Flooring
Floors are provided to divide a building in to different levels for creating more accommodation, one above the other. Bottom floor near the ground level is called ground floor and other floor above it are termed as upper floors. Flooring may consist of two main components. Sub-floor (or) Base course and floor covering- sub floor (or) Base course provides proper support to floor covering. Floor covering provides smooth, clean, impervious and durable surfaces.
Definition
(a) Floor: A horizontal surface at the ground level or at higher storey levels where day to day living takes place is called a floor.
(b) Flooring: Flooring is the horizontal area in any floor of a building that is actually the space used by the occupants for moving in the building.
Requirements of floorings
>Low cost
>Good appearance
>Sound and thermal insulation.
>Strength and durability
>Smoothness
>Damp and fire resistance
>Comfortability
>Anti-skid.
Material usually employed for flooring
The different materials used for flooring are.
>Mud
>Tiles
>Stones
>Rubber
>Bricks
>Linoleum
>Wood (or) Timber
>Granite
>Concrete
>Cork
>Mosaic
>Magnetite
>Terrazzo
>Glass
>Asphalt
>Marble
Types of flooring
(a)Mud flooring
(b) Cement concrete flooring
(c) Terrazzo flooring
(d) Mosaic flooring
(e) Glazed tile flooring
(f) Marble flooring
(g) Linoleum flooring
(h) Brick flooring
(i) Stone flooring
(j) Granolithic flooring
(k) Timber flooring
(i) Asphalt flooring
(m) Rubber flooring
(n) Epoxy resin flooring
(a) Mud flooring
This type of flooring is cheap, hard, fairly impervious and easy in construction and maintenance. For mud floor construction a 25 cm thick layer of selected moist earth is spread over the prepared bed, it is then rammed well to get a compacted thickness of about – 1 cm. on this, a coat of cement, low dung plaster (1 cement: four cow dung) is applied evenly and cleanly by hand. It is warm during winter and cool in summer. It is suited in places where there is extreme variation in temperature.
Uses: Mostly mud flooring is used in summer.
(b) Cement concrete floorings
Construction
The ground formation is well compacted. A layer o coarse san is spread over the prepared ground to a thickness of 100 to 150 mm. it is wetted and well rammed. Over the sand bed, cement concrete or lime concrete is laid to minimum thickness of 100 mm. for monolithic construction cement concrete of mix 1:5:10 is used. A coat of cement slurry is applied to the rough surfaces of base monolithic construction and 25 mm with bonded floor finish. Cement concrete topping is spread to a uniform thickness and leveled with a straight edge. The surface is then well tamped, floated with wooden float and finally smooth finished with a trowel.
Uses
>Cement concrete flooring is used in residential, office and school buildings.
>It is also used in hospital and light industrial buildings.
(c) Mosaic floorings
It is very similar to cement floorings except that the floor is covered with mosaic tiles.
(d) Terrazo floorings
Construction
The base concrete of lime concrete or cement concrete of mix 1:5:10 is laid over well compacted sub-base. The thickness of base concrete is not less than 100mm. the base concrete is cleaned of all dirt’s and loose materials. The surface is wetted with water. Cement slurry is spread on the base concrete and immediately an under layer of cement concrete of mix 1:2:$ is laid over the base concrete. Maximum size of the aggregates used for the under layer is 10 mm. the surface is made even, with a screening board.
In the case of structural (R.C.C) slab, a cushioning layer of lime concrete of minimum thickness 75 mm is laid over the slab. The total thickness of the under layer and topping is not less than 30 mm for flooring 75 mm is laid over the slab. The total thickness of the under layer and topping is not les than 30 mm for flooring and 20 mm is laid over the slab. The total thickness of the under layer and topping is not less than 30 mm for flooring and 20 mm for skirting and dadoing. The thickness of terra topping is 60 mm. the Terra toppings is laid over the under layer 18 to 24 hours after laying the under layer. The surface of the under layer is divided in panels of area less than 2m^2. The panels are marked by dividing strips. The dividing strips are made of materials like aluminum, glass, copper, brass and plastic. The thickness of strips should not less than 1.5 mm and width not less than 25 mm for flooring. Cement slurry of color same as that of the topping is applied over the terra toping. The mix for terra tipping includes cement, marble aggregates, marble powder and water. The mix for terra topping includes cement, marbles aggregates, marbles powder and water. The mix thus prepared is spread to the required thickness and leveled and then finished with a trowel. The finished terra surface is left for air curing for 12 to 18 hours and then cured by pooling water on the surface for at least days. After 7 days of laying, the floor is machine ground four times with different grades of carborundum stone. The floor is finally polished (or) wax polished by polishing machine.
Uses: These types of flooring are used in residential and public buildings, hospitals, schools, colleges and office buildings.
(e) Glazed til flooring
Glazed tiles are available under different trade names like Johnson tiles and spartek. They are rectangular or square in shape and only the top surface of these tiles is glazed. This flooring is neat and attractive and can be cleaned easily.
Construction
The glazed tiles are laid on a cement concrete base of minimum thickness 100 mm or on structural slab. Cement mortar of mix 1:3 is spread on the base concrete to a thickness of 10 mm. after the mortar has hardened slightly and just before placing the tiles, cement slurry is applied over the mortar. The glazed like is then placed in position over the slurry and gently tapped with a wooden mallet and each tile is properly seated and leveled. The tiles are fixed so that the joints between them are as thin as possible and should be perfectly straight. After the entire area is laid, the joints are brushed with wire brush. The mortar and other dirt’s are removed to a depth of about 2 to 3 mm. the joints are then pointed flush with cement of shade as that of the tiles. The flooring is cured for at least 7 days and washed neatly before it is used.
Uses
>Glazed tile is adopted for bathrooms, water closets and kitchen.
>Spartek and glazed tiles are used for wall facing.
>Spartelk is finding wide use as flooring tile also.
(f) Marble flooring
Marble floor is clean and attractive; it is slippery and also costly. Mable slab is generally rectangular or square in shape. Slab size used depends up on the design of the flooring and thickens varies from 20 to 40 mm.
Construction
Marble slabs are laid on a cement concrete base 100 to 150 thicknesses. Before placing the slabs, the surface of the base concrete is cleaned and wetted. Cement mortar of mix 1:4 is spread over the base to a thickness of about 20 mm. the marble slabs are laid in position on the mortar, tapped and leveled. The hollow spaces below the slab, if any can be found by lifting the slab and inspecting the bottom surfaces, then these spaces are filled with mortar and proper bedding of the slabs is made. After the mortar has hardened slightly, cement slurry is spread over the mortar bed. The lateral faces of the slabs already kept in position are smeared with cement slurry of shade same as that of the marble slab. The slab to be laid is placed in position again and properly tapped so that it is in level with the already laid slabs. The slabs are placed very close to each other, so that the joints have paper- like thickness, and the slurry that escapes out is cleaned. Flooring is completed by laying the other slabs also in the same inner. The marble flooring is cures for at least 7 days before it is put to regular use.
Uses:
>This flooring is commonly used for superior type of floor construction.
>It is used in temples, mosques, churches, star hotels and luxurious private and public buildings.
>It is used in selective areas like entrance, kitchen and bathrooms in residential buildings.
(g) Linoleum floorings:
Linoleum flooring is attractive and clean. This type of flooring should not be wetted. It is manufactures by using linseed oil, wood and cork flour, gums and pigments. An under laying is provided on the concrete base so that a level surface is formed for the spreading of linoleum. Plywood or hardboard underlay is used for concrete floor base.
Construction
The surface of the under lay is cleaned of all the darts, oils, chemicals, etc. and adhesive (vegetable and cosine glues etc) is applied evenly with trowel as instructed by the manufacture. Linoleum is pressed hard in to the adhesive within the specified setting of the adhesive or the linoleum sheet is rolled with a floor roller weighing about 70 kg, the rolling proceeding from the centre to the walls. The sand bags may be kept at various points, if needed. If the linoleum is spread directly on the concrete without any underlay, the adhesive is well smeared on the back of the linoleum before it is spread. If the linoleum is spread directly on the concrete without any under lay, the adhesive is well smeared on the back of the linoleum before it is spread.
Uses
>The linoleum flooring is used in residential and public buildings, ships, and railways coaches. Etc.
>It is not used in industrial buildings since, it is likely to be damaged by cutting.(h) Brick flooring
Brick flooring max be light duty floor or heavy duty floor. Heavy duty brick is explained here.
Construction
The earth base is well compacted and layer of sand of thickness 75 mm many be spread on the base if subsidence is to be avoided. The sand layer is well rammed and concrete sub-grade of thickness 7 mm is laid over it. Concrete used is usually lime concrete with brick or stone aggregates, lean cement concrete of mix 1:%:10 may be used. Necessary slope is given to the sub-grade for drainage. Lime mortar, cement mortar or lime cement mortar is spread over the concrete to a thickness of 10 mm before the concrete sets, for heavy duty floors, 1:4 cement mortar or 1C:1L:6S mortar is used. Bricks soaked in clean water and surface dried are laid on the mortar in plain, diagonal or any other suitable fashion. Damaged or broken bricks should not be used. All the joints to be filled with mortar of thickness 8 to 10 mm.. the joints are raked to a depth of 10 mm while still green and flush pointed with cement mortar 1:3.
Uses
>Brick flooring is used in places like go downs, stores, and platforms where the flooring is subject to heavy wear and tear and rough use.
>It can be laid, maintained and repaired easily; it is cheap, hard and durable.
>This flooring is used in cheap construction, especially where good bricks are available.
(i) Stone flooring
Stones like graphite, basalt and quartz are used for heavy duty floors and sandstones are used for light duty floors.
Construction
The earth bed is well compacted, over this lime concrete sub grade of 100 to 150 mm thickness is laid. Cement mortar 1:4 is spread to a thickness of 20 to 25 mm on the sub grade. Stone slabs of rectangular or square shape and 20 to 40 mm thickness are laid on the mortar spread. The mortar joints are raked to a depths of about 20 mm and filled with cement mortar in 1:3 ratio and gentle slope of 1:40 is given for drainage purposes.
Uses
>Stone floorings is used for warehouses, godown, loading platforms, garages etc., and it is durable and hard.
>It withstands wear and tear and impact it is not slippery.
(j) Granolithic flooring
Granolithic flooring is hard and durable. Highly skilled workmanship is required for laying granolithic flooring. Granolithic concrete floor topping adopted for different floor finishes is prepared with 1:1:2 (cement: fine aggregates: coarse aggregates) by volume. The thickness of the finish should not be less than 25-35 mm. to improve the wearing qualities, sand should be replaced by fine aggregates of crushed granite, and abrasive grit at 16-22 N/m^2 may be sprinkled to provide a hard surface. Granolithic floor topping may be laid monolithically with the base concrete or separately after the base concrete has hardened. The thickness, mix proportion and panel sizes to be used depend on the nature of the use and function expected of the floor topping.
Construction
The granite concrete mix is placed on the base concrete within 2 to 3 hours of laying the base concrete in the screed strips already kept. It is well compacted to the required thickness. The surface is levelled straight and tested with spirit level. After rectifying the defects, if any, the topping surface is leveled straight and tested with spirit level. Rapid drying of the finished topping surface should be prevented by having barriers against strong sunlight or wind. Soon after the surface has hardened, it is kept moist continuously for at least 10days by covering it with wet gunny bags or wet sand layer of 50 mm thickness or ponding water on the surface. During curing, the flooring should not be open to any traffic.
Uses
>Granolithic flooring is used for industrial buildings like garages, ware houses, workshops, heavy duty factories etc.
>Flooring is to withstand severe abrasion, heavy loads and impact and the surface is hard and durable.
(k) Timber flooring
There are two types of timber floors. They are suspended type and solid type. Solid types are more widely used than suspended type.
Construction
A solid timber has three main components,
>A sub-floor of cement concrete.
>Wooden fillets.
>Main timber floor.
Cement concrete floor has a thickness of 5 to 7.5 cm. timber fillets of size 12.5 *4 are laid with the top of the sub-floor concrete. These fillets are placed in position while laying the concrete and before it sets. In the places like dancing halls the fillets top is raise by about 8 mm to reduce he light sparingly effect. The fillets are kept along the short span at a spacing of 60 cm center to centre. The main floor is formed by placing timber planks of minimum thickness 25 mm closely, and planks rest on he fillets. The timber components used for timber floor should be well seasoned. They should be properly treated wih preservative after seasoning. The timber fillets should be prepared from heart wood of hard wood trees. The limber floor should be protected from dampness by providing damp proof course in the building suitably.
Uses
They are used in public balconies, galleries, dancing halls, auditorium, shuttle cock and squash cours, skating rinks etc.
(l) Asphalts flooring
Asphalts flooring bitumen mastic flooring is noiseless, water proof and acid proof. It is durable, non-slippery and resilient. It can be cleaned and maintained easily. It is likely to become soft on long contact with oils, grasses and fats.
Construction
Asphalt pieces are heated in iron vessels when asphalt starts melting the entre mass is stirred constantly. When meeting is over, clean, angular sand or grit is slowly added to the molten asphalt in the ratio of 25 and one asphalt. The mixture is stirred continuously till jets of light brown smoke are notices. The mastic asphalt mixture thus prepared is spread in panels on the already prepared dry and level concrete base with iron ladles and leveled to a thickness of about 12 to 25 mm with trowels. If the second layer of mastic asphalt is to be laid, it should be done before the first layer hardness, when the asphalts is spread to the required thickness, very fine sand is sprinkled over it before asphalt solidifies. Surface treated with sand is said to have mat finish. If the surface is smooth finished without sand, it attains a polished finish. The finished surface should be safe guarded against any damage, till the mastic cools to the atmospheric temperature.
Uses
It is widely used in loading platform, ware houses, factories, terrace floor, go downs etc.
(m) Rubber floorings
It is resilient, wear resistant and less noisy. Rubber flooring shoes are made of a compound of natural or synthetic rubber. The compound may include reclaimed rubber, filters and coloring materials. Rubber flooring may be plain ribbed or grooved. Rubber flooring has a thickness of 2.5 mm to 6.5 mm. the sponge-backed rubber flooring has a wearing surface of solid rubber of a least 3 mm thickness spread on a sponge rubber backing of thickness 3 mm.
Construction
If the concrete base is on ground and has not been damp-proofed, bitumen mastic of at least t15 mm thickness is spread over the base concrete. Cement concrete of 40 mm thickness is spread over the base concrete. Cement concrete is already damp-proofed; it is prepared by having a screed bed of minimum thickness 25 mm. if the surface of base concrete is even a smooth, nothing more need to be done. If he base concrete is new, a damp-proof membrane or a bitumen mastic layer is spread over it. Before laying the rubber covering, it should be ensured that the sub-floor is perfectly even and dry, it is cleaned with dry cloth. The rubber sheet is spread without any adhesive on rail, just to check the area of sheet required. Then adhesive is applied to the sub-floor and the back of the rubber she, with a notched trowel. When the adhesive has set sufficiently, the rubber sheet is lid in position. It is pressed well by using suitable roller. The rubber floorings should not be used before 24 hours of its laying.
Uses
Rubber flooring is used in industrial, residential and public building, theatres, large stores, hospitals, ships, vehicles like buses.
(n) Expoxy Resin Floor Topping
Epoxy resins flooring has very good physical and chemical properties. It has good hardness abrasion resistance, resistance to chemicals, impact an structural strength, adhesion to metals, concrete another surfaces.
Uses
>It is used in chemical industries producing acids, solvents fertilizers etc.
>It is also used in dairies, service stations, tanneries, breweries, ware-houses, metal plating and pickling industries.