- Granite is composed of quartz and feldspar mixed with particles of mica.
- Coarse-grained, light-colored.
- Long life and easy to install.
- Granite floors are being used in areas that are used every day.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages Disadvantages
Very hard in nature Formation of cracks
Regular washing and cleaning weights of
Extremely durable
material.
Variety of colored

Timber flooring
 Timber flooring is any product manufactured from timber that is designed for use as flooring.
Either structural or aesthetic.
 Common choice as a flooring material due to its environmental profile. Durability and
restorability.
 Used in interiors as well as exteriors.
 Divided into two categories.
- Solid
- Engineered

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Solid/hard wood
 One of the easiest ways to add value to a home.
 Cost-effective
 Durable and classy
 Solid wood floors are one of the few long-lasting home fixtures.
 Made of planks milled from a single piece of timber.
 Many genuine timber floors are immediately distinctive by the width of the planking
weathered patina and distinctive grain.
 Can be self-installed without calling a professional.
 Size – 125 x 600 x 15mm
- 150 x 700 x 16mm

Engineered
 The most common type of wood flooring is used globally.
 Composed of two or more layers of wood in the form of a plank where
Top layer – Aluminium oxide and is specially treated to achieve high wear resistance.
Second layer – Real hardwood veneer.
Core layer – Stacked layers of plywood. HDF (High-Density Fibreboard) or MDF
(Medium Density Fibreboard) lay at 90-degree angles to each other.
 This gives the flooring better structural stability and bonded together under heat and
pressure.
 Laying – Over the finished floor. Wooden planks with tongue and groove are placed.
- The tongue and groove are jotted into each.
- Other similarly the whole flooring is tied.
 Application – usually laid in interiors (bedroom, living area, dining area, kitchen) and
bathroom excluding the wet areas. Used in skirting. Nowadays, timber planks are widely
used in exteriors.
 Cost
 Finishes – wood floor finishes are very popular as they are durable, water-resistant, and
required minimal maintenance. These are blends of synthetic resins. The most popular
modern finishes for wood flooring are oil modifies urethane and water-based polyurethane.
 Water-based – Appear clear and will resist turning yellow over time.
1. They have a mild odder when applied and will dry in two to three hours.
2. Water-based finishes are very durable.
 Oil-based
1. Appear amber in color.

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 2. They have a moderate odder when applied and will dry in about eight hours.
3. Produces sheen appearance of the floor.

Cement concrete flooring

 The mixture of cement, sand, and aggregate is called plain cement concrete (PCC). Plain
cement concrete composition 1:2:4 (cement: sand: stone) by volume.
 Type of cement concrete floors
- Non-monolithic or bonded floor finish floor
- Monolithic floor finish floor

Components/ingratiation
- Cement + Sand + Aggregation

Why use plain cement concrete flooring

- They are economical as they require the maintenance cost.
- They can be finished with a pleasing appearance.
- Provide a smooth non-absorbent surface.

Installation process
Preparation of subbase

- Filing of the earth is done

- 10 – 15cm thick coarse sand

Laying of base concrete

- Usually of cement concrete or lime.

- Thickness is 7.5 – 10cm.

Laying the topping

- The area is divided into rectangular or square sections.

- Finally, a layer of cement concrete is applied on the top.

Freeze-thaw effect
- Concrete is very strong in compression but relatively weak in tension.
- It can and often does crack

Chemical attack
- Chemical attacks can occur because concrete is alkaline and chemically reactive.

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Crazing
- This is a network of very small surface cracks usually spreading out over a large area
or the entire surface.

Scaling
- Of concrete come loose and the surface.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages Disadvantages
They are hard and durable Defect once developed
Provide a smooth and non-absorbent surface Cannot be easily rectified
They are more fire resistance Does not provide heat and sound insulation.
They provide more sanitary surfaces as they
It cannot be satisfactorily by path work.
can be cleaned and washed easily.
They are economical as they require negligible
maintenance cost

Brick flooring
 The floor has brick/brick tile as its covering.
 The flooring is done by laying bricks down in a bed of mortar and arranged in a pattern.
 Commonly used in alluvial places, where the stone is scarce and well-burnt bricks of good
quality are readily available,
- Warehouses
- Stores
- God owns
- Place where heavy articles are stored.

Patterns in brick flooring

 The brick flooring may be done with bricks laid flat, on edge arranged in hearing bone
pattern, or set at right angles to the walls.
 Brick on edge is preferred to bricks laid flat because the former is less liable to crack under
pressure than the latter and having the higher depth gives a greater thickness in the former
case to resist the moisture penetration.

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Characteristics
 The low maintenance requirements of brick flooring make it very popular in kitchens.
 Durability – Brick is one of the hardest and most durable flooring materials available. It
requires little to no maintenance and an installation can last for years.
 The tiles are set in such a way that which it is installed it is very difficult to detect a repeating
pattern in the surface.
 This picture makes it clear that brick flooring is not confined to squares and rectangles.

Other properties
- Colour
- Texture
- Heat
- Slip
- Resistant
- Hardness
- Replacement
- Weight

Size
- Bricks are available in a range of thickness 40mm to 100mm.
- For domestic use the 50mm – 60mm units are suitable.
- Road construction – 60mm thick units.
- Airports, ports, and freight yard – 100mm thick units.

Applications
- Primarily used for architecture.
- Purposes but now used in commercial complexes, parking areas, and community
centers.
- These pavers are offered in various designs and sizes.

Defects
Cracks can occur as a defect in brickwork, that can occur due to,

- Ground movement
- Accident
- Thermal movement
- Brick rot

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Merits and demerits
Merits Demerits
Cheaper than cement concrete, wooden,
Slightly uneven when laid.
mosaic flooring
Provides a non-slippery and fire-resistant The resulting surface is not smooth and is
surface. rough.
Easily repairable. Water absorbent.
Tough, durable, and sufficiently hard.
Easy in maintains.
Easy to construct.

Vinyl flooring
Some basic vinyl flooring,

1. Theo tile
- This is a type of vinyl tile.
- This can be fixed on any of your homes.
2. Basic vinyl sheet
- This is a plain vinyl sheet, mostly used in hospitals and industries.
- One can select the basic color of the sheet and choose some printing images of
one’s own choice.
3. Embossed
- Embossed vinyl flooring can be used in the living room.
- Unlike other embossed designs, this is easy to clean and maintain.
4. Printed
- Printed vinyl flooring will be awesome to look at.
- The designs you get in vinyl will not even be available in tiles. Marbles and granites.
5. PVC vinyl flooring
- Choose PVC vinyl flooring for a classical look.
- This will cost you around Rs 80 – 100 / Sq. Ft.
6. Anti-skip
- This flooring is used in bathrooms. Though it is cheap and good to look at.
- It is vinyl it tends to peel when it is prone to wet.
7. Transport flooring
- One can use transport vinyl flooring in your parking area, as it is manufactured
especially for baring the weight of the vehicle.

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Availability
 Vinyl sheets are available in rolls, having a width of 6’ to 12’ width.
 Typical vinyl tiles are available in sizes of 1sq.ft.
 Vinyl planks are available in sizes ranging from 0.25’ to longer.
 They generally have a thickness of 1mm, 1.3mm, 2mm, and 3mm.
 The price range varies from Rs. 20 to 120 sq. ft.

Uses
 Generally used in hospitals where much cleanliness is required.
 It is installed in children’s rooms to avoid accidents.
 It is installed in blood banks.
 It is also installed in hotels or homes, wherever desired.

There are two types of construction for vinyl floors.

1. Rotogravure vinyl
- The color and pattern are printed on the surface of the vinyl only.
- This is a lower cost and more popular method of production that leaves the color and
pattern susceptible to wearing away over time.
2. Inlaid vinyl
- The color pattern goes all the way through the vinyl.
- This makes the color and pattern very wear-resistant.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages Disadvantages
Freedom of aesthetic effects is available in a Vinyl flooring with non-wax coating has an easy
range of colors and patterns. tendency of wearing out.
Vinyl flooring cannot withstand much water
Ease of installation and easy to clean
from chemical cleansers.
Vinyl flooring tends to this color or fades away
Easily recyclable
when exposed to too much sunlight.
Typical vinyl flooring cannot withstand much
Variable thickness
pulling or pushing of objects or sharp objects.
Lightweight
Durable
Provides us with a range of choices.

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