Floor system

Definition of floor
• The surfaces with their necessary
supports which provides
accommodation to the users to live at
different levels in a building.
• The floor just above the ground level - ground
floor,
• floor constructed below ground level in a
basement of a building - basement floor.
• Any floor above the ground floor, except the
terrace or roof of a building - upper or
suspended floor.
• The primary function of any floor is to provide
a level surface which is capable of supporting
all the live and dead loads imposed.
Functional requirement of floors
Ground floors
• Support without failure the loads improved on it by
people and furniture - domestic buildings;
• In factories, warehouses etc floors should be strong
enough to carry all incidental loads which including
wares and machinery.
• Prevent dampness inside the building by providing a
damp proof membrane in or below the floor.
Suspended ground floors - properly ventilated.
• Prevent the growth of vegetable matter and
other living organisms inside the building.
• Be reasonably durable - minimum maintenance
or replacement work.
• Provide a surface finish with a standard of
appearance, comfort, safety, cleanliness and
heat retention suitable to the needs of
inhabitants of the building.
Advantages of solid ground floors
• They are relatively cheap especially on level
sites.
• The quantity of walling required is less than
that required for suspended floors.
• They do not require under floor ventilations.
• They are not susceptible to dry rot unlike
timber floors
• They offer a wide selection of floor finish.
Minimum Requirements for Suspended Timber
Ground Floors
• Ground surface covered with a layer of
concrete not less than 100mm thick, consisting
of cement, fine and coarse aggregates.
• Alternatively concrete @ least 50mm thick laid
on at least 1200 gauge polythene sheet.
• The concrete is finished so that top surface is
entirely above the highest level of the adjoining
ground or it should be laid to falls to a drainage
outlet above the lowest level of the adjoining
ground.
• Ventilated air surface above the upper surface of
the concrete of not less than 75mm to the
underside of a wall plate, and of not less than
150mm to the under wide of any suspended
timbers.
• The sleeper walls are built half brick thick and
honey-combed to permit a free flow of air under
the floors from the air brick to the external wall.
• Sleeper walls built across each room at a spacing
of from 1200 to 1800mm c/c, with the end walls
positioned about 50-100mm from the load-
bearing walls.
• Dpc provided on top of all sleeper walls
to prevent moisture reaching any timber.
• Dpc ideally flexible to allow for any
movement without fracturing and must
be lapped at joists.
• Timber wall plate, often 100x50mm,
bedded in mortar above dpc - assists in
spreading the load from each joist over
the wall below.
• Floor joists often 50x100mm, spaced at 400
c/c and screw nailed to the wall plate. Actual
spacing influenced by the thickness of the
boarding.
• End of joists sometimes cut on the splay and
best kept a short distance (20mm) away from
the wall to prevent moisture from being
absorbed at the end of the joist.
• The gap between the joists and the walls is
closed by skirting at the base of the wall or
partition.
Upper floors
• Sustain its own weight and any other
weights superimposed on it e.g. the
weights of walls, roofs, persons and their
possessions.
• Offer fire resistance especially in very tall
buildings, in buildings where there are
many occupants and in buildings where
large combustible goods are stored.
• Minimize noise transfer from the upper
floor to the lower floor.
• Be reasonably durable.
• Span the building economically and be
fairly quickly erected or constructed.
• Provide an acceptable surface finish
which is safe, comfortable, clean and
of good appearance.
• To accommodate services readily.
Reinforced Concrete Floors
• These fall into two broad categories; in-situ
and precast.
• Reinforced concrete floors - better
resistance to damage by fire and can safely
support greater superimposed loads than
timber floors of similar depths, provide
good thermal rigidity and insulation against
airborne sounds.
• Concrete strong in compression but
relatively weak in tension, whereas steel is
strong in tension. In reinforced concrete the
steel makes good the inadequacy of
concrete and the concrete protects the
steel from the effects of fire.
• Reinforced bars - adequate cover of
concrete, normally not less than 19mm in
slabs and 25mm in beams.
In-situ Cast Floors
• A wet form of construction - require temporary
support (formwork) until the concrete is strong
enough to bear its loads.
Solid Concrete Floor Slab
• This type is commonly used when the slab is to
act as a membrane supported on columns
without beams, or where a high degree of
lateral rigidity is required to be provided by the
floor.
• In buildings up to four storeys in height, in its
simplest form, it may prove to be more
economic than hollow block construction.
Advantages
• Since soffit side is flat without protruding
beams, simple formwork is used and lighting is
also easily installed.
• Applied ceiling is not necessary.
• Gives maximum freedom in design on plan and
section.
• More economic than hollow floors.
Disadvantages
• It is heavy with thickness depending on load
and span.
Precast Concrete Floors.
• Provide an alternative form of
construction to timber floors and in-situ
reinforced floors.
• Reduce construction time and avoid use
of shuttering .
• For small jobs it is not usually as cheap as
in-situ concrete. Used where the size of
the job justifies it.
Advantages
• Elimination of formwork except for nominal
propping which is required with some systems.
• Curing time eliminated – construction completed
earlier.
• Superior quality control of product possible with
factory produced components.
Disadvantages
• Less flexible in design terms
• Formation of large openings in the floor for ducts,
shafts and stairwells usually formed by casting an
in-situ concrete floor strip around the opening.
Composite Floors
• These floors are a combination of precast
units and in-situ concrete.
• The precast used to provide the strength
of the floor with the smallest depth
practicable and at the same time act as
permanent formwork to the in-situ
topping which provide the compressive
strength required.
Forms of composite floors
• Thin pre-stressed planks with a side keg and
covered with an in-situ topping.
• Reinforced or pre-stressed narrow beams
which are placed at 600 c/c and are bridged
by concrete filler blocks, the whole
combination being covered with in-situ
topping.
 Question
Using sketches give examples of floors and
explain factors to consider when choosing a
floor structure
• Used in buildings to protect sensitive areas
from noise or to contain noise
• Provide airborne noise isolation through
incorporation of an air layer between the
structural slab and the floating slab
• Provide impact, shock and vibration control