FLOOR FINISHES

Factors considered in selecting types of floor finishes include; wear, cleaning and surface
protection, comfort criteria, special requirements, cost and appearance.
Wear
This may be caused by pedestrian or vehicles where the flooring deteriorates in appearance.
Protection should be given to such surfaces by use of mats and prevention of worn out furniture
dragged on the floor. Proper selection and care in the use is essential.
Cleaning and Surface protection
Proper treatment for each material e.g. polishes seals and detergents should be carefully selected
to avoid damage to flooring. Manufacturer's
Instructions should be followed and tried out first in small areas.
Comfort Criteria
Comfort assessments are largely influenced by temperature, resilience, color, pattern and texture,
activity of users, humidity and footwear. Properties which affect comfort are;
sound control
Resilience
Freedom from slipperiness
Warmth
Appearance
i) Sound Control
Soft floorings can contribute to absorption of air-borne sound in a room. They also absorb impact
sound and reduce its transmission through floors. Floating floors comprising panels of t & g strip
or boards or heavy screeds on resilient under-lays reduce transmission of impact sound, but
should be isolated at their edges from columns and walls.
ii) Resilience
This is mainly necessary in dancing, gymnastics and similar activities. Therefore wood is more
resilient than concrete and wood strip laid on battens are more comfortable than woodblock on
concrete.
iii)Freedom from slipperiness
Resistance to slip is increased by frequent joints e.g. mosaic, temporary depressions of soft
materials, e.g. cork. Too liberal application of wax, polish increases slipperiness.
iv)Warmth
This depends upon the temperature of a surface, its thermal conductivity, temperature of air near
the surface and whether shoes are worn. Dampness reduces thermal insulation of porous
floorings and increases transfer of heat from shoe to floor. Any floor warming should not raise
temperature beyond 25°C.
v)Appearance
A floor covering determines the formal outlook in a room. Proper surface pattern which is not
worn or faded severely should be chosen from large samples available. To ensure matching
color, material should be obtained from one batch and a portion of additional materials ordered
for future repairs.
Special Requirements
Industrial floor
Requirements may include; high resistance to impact load trucking, thermal shock and constant
wet conditions.
Under floor warming
Under floor warming if incorporated should not cause discomfort to users. Materials which are
likely to soften un-brittle or shrink should not be used but manufacturers’ advice is required
before use of under floor warming system.
Resistance to water
Floor surfaces likely to be wet constantly should exclude finishes liable to decay or damage. Wet
areas may require special treatment with mastic asphalt (tanking).
Freedom from dusting
Dust may arise from a floor finish due to abrasion e.g. concrete flooring. Materials used and
jointing method must be carefully selected.
Resistance to Chemicals
Chemical resistant floor finishes and bedding mortars may provide high resistance to chemicals.
A chemical resistance membrane e.g. acid resisting mastic asphalt or polythene sheet may
require to be used as an underlay.
Fire Properties
Non-combustible floorings maybe required in fire prone escape routes.

Resistance to Sparking
These can arise from impact by metals on hard surfaces or from friction on electrically non-
conductive materials e.g. P.V.C. & rubber. Expert advice should be sought for specific cases, e.g.
anti-static pre-cautions (anesthetics areas). Floor polishes or seals must not be used in such areas
to reduce anti-static properties.
X-ray resistance
Ordinary floorings do not resist x-rays and a lead or other resistant barriers may be required.

TYPES OF FLOOR FINISHES

The type of floor finish depends upon the type of base, room usage, degree of comfort required,
maintenance costs, appearance, cost and preference. They may be in 3 main headings.
In-situ floor finishes
Applied floor finishes
Timber floor finishes
IN-SITU FLOOR FINISHES
Floor Screeds:
They may serve a number of functions:
-Provide smooth surface to receive the floor finish.
-To bring floor finishes of different thicknesses to same level.
-Provide falls for drainage purposes.
-To give thermal insulation by incorporating lightweight concrete.
-Accommodate service pipes although the thin screed is liable to crack.
Cement and screeds in the ratio 1:3 - 4x/2 are suitable for thicknesses up to 40mm. 0r%iicker
screeds, fine concrete (1:1.5:3) using 10mm maximum, coarse aggregate is appropriate.
Thicknesses of screeds are influenced, by the state of the base at the time the screed is placed.
When screed is laid on an in situ concrete base before it has set (within 3hrs of placing),
complete bonding is obtained and thickness need only be 12mm. This is referred to as monolithic
construction.
When concrete has set, and hardened, maximum bond is secured by mechanically hacking,
cleaning and damping the surface of the concrete, and then applying wet cement grout before the
screed is laid. The screed in this situation could be about 40mm thick. Where screed is laid on a
dpm it is classified as unbonded and the minimum thickness should be 50mm. A screed laid on a
compressible layer of thermal or sound insulating material is described as floating and should be
65mm thick or 75mm if it contains heating cables.
Screeds should preferably be laid in bays, where they contain under-floor warming cables or are
to receive an in situ floor finish. Generally the bay size should not exceed 15m2 with ratio
between the lengths and widths as near 1:1 % as possible. Edge bays should be vertical with
closely abutting joints, and expansion joints would be required at 30m centers.
Mastic asphalt:
Impervious to water when laid and gives a good surface on which thin tile and sheet finishes may
be applied. It also acts as a dpm. It is melted first before use and is applied by float at
temperature from 120°C - 210°C in 13mm coat for applied finishes or 16mm for self finish.
Granolithic
Composes of Portland cement, sand and fine hard stone clippings in definite grades and
proportions 1:1:2. It can be applied on 'green' concrete or cured one. In 'green' concrete, it is laid
20mm thick in bays not exceeding 28m2 and in mature concrete, the concrete base is hacked and
brushed. Finish is laid 40mm thick on wet cement slurry coating in bays not exceeding 14m2.
The base is set with the screeding sticks and leveled with straight edge and level. The floor is
damp cured by covering with wet sand or saw dust for 7 days. The floor is compacted and then
finished with steel towel just before mix hardens at least 3 times during the next 6 –l0hrs of
laying to produce a hard and dense surface.
The final towelling is delayed until considerable pressure is needed to make an impression on the
surface. Granolithic when applied within 3hrs of laying the concrete base provides the best
adhesion to base (monolithic finish) and need only be 10 -25mm thick.
For bonded finish (separate construction) the base should be well prepared and length of IY2 of
width bays adopted with 40mm thickness. Unbonded finish where concrete bases contain water
repellent oils, or where a separating membrane is used, a thickness up to 75mm is needed.
Thickness and bay sizes for granolithic floors
Monolithic 10-125 mm thick max 30 on 150 thick base
15 on 100 thick base
Bonded (floors) 40mm 5m2 and length not more than 1 ½ width 2m2
Unbonded up to 75
Granolithic has a good wearing resistance but it is rather cold and noisy
Terrazzo
This is concrete employing an aggregate of marble which is exposed by grinding and polishing
used for flooring and also in slab form for facing walls. It is laid with pre arranged joints. The
cement used may be white on one of the tinted Portland's and the aggregates are supplied in form
of chips in selection of colors in a number of grades. The mix must be uniform laid out in panels
4.8m2 with blocs on stainless strips between panels in further lm2 panels. It is normally laid on a
screed on concrete base and later ground and polished.
Terrazzo is often used in entrance to halls to public buildings, food shops etc.
It can be laid in three ways:
Monolithically (on green concrete or screed)
Bonded
Unbonded
Monolithic
Terrazzo is laid directly on structural concrete base within 3hours of having been placed, and
after water and laitance has been removed. It is however difficult to protect the finish from other
trades and therefore not widely used.
Bonded
Terrazzo is laid within 3hours of screed lying. The screed to be not older than 40hrs and neat
cement slurry should be brushed onto the surface before laying terrazzo.
Unbonded
This is done on hard bases or where bond is prevented by contamination or water repellants.
Terrazzo should be laid on a screed at least 50mm thick, reinforced with light mesh
reinforcement and laid on a bitumen felt, building paper or separating layer, lapped 50mm at the
joints. The cement: aggregate ratio should not exceed 1:2 by volume.
Typical thicknesses and panel sizes for terrazzo
Min Thickness mm2 Max, panel size m2
Monolithic 15 dividing strips over all
Construction joints
Bonded (floors) 15 on 25mm screed 1
Unbonded 15 on 50mm screed 1
APPLIED FLOOR FINISHES
These are usually thin and flexible materials. They are laid on cement/and screed 1:3 on concrete
bed. On green concrete, a 12mm thick screed would be recommended and on mature concrete a
thickness of 40mm with bays not exceeding 15m2 to avoid drying shrinkage.
Flexible P.V.C. tiles and sheet
These are hard wearing floor finishes and a level and smooth base is needed. The wear
performance depends upon the flatness of the base, the thickness of the sheet/tile, the type and
intensity of the traffic on maintenance. Edges of the sheets must be protected.
The tiles are usually 300x300mm sq. and the sheets up to 2400mm wide with thickness 1.5-
3mm. It is fixed with adhesives made from a blend of thermoplastic binder (vinyl chloride
polymer) fillers and pigments.
Thermoplastic tiles
They are laid on with bituminous adhesives on a smooth base by first heating to make them bond
properly to the adhesive. They are hard wearing, moisture resistant and supplied in 225 or
250mm and 3-4.5mm thick tiles made from a blend of mineral asphalt on thermoplastics resins.
Rubber tiles and sheet
Produced from natural synthetic rubber with fillers and pigments in some cases fabric backing.
Wear resistance increases with thickness and are very resilient and quiet although it emits rubber
odor, damaged by ultra-violet radiation and sometimes damaged by oils fats and solvents.
Supplied in 15m-30m length sheets and with ranges from 900 - 1800mm with thickness of 3.6 -
6.4mm and are fixed with rubber based adhesive.
Quarry tiles
They are made from unrefined clays, worked into plastic form, pressed into ' shape and hand
burnt. They have a good wear resistance and slipperiness is moderate.
Three methods of laying can be adopted:
Bedding the tiles on 10 - 15mm thick cement/sand mortar over
Separating membrane. _
Thick bed of mortar could be used (1:4) to prevent bond with reasonable level concrete bases.
Bedding in cement: sand mortar bonded to the base where heavy traffic is involved.
An expansion joint of compressible material is incorporated around the perimeter of the floor
(7.5m length or width max). Usually a 1:1 cement/sand grout is applied between the tiles and
covered for a few days with saw dust etc.
Other applied floor finishes
Linoleum, cork carpet,
Pavers, vitrified ceramic floor tiles, mosaic, terrazzo precast tiles.

TIMBER FLOOR FINISHES:

The timber used for flooring should be well seasoned and also designed to accommodate
moisture movement which is inevitable to service. To prevent fungal attack, the moisture content
will have to be reduced or be treated with preservative.
Timber finishes maybe applied in any one of the following ways:
In strip (timber boarded floors).
Blocks (wood blocks, parquet panels, mosaic).
In board sheets (plywood, chipboard, block board).
1. Timber boarded floors (strip finish).
SOLID GROUND FLOORS WITH TIMBER FINISH
Timber finish may be fixed on timber fillet embedded in cement screed on floor clips or may be
fixed to the floor concrete and timber battens fixed to it. Where the timber finish is fixed to
wooden fillets or battens embedded in the concrete, the battens should be impregnated under
pressure with timber preservative (copper chrome arsenate). Any surfaces subsequently exposed
by cutting the timber for fitting into the building should also be thoroughly treated by dipping,
spraying or brushing those surfaces with the same solution of not less than 10% of the copper-
chrome arsenate. Floor clips may be fixed directly to the over site concrete but this may mean
piercing the dpm but the floor clip maybe made shorter. It is important that the screed is
thoroughly dried out before the boards are fixed. In this method, there is 38mm airspace between
the boarding and the screed, which can accommodate service pipes 'sketches'.
Blocks
They are usually made out of hardwood with lengths ranging from 150-300mm and widths being
proportional to lengths to enable various patterns to be created. Thickness ranges from 20-30mm.
The units are tounged and grooved or dowelled and a cork expansion strip about 13mm placed
around the entire edge of the block floor.They are laid on a floated screed with hot bitumen or
blocks laid in cold adhesive using any of the following patterns:
Basket weave
Herringbone or brick bonds.
They are moderately resilient, warm and quiet and are not favorable in damp conditions or where
wide atmospheric humidity variations occur.
Parquets & Panels
They are made from selected hardwoods or softwood and the components are glued together at
their edges with square or round edge joints and the timber is thoroughly seasoned. The cement
screed finish on concrete base is floated and the panels are bedded in hot bitumen. The panels are
305 and 610mm squares and thickness of 6mm. Just like wood blocks, they are moderately
resilient, warm and quiet and should not be used in damp conditions.
Board Sheets (Plywood, chipboard, block board)
Plywood
This should be at least 3mm thick. They are normally laid on boarded floor or directly on joists
or battens with panel pins where appropriate. The face grain must be at right angles to main
supporting members and 50mm nails should be inserted at 150mm centers.
The boards are supplied in standard lengths of 2440mm and widths 1220mm with thicknesses
ranging from 3mm-16mm. They have moderate wear resistance and are moderately warm and
quiet but thin boards drum if not fixed over the base.
Chipboard
These comprises of wood chips bonded with synthetic resin and compressed, with density of not
less than 640kg/mn. The boards are fixed on bonded floors or on joists or battens, by use of nails
at 400mm c/c and the nail heads pouched home or glued. Any explanation gap below the skirting
should be left for the floor expansion. The boards are also in standard sizes of 2440 x 1220 with
thicknesses ranging between 12 - 22mm. They however have a low resistance to water and ther
wear resistance is moderate to good.
CARPETS
They are made from animal hair, mineral fibres and manmade fibres e.g. nylon and acrylic. They
can also be made as a mixture of the above. A wide range of patterns, sizes and colors are
available.
They require regular maintenance and with better quality carpets, they would be durable. Carpets
are however damaged by grit, rubber soles and pointed shoes, and legs to furniture.

Types of Carpets
Woven
The pile is woven with the backing and a number of colors can be used. They are made in body
widths of 457mm - 1.0m and board loom widths up to 4.572m and thickness of 6 to 19mm.
Tufted
In this, the cut pile is stitched into a jute backing and secured with latex. PVC backing which
includes glass fibre reinforcement produces a good quality carpet.
Fixing
The base should be smooth and level. Resilient under lays either separate or integral improves
the durability of carpets and reduce noise transmission. After being well stretched, carpets should
be fixed at their edges by tacks or angle pins. Carpet to carpet joints can be made by sewing or
by adhesive strips. Aluminum or brass extrusions are used to protect the carpet edges and at
junctions with other floorings.
 WALL FINISHES
Plastering
This is a term used for internal wall and ceiling finishes using mortar. They give jointless,
hygienic, easily decorated and sometimes smooth surfaces on uneven background.
Plasterwork may also provide additional thermal insulation, fire resistance, sound insulation and
as well as insulate against the passage of x-ray
In-situ plasterwork
This is a wet process using mortar on wall surface to improve the aesthetics and hygienic aspects
of the wall internally.
Properties of plaster finishes include;
Thermal insulation, sound insulation, fire resistance, corrosion resistance, hardness, texture and
suitability for decoration
Materials for plastering
These comprise materials, workability agents, aggregates, water and any ancillary materials.
Binding Materials
These may include;
i)Gypsum plasters (calcium sulphate) for undercoats and finish coats.
Portland cement - for undercoats and water resistant finishing coats.
Organic binders - for single coats on true backgrounds.
Limes - for undercoats and finishing coats (not hard).
Gypsum plasters
This is natural gypsum rock where chemically combined water is driven off and the resulting
powder is white or coloured, pink or grey by impurities which does not affect the properties of
the product. When water is added to gypsum plaster it sets and hardens into a crystalline solid s
heat is evolved and reverts to dehydrate form of calcium sulphate. Gypsum plasters expand
slightly in setting and this can cause failure in adhesion on non-rigid backgrounds. They undergo
negligible drying shrinkage and surfaces can be applied in smooth subsequent coats without
cracking. It is slightly soluble in water and it may not be suitable for external use because it
breaks down in damp conditions. There are four classes of gypsum plasters;
Class A - Hemi-hydrate calcium sulphate plaster (plaster of pans)
Class B - Retarded Hemi-hydrate plaster.
Class C - Anhydrous gypsum plaster.
Class D - Keene's plaster
Portland Cement
This is used as a binder in undercoats and in finishing coats to achieve a hard surface. Too rapid
drying out causes cracks and efflorescent salts penetrating. Shrinkage must be substantially
complete before a further coat is applied.
Organic Binders
Limes
Hydraulic lime and sand mixes are similar to Portland cement/lime/sand mixes but have lower
strength.
Aggregates
Usual aggregates for plaster are sand or light weight expanded perlite (heated siliceous volcanic
glass) or exfoliated vermiculite. (Heated mica)
Sand
The quality of suitable sand can be obtained by simple site tests e.g. silt content, impurities test,
grading test.
Sand is obtained from a river or sandpit or by crushing sand, gravel or other stones. It is used in
plaster undercoats and also in finishing coats for textural effect. It reduces the shrinkage of
plastered surfaces when using cement and lime.
APPLICATION OF PLASTER
For adhesion, intimate contact between surfaces is essential. Air must be expelled by pressing
during application and for finishes subject to high drying shrinkage, or constant temperature
changes, a mechanical key is essential. Generally, no coat should be stronger than the
background or undercoat on which it is applied.
Number of coats required depends upon rigidity of a background, and upon type of plaster
applied.
Thinner plaster is bound to closely follow the contours of the background and on accurate
backgrounds, one coat is often used.
Application of plaster on Boards.
Boards suitable for plastering are plaster boards, asbestos boards, plastic boards and insulating
fibre boards.
Boards must be evenly supported and fixed according to the manufacturer's recommendations.
They should have staggered joints and the joints can be reinforced with jute or wire scrim not
less than 90mm wide. Joints are covered with similar plaster as used on the boards. Plastering on
board surfaces is normally commenced when joints have set but before they dry out and before
boards become dirty or damaged. Mixes containing lime and Portland cement are unsuitable for
application on boards.
Plasterboards.
These comprise a solid or cellular gypsum plaster core with small proportion of fibres surfaced
with heavy paper. This is a stressed skin construction since the strength lies in the paper liners.
The strength of the paper in the machine direction is about twice than across and preferably the
board should be fixed with bound edges running across joists. They have a high fire resistance
value because their fire propagation index is low. (sketch) Types of plasterboards include;
Gypsum wallboard, gypsum lath, gypsum plank, insulating gypsum plasterboards, PVC faced
plasterboards, perforated and slotted plasterboards.
Rendering.
This is external surface finish on walls externally using mortar. To select a suitable rendering,
the following factors should be considered:
Weather proofing qualities
Durability
Appearance
The application of rendering is similar to plaster application where a. key is necessary before
application, of any render coat. Differential drying, moisture movement and thermal movements
occur externally more than internally. Dense renderings are suitable in severe exposures although
they are prone to crazing. In moderate exposures, dense cement: lime: sand renderings provide
satisfactory weather resistance. In practice, in severe exposure, it is usual to fill cracks as the)
occur and to paint the surfaces.
Backgrounds
For good adhesion, backgrounds must be rigid, free from dust, dirt, oil, grease, paint and
efflorescence. Some sunctions is necessary to prevent .material from sagging or sliding after
application and a splatter dash coating where sunctions is high or irregular. Mechanical key must
be provided for smooth surfaces and mortar joints for masonry must be raked to a depth of
15mm and brushed clean. Renderings do not bridge structural movement joints. Expanded metal
can be used to prevent concentration of movement. Renderings should not be stronger than the
background. About three coats may be required on a very irregular and severely exposed surface.
A splatter dash coating may be required on even surfaces where three coats arc applied. Under
coats 10 - 16mm thick is adequate and final coats 16 -10mm. 3mm thickness can be adequate if
machine applied.
Under Coats
They can prevent rain, penetration, can align uneven surfaces and they must provide moderate
sanction and good adhesion to the finishing coat. The undercoat must be scratched to provide key
and each coat left to dry for at least 2 days.
Finishing Coats
Finishes especially those rich in cement, fine sand and finished with steel trowel arc liable to
surfaces crazing. Finishes can be considered as wood floated scraped, ornamental, thrown or dry
dash.
Wood flouted
Rendering is lightly patted with wood float and a uniform flat surface is obtained. Cracking,
crazing and uneven weathering if too much cement or lines sand are used or if the surfaces are
over trowelled.
Scraped Surfaces
A fully aligned and wet finish is scraped with a saw blade or similar implement removing 2 -
3mm from the surface. Granular material is dragged across the surface and the coarse particles
produce scraped effect.
Ornamental textures
During application and when the surface is wet, different textures can be installed on the surface
e.g. combed ribbed, stippled or any other texture.
Thrown Finishes
They comprise wet dash, rough cast, dry clash. Dry composition of materials obtainable in a
variety of colours give a range of textures, e.g. Tyrolean when machine applied or dry dash
(pebble dash) applied and. lightly pressed in a. freshly applied final coat, of render and left
substantially exposed.