FLOOR FINISHES

&
ARTIFICIAL
STONES
 INTRODUCTION

• Floors are horizontal elements of building structures which divide

building into different levels for the purpose of creating more
accommodation with in the restricted space, one above the other and
also provide support to the occupants, furniture and equipment of a
building.
• A floor finish (Binder) is a liquid which is applied to a resilient tile floor
and dries to a hard, durable and smooth film. This film is about the
thickness of waxed paper and is expected to protect and extend the life
of the floor while providing an attractive appearance and slip resistant
surface.
 CHARACTERISTICS
 
OF A GOOD
FLOOR FINISH
•  
• •      It should be durable
• •      It should be easy to clean
• •      Noiseless
• •      Have Good Appearance
• •      Free from dampness
• •      Fire Resistant
• •      Low Maintenance cost
 TYPES OF FLOOR FINISHES
• Resilient floor finishes
• Hard floor finishes
• Smooth floor finishes
 HARD FLOOR
FINISHES
      Natural stone floor finish

Granite
· Granite is a form of Igneous
rock made up of feldspar quartz
and mica.
This is a luxury floor covering as
it is an expensive product

It is long lasting, as it is hardwearing and

resistant to chemicals and has a timeless
look.
If highly polished it is slippery, but a honed
finish provides a more manageable finish.
·  It comes in limited colors - black, red,
green, grey, blue, pink.
 Marble
This is a form of metamorphic rock,
·It is made up of calcium carbonate;
it comes in numerous colors, white,
grey, green, ochre, beige and is
usually veined.
·It is a hardwearing beautiful
product, expensive to purchase and
lay as it is heavy and comes in slab
form.
Marble used of floor and walls of a
hotel bathroom, very stylish.
Like granite it has a timeless quality.
 Slate
Slate is a foliated
metamorphic rock. It occurs as
a result of shale rock
undergoing metamorphosis.
It is normally grey in colour.
However, it can still occur in
other colours: Purple, green.

It can be slippery when used in external

locations subject to rain.
 Limestone and
Sandstone
These are derived from sedimentary
rocks
· Limestone is rarely used for floors
today as it becomes slippery when it
is worn.
It is grey or beige in color.
·

  Sandstone is used more in outdoor paving

than indoor, but looks great in an area that
flows to the outdoors such as a conservatory.
·   Its irregular natural pattern is its best
feature and can range from a grainy timber
look to stripes and speckles.
·    It is beige, brown, reddish brown, in color
and some stones are hardwearing.
 HARD WOOD
FLOORING
Many different species of wood are fabricated
into wood flooring.
The two major forms are plank and parquet.
Hardwoods are more durable than softwoods
Most hardwood floors include ash, beech, birch,
hickory, maple, teak and walnut.
They are durable if properly finished and
maintained.
Hardwood flooring can be a durable, long
lasting surface covering material, but it has to
be properly finished in order to protect it from
stains, damage, and moisture penetration.
In addition there are a number of colorful and
creative decorative treatments that you can
apply to make the floor take on a variety of
unique stylistic appearances:
Prefinished Hardwood Flooring: This
is applied directly to the material by
the manufacturer before it ships. It
consists of aluminum oxide crystals
embedded in a UV cured urethane
coat, for an extremely durable
surface seal.

Oil Based Hardwood Finish: The most

common hardwood flooring finish, this
is made from an oil-modified acrylic
urethane, which is relatively easy to
apply, and which dries in
approximately 8-12 hours.
 Hardwood Floor Surface
Treatments
Stains: These consist of a variety of
color changing chemicals which can
soak down into the surface of
hardwood planks, and tint them from
within.
Bleaching: This is a process that uses
harsh chemicals to lighten the color of
the wood.
Distressed: This involves a number of
treatments where you try to damage
the floor in such a way that it looks
like it is aged. This is often done by
staining the material a very dark
color, and then bleaching it to make
the colors look like they faded over
time.
Wood Inlays: This is a fairly advanced
decorative treatment that involves
setting different pieces of wood into
an already installed floor.

Marquetry: This is a process where a

very thin sheet of contrasting or
decorative wood is laid over an
existing hardwood floor, and applied
as a veneer using adhesive.
 Parquet: It is a floor composed of
short strips or blocks of wood forming
a pattern sometimes inlays of other
woods.

Advantages of Prefinished Flooring Treatments

1.Durability
2.Easier and quicker installation
3.Ease of maintenance
 Mosaic
This is a superior type of flooring
used in bathrooms and kitchens
of residential buildings and in
hospitals, sanatoriums and
temples
Places where extra cleanliness is
essential

They are laid in different sizes usually in rectangula

square shapes.
They are long lasting
They are slippery when polished
 Artificial  hard floor
finishes
Terrazzo
This is a composite material made up
of cement and marble aggregate,
it is then mixed and poured in situ
onto a concrete base.
It is then ground waxed and polished.
It has a mosaic look.
It can also be premade and is
available in slabs or tiles.
It is very hard wearing, if it is polished
or wet it is very slippery.
It is very useful in commercial
situations i.e. malls and shopping
centers as it is very durable and easy
to clean.
 Concrete Screed
These are usually used as a base for other
floor finishes.
There are many forms, monolithic, laid over
the concrete base within a few hours of the
base being laid.
Bonded - existing concrete base with
aggregate exposed has a cement screed laid
over it.
Unbounded - a cement screed is laid over a
plain existing concrete base.
Floating - is laid over thermal or sound
insulation materials.
 CERAMIC TILES
They include a wide variety of clay
products fired into thin units which are set
in beds.
Varieties include quarry tiles, porcelain
tiles and terracotta tiles.
 Quarry tile
The quarry tile comes in various colours. It
normally has an abrasive fit in it to provide
a non-slip quality. It is mostly used in wet
areas like kitchens and bathrooms.
 (b) Porcelain tile

Have a very low water absorption rate and

hence are mostly used in wet rooms and areas where
wear and tear is high.
 (c) Terracotta tile

It is made of clay, either baked or

unbaked. It is normally brownish orange in
colour.
Artificial Rock
dyed to match any colour and
is ideally
suited as cladding for
unsightly installations.
Even climbing walls can be
easily
fashioned out of artificial
rock.

The most outstanding advantage of

artificial rock, constructed out of stone
gypsum and crushed stone mortar, is its
myriad uses, from a waterfall added to
an outdoor pool to artificial rock
construction
for a sauna or spa area.