FLOORS AND FLOORING

In order to sub-divide the portion between the plinth level or basement level and roof level, the  solid constructions  are carried out. These constructions are known as the floors and the exposed top surfaces of floors are termed as the flooring. The ground floors or basement floors which directly rest on the ground do not require the provision  of a floor. But they are provided with suitable type of  floor covering or simply of a floor. But they are provided with suitable type of floor covering or simply flooring. The other floors of each  storey above the ground level are known as the  upper floors.

The major problems of ground and basement floors are damp exclusion and  thermal insulation. The  moisture is generally  and stability are relatively less importance for ground and basement floors because full support from the ground is available at all the points.
The major problems of upper floors are  strength and stability  as they rest on walls, beams, etc. and also those of sound insulation and fire resistance. The problems  of damp resistance for the upper floors  and flooring will be discussed.

  TYPES OF FLOORS

The  floors are classified into two categories :
1.Timber floors
2.Composite floors.
 The choice of a particular type of floor should be made while considering the factors such as span, maximum  load likely to come on the floor, speed required in construction, materials and labour available, present and future use of the building  etc. A brief description of each floor is given   and labour  available, present and future use of the building, etc. A brief description of  each floor is given  below. 

TIMBER FLOORS

 In this type of floors,  only timber is used as a material.  Following are the types of timber floors :
1. Basement or ground floor of timber
2. Single joist timber floors
3. Double joist timber floors
4. Framed or triple joist timber  floors.

COMPOSITE FLOORS 

   The floors composed of more then one material are known as the composite  floors  and they are found to possess the following advantages over  the timber floors .
1. The composite  floors resist fire in a better way and they are more sound .
Proof than the timber floors.
2.  The composite  floors can be easily cleaned and hence, they posses better Hygienic properties than the timber floors.
3.  The composite floors can be conveniently adopted for  greater spans.

 Following are the types of composite floors;

1. Double flagstone floors
2. Filler joist floors
3.  Jack arch floors
4.  R.C.C. Floors
5.  R.C.C. floors
6.  Pre-cast concrete floors.

TYPES OF FLOORINGS

   In order to give a pleasing appearance to the upper surface of the floor, the various materials are fixed on it. It is usual t provide for ground floor,  a beading of brickbats lime concrete of proportion I part of lime, 2 part of sand and 4 parts of  lime concrete of proportion 1
Part of lime, 2 part  of and and 4 part  of brickbats or brickbat cement concrete of proportion 1: 4: 8 or 1: 6: 12 by volume. For upper floors, the bedding of 50 mm to 80 mm thickness of lime mortar 1:2 or cm 1:6 is provided. This bedding concrete  or cm 1: 6 is provided, this bedding concrete is useful for giving the required slope of the floor surface. This bedding concrete is useful for giving the required  slope  to the floor  surface.

  FACTORS AFFECTING CHOICE OF FLOORING MATERIAL

  Following factors are to be carefully considered before selecting the material for flooring of a particular  building;
1. Appearance
2.  Cleaning
3. Comfort
4.  Cost
5.  Damp resistance
6. Durability
7.  Fire resistance
8.  Hardness
9.  Maintenance
10.  Noise
11.  Slipperiness.
1 Appearance :  The flooring material should  be of desired appearance and it  should produce the colour effect in conformity with the use of building .
 2), Cleaning : the Flooring material should be such that it can be easily and effectively cleaned. It should have effective resistance against absorption of oil, grease, etc
3). Comfort : The flooring material should be such that it gives comfort when used. If the flooring, material possesses reasonably good thermal insulation, it imparts comfort of the residents of the building to a great extent.
 4). Cost : The cost of flooring material should offer sufficient resistance against dampness so that healthy environment prevails in the building. 
 5 ). Damp resistance : the flooring material should be durable and it should be strong enough of impart resistance of wear, tear, chemical  action, temperature changes, etc.
7). Fire resistance :  This quality of flooring material is of more importance for upper floors, It should offer sufficient fire resistance so the a the fire barriers are obtained between different levels of a building. 
 8 )  Hardness : the flooring material should be sufficiently hared of as to have resistance to marks or signs caused by the shifting or rubbing of furniture, equipment etc.
 9 ) Maintenance :  The Flooring material should be such that minimum maintenance is required.  However, when repairs are required, it should be possible of carry or them speedily, easily and with minimum cost.
 10 ) Noise :  If noise is created by the use of flooring materials, it leads of discomfort and hence, at places where silence is required, such flooring material  giving less noise should only be preferred.
 11) Slipperiness : the surface of floor should be smooth but at the same time, it should not be too slippery. It is dangerous for old people children and pregnant women.

MATERIALS USED FOR FLOORING 

The common materials which are used for flooring are as follows :
1) Asphalt
2)  Brick
3)  Concrete
4)  Cork
5)  Glass
6) Linoleum
7) Magnesite
8) Marble
9) Moorum
10)  Mud
11) Plastic
12)  Rubber
13) Stone
14) Terrazo
15) Tile
16)  Timber.
A brief description of each of the above flooring material, with  special reference to its uses, is given below. 
1) Asphalt : Formerly , the asphalt flooring was not favoured because of bad smell and ugly colour of the asphalt. But at present, the asphalt flooring can be carried out in a variety of colours and in different forms
     The asphalt tiles, which are produced from natural asphalt, bitumen, asbestos fibres and mineral pigments are available in different sizes and in a variety of colours.  The asphalt terrazzo is formed by the combination of black or coloured asphalt with marble chips. This  terrazzo is laid hot and the surface is made smooth by a trowel.
 The asphalt flooring is water –proof, vermin-proof, dustless and joint less  It is used  for surfaces subjected of heavy wear as in case of dairies, breweries, hospitals, shops, restaurants, loading platforms, swimming pools, terrace floors etc.

2) Brick :  This material is used  for cheap construction and for places  where heavy articles are to be stacked as in case of  go downs, sheds stores, etc. the bricks are laid  on the floor  and the brickwork is carried out in cement or lime mortar. To get a better on the floor and the brickworks is carried out in cement or lime mortar. To get a better finish, the joints are   pointed. The only drawback of this flooring is that is absorbs water. Otherwise it is  non-slippery, durable.  Sufficiently hard and easily repairable  
     The  sub grade in the form of 100 mm to 150 mm thick cement or lime concrete is prepared. The bricks on edge are directly  laid on the sub grade and all the joints are filled with mortar. The brick flooring should be cured for a minimum  period of seven days before putting in use.
 3 ) Concrete :   The thickness of concrete layer is about 40mm and its is carried out in proportion of 1 part  of cement, 2 part  of sand an 4 part  of coarse aggregate by volume. The size of coarse aggregate varies from 20 mm to 6   The square or diagonal lines are marked on the concrete surfaces when it is still wet. This type . of construction is known as the Indian Patent Stone and is widely used for cheap residential  buildings.
 At places were hard wearing surface is required, the  above the later of cement concrete. The granolithic concrete is composed of cement, sand  after laying the concrete, the surface is tamped and floated with wooden floats. The surface is then finally smoothened by means of steel trowel.
4 )  Cork :  the natural cork is the outer bark of the cork oak tree. This flooring is available in two forms, namely, tiles and carpet.
   The  cork tiles which are manufactured from high grade cork bark, are available in standard wises with varying shades and  different thickness's  The bark is softened  by boiling it  is then scraped, ground, pressed and heated. The heat is applied while  the cork, it being pressed. The heat is continued until the resin in bark is separated. This released resin binds the particles together in a dense mass. This mass is them cut  into tiles.
5)  Glass : This flooring material is used when  it s desired to transmit light to the floor below or to admit light to the basement from the upper floor, The structural gland is available in the form of tiles or slabs or bricks and it can be placed in suitable framework so that  the frame and glass can sustain the anticipated loads. This is not a common flooring material as it is  very costly.
 6 )  Linoleum :  This  flooring material is a mixture of linseed oils, gums and resins, pigments, wood flour, cork dust and other filling materials. It is available in rolls  of  width about 1. 80m or 3. 60m. the thickness varies from 2mm  the greater values being adopted for floors subjected to
 Residential buildings, restaurants, railway carriages and public transport buses, hospitals,  schools, libraries, offices, etc.  It  is however  not recommended for basement Floors,  libraries, offices, etc. It  is however not recommended for basement floors, bathrooms, kitchens, etc.  because it is subjected to rooting when kept wet or moist for some duration of time.
 7) Magnesite :  This  flooring is known  as the composition Flooring or jointless  flooring It consists of a dry mixture of magnesium oxide, a pigment and an inert materials such as asbestos, wood flour or sawdust. The liquid magnesium chloride is added to the powder at site  of work and a plastic material is formed. This material  is then spread on the floor  and the surface is made smooth by a trowel .
  This  flooring material can be laid over stone, concrete or wooden floors A coating of bituminous paint should be provided on the metal surface coming in coming in contact with this flooring  material. This  flooring material is cheap and it can be laid over rough surface. It is used as flooring for schools, office buildings, light factories, etc.
8)  Marble :  This flooring material is used for superior  work and especially where extraordinary cleanliness is required as in case of operation theatres in hospitals, temples, bathrooms, kitchens, etc. ..
 9 ). Moorum : The Moorum is the cheapest flooring material and it can only be  adopted for ground floor,  The Moorum is a form of disintegrated rock with binding material. It  is laid in layers of 80 mm to 150 mm thickness over a prepared sub grade and it is well-consolidated and well-watered every time. Finally, a layer of 25 mm thickness of powder of fine Moorum is spread and water is sprinkled over it.
  The surface is then well-rammed. After ramming. The surfaced is saturated with a 6 mm thin film of water and the surface is well-tramped under the feet of workers till the cream of Moorum rises of the top. The surface is levelled and kept for a day in the cream of Moorum rises of the top. The surface is levelled and kept for a day in that state. It is then rammed again with wooden rammers for three days so that dry hard surface is formed. This surface is then rubbed with thin paste of cow-dung and rammed again for two days during morning hours. To maintain the Moorum floor in good condition, a coating of mud-cow dung mix or cement –dung is applied over  the surface . 
  This type of flooring a is cheap, hard, smooth and easy of construct. It grants comfortable temperature in all seasons and had sufficiently long if well-maintained.
 10 ) Mud : This  flooring is just similar to Moorum flooring except that mud is used in place of Moorum  The moist selected earth is evenly spread out and it is rammed well so as to get a consolidated thickness of about 150 mm. the water is not added during the process of ramming and small quantity of chopped straw may be added ft maintain the  earth before ramming of avoid the  formation of cracks on drying To maintain the mud floor in good condition, a thin coat of cow-dung mixed with  earth or cement-cow-dung in prop. 1:2 to 1:3 is applied on the top  
 This type of flooring is cheap, hard, fairly impervious, easy to construct and easy to maintain It also possesses good thermal insulation property and hence, it remains cool in summer and fairly warm in  winter. This flooring is very popular in the villages.
 11 )  Plastic : This flooring material called poly-vinyl-chloride (P.V.C) and it is fabricated in the form of tiles of different sizes and various colour shades. The P.V.C. tile flooring Is resilient, smooth and good looking. It can be easily cleaned. It is however costly and can be easily damaged when it comes into contact with burning objects These tiles can be laid economically on the concrete floors.
 The P.V. C. tiles are usually not laid on the wooden floors as the cost of preparing the surface to receive these tiles is considerable. This flooring material is used with success practically in all types of buildings such as hospitals, offices, shops, churches, schools, hotels, residential buildings, laboratories, etc.
 12 ) Rubber : This Flooring material is a mixture of raw rubber, fillers such as fibre, cork, etc. and pigments. A small percentage of sulphur is added of accelerate the  process of vulcanization.
  The material is available either in sheep form or tile form and in a variety of colours. It can be laid over any smooth and dry surface. This flooring material is elastic, attractive in appearance, noiseless, sanitary, comparatively warm and  soft, but it is affected by oil and grease. This flooring material is used for bathrooms, hospitals, X-ray rooms, etc.
 13 ) Stone : The flooring  of this material consists of square of rectangular slabs of stones. The usual sizes are 300 mm 8 mm, 450 mm. 600 mm*600 mm and 450 mm * 600 mm. the thickness of stone slabs varies from 20 mm to 40 mm.
   These stones to be sued for flooring should be hard, durable and of good quality. Before fixing in position, the stone slabs are dressed on all edges and the joints are finished with cement.
  This type of flooring is durable, resistant to wear and cheap in stone districts. It  is easily constructed and repairs can be carried out without difficulty. If the stone slabs  are not properly set, its usage becomes uncomfortable.

 The stone slabs may be rough or polished. The former variety is used  for inferior work such as go downs  sheds, stores, etc. and  the latter variety is used where there is considerable wear and tear as in case of bus shelters, schools, hospitals, etc.