Floor Finishing
Floors are the horizontal elements of a building
structure which divide the building into different levels
for the purpose of creating more accommodation within
a limited space.
The floor consists of following two components.
a. Sub floor (or) base course (Slab).
b. Floor covering (or) Flooring top wearing surface).
CON…
A) A sub floor (or) base course
The purpose of this component is to impart strength
and stability to support floor covering and all other
superimposed loads.
B) Floor covering (or) Flooring
This is the covering over the sub floor and is
meant to provide a hard, clean, smooth,
impervious, durable and attractive surface to the floor.
CON…
The choice of floor finishes depends on the use to which the floor
is likely to be employed.
The following are the factors that affect the choice of flooring
materials:
1. Initial cost: The cost of the material should be in conformity with
the type of building, and its likely use.
2. Appearance: covering should give pleasing appearance, it
should produce a desired color effect and architectural beauty.
3. Cleanliness: the flooring should be capable of being
cleaned easily, and it should be non absorbent.
4. Durability: the flooring should have sufficient
resistance to wear, temperature changes, disintegration
with time and decay.
5. Damp resistance: flooring should offer sufficient
resistance against dampness.
6. Thermal insulation: the flooring should offer
reasonably good thermal insulation.
7. Sound insulation: flooring should insulate the noise. It
should not be such that noise is produced when users walk
on it.
8. Fire resistance: Flooring material should offer
sufficient fire resistance so that fire barriers are obtained
between different levels of building.
9. Smoothness: the flooring material should be smooth,
and should have even surface. However it should not be
slippery.
10. Hardness: It should be sufficiently hard so as to have
resistance to indentation marks, in prints etc.
11. Maintenance: the flooring material should require
least maintenance. However, whenever repairs are
required, it should be such that repairs can be done easily
with least expenditure.
The types of flooring used are:
1) Mud flooring 11) Tiles
2) Muram flooring 12) Timber
3) Brick 13 ) Rubber
14) Asphalt flooring
4) Flag stone
15) P.V.C.
5) Cement concrete
16 ) Carpet flooring
6) granolithic flooring 17 ) Linoleum flooring
7 )Terrazzo 18 ) Glass flooring
8 ) Ceramic floor tiles 19 ) Cork flooring
9 ) Mosaic
10) Marble
BRICK FLOORING
• Is used in cheap constructions, especially where good
bricks are available.
• Is specially suited for warehouses, stores, pedestrian
walk ways, etc.
• Good quality bricks of various shapes and colors can
be used.
• Base course:
Sub grade is compacted properly and a 7.5 cm thick
layer of sand is spread.
10-15cm thick layer of lean concrete is laid over
the prepared sub grade.
Slopes shall be properly provided
Construction:
Bricks shall be socked and wetted
The joints are rendered flushed and finished
The brick flooring shall be cured for 3-7 days to
improve the durability
Brick Flooring
FLAG STONE FLOORING
• Dressed stone having rectangular or square sizes or any
shapes are used for making floors.
• Stone flooring can be used for garages, entrance
corridors, pedestrian walkways, etc.
•Base course:
properly compacted ground or concrete base
• Construction:
Joints are pointed and cured
Provision of slope is necessary
• Advantages:
Hard, durable and resistant to wear
and tear
Easy in construction and
maintenance
• Not suitable in places like residential building or important
public building.
Flagstone Flooring
CEMENT CONCRETE FLOORING
• Suitable for residential, commercial and even industrial
buildings, laboratories, garage and ware houses.
• Properties:
Moderately cheap, durable and easy to construct
Moderately resistant to oil and weak acids
•Components:
Base concrete and
Toping (wearing) surface.
• Construction:
The components can be constructed monolithically or
independently
Monolithically♦ the topping is damaged during
subsequent operation
♦ hair cracks are developed
♦ work progress is low
Independently: base surface is covered with slurry, mix [Link]
In both cases the floor should be cured properly
(at least for 7 days).
GRANOLITHIC FLOORING
• Granolithic finish consists of rich concrete made with very
hard and tough quality coarse aggregates such as granite,
basalt, quartzite
• Suitable where hard resistant to wearing and durable floor
is needed.
•Mix proportion:
[Link] to [Link] for heavy duty floors
[Link] for public buildings
• Thickness of finish:
Minimum of 25mm when laid monolithically with
the top concrete.
Minimum of 35mm when laid over hardened surface.
• Construction:
Shall be laid before the base coarse has set
Surface is tamped and floated
Smoothened by steel trowel
Grinding and polishing is done after curing
TILED FLOORING
• Suitable:
Residential houses, offices, schools and other
public buildings.
•Properties:
Made of cement, clay, concrete or terrazzo
Constructed in Square, hexagonal or other shapes
and many colors.
•Construction:
Similar to laying stone or brick floor
Over a concrete base, a 25 to 30 mm thick layer
of mortar is spread
Neat cement slurry is spread over the bedding mortar
Cement grouting of the joints
The flooring need to be cured for 7 days
Grinding and polishing
WOODEN/TIMBER (PARQUET) FLOORING
Timber is one of the oldest materials for floor finishing.
Suitable:
Living and Dinning Rooms, Bed rooms, dance halls,
auditoriums
Properties:
Must have hard, Resistant to wear and durable
surface
Selection shall be based on texture, color, defects
and grain
Available in various shapes, sizes, texture and color
Shall be avoided in moist areas
Sub-base: cement screed finished concrete base
Construction:
Can be glued to concrete floors
Can be joined by nails
Protective coating like varnish, lacquer, wax shall be
applied for long service periods
TERRAZZO FLOORING
• Terrazzo is concrete containing white and/or coloured
cement and marble chips as an aggregate in proportion of
1:2 to 1:3.
• Suitable to:
Residential, Offices and other public buildings
• Properties:
Marble Chips exposed by grinding, may vary
from 3-6 mm
Decorative and high wearing resistance
Can be found in market as precast terrazzo in the
form of tiles (20-30 cm, t = 2-3cm) even for Stair
Treads and Risers or as cast in situ.
• Sub-base: concrete base
• Construction:
Shall be casted with the required mix proportion
Grinding in three levels and then cement grout to
seal holes
Mirror - Polishing
MOSAIC FLOORING
Mosaic flooring is made of small pieces of broken
tiles of china glazed or of cement, or of marble
arranged in different pattern
Suitable:
For Walls, Floors, Both internal and external,
Stairs
Properties:
Glazed or Unglazed
Impervious to water and have dense structure.
Types:
Porcelain - made by dust press method from
ceramic materials with vitreous body, resistant to
freezing and thawing and abrasive wear.
Natural Clay (Ceramic) – made of natural clays or
shale, which produce a strong longwearing structure
with slightly textured surface.
Sub-base: concrete base
Construction:
Concrete base made of mortar– mortar is spread &
leveled to a depth of 5 to 8 cm.
3mm thick suitable cementing material in the form of
paste is spread
Mosaics are arranged in different pattern and
hammered
Stone roller about 30 cm in dia. and 45-60 cm long is
passed
White cement grout of creamy consistency is applied
PLASTIC (PVC) FLOORING
• It is made of plastic material, called Poly-Vinyl-chloride
(PVC).
• Suitable:
For residential (bedrooms) as well as non
residential building
• Properties:
Fabricated in rolls or tiles with different colors
Resilient, smooth, good looking and cleanable
Easily damaged by heat or chemicals
Sub-base:
concrete base (smoothly finished cement screed)
Construction:
Adhesive shall be applied to the cement screed surface
Tiles are then pressed gently using lightweight rollers
Floor is washed with warm soap water
MARBLE FLOORING
Marble flooring is one of the most expensive floor finishes.
Suitable:
Residential buildings (Stairs, Corridor, Kitchens),
Public and Worship places
Properties:
Made of sedimentary rocks
Different sources – Granite, Marble
Durable, Water proof but expensive
Sub-base:
concrete base
Construction:
Similar to tile and terrazzo flooring
Has to be cured and cleaned before use
Mirror - Polishing
ASPHALT FLOORING
are of many types and are used where wear resistance
and durability are the main design factor.
Suitable:
Mainly used in garages, stores, etc
Properties:
Wear resistance and durable
Resilient, sound proof, non-absorbent and
moisture proof
Used for basement floors, ground floors,
floors exposed to external weather condition
Sub-base:
concrete base
•Types:
Asphalt mastic: Made of sand and asphalt mixed
hot and laid in continuous sheets.
Asphalt Titles – made of asphalt and ot her ingredients
such as asbestos fibers, by pressing the mix in different
sizes, with thickness varying usually from 3 to 6 mm.
Asphalt Mosaic – similar to mastic but made with
marble chips in the place of sand.
Construction:
The mix is poured on the concrete base
Spread by means of trowel to get a level surface
A thin layer of sand is spread which is then rubbed
with a trowel
Asphalt tiles are simply glued to the base surface
RUBBER FLOORING
It consists of sheets or tiles of rubber, in variety of patterns
and colors.
Suitable:
Offices or public building like hospitals, schools, gym
etc.
Properties:
It is manufactured by mixing pure rubber with fillers
such as cotton fiber, granulated cork or asbestos fire.
Resilient and noise proof however they are costly
Sub-base:
concrete base or wood
Construction:
Fixed to the floor by means of appropriate adhesive or
Rubber Flooring
CORK FLOORING
Manufactured by baking cork granules with phenolic or
other resin binders under pressure.
Suitable:
Areas where quiet and comfort are of paramount
importance such as libraries, theaters, art galleries,
broadcasting stations, etc.
Properties:
Perfectly noiseless
They are available in various sizes, thickness, and
shades [size= 10x10cm to 30x90cm, Thickness= 5 to
15mm]
Sub-base:
concrete base or wood
Construction:
Fixed to concrete base by inserting a layer of
saturated felt
By using fixing mechanism (suspended cork)
GLASS FLOORING
This is a special purpose flooring used in circumstances where it
is desired to transmit light from upper floor to lower floor.
Suitable:
Basement and upper floor where light has to be transmitted.
Very costly and not commonly used.
Properties:
Structural glass, in the form of tiles or slabs
( t = 12 to 30 mm)
Sub-base:
Steel Frames
Construction:
Suspended on closely placed frames
Care should be taken to avoid joint failure
GLASS FLOORING
LINOLEUM FLOORING
Linoleum sheets or tiles are manufactured by mixing
oxidized linseed oil in gum, resins, pigments, wood flour,
cork dust and other filler materials.
Suitable:
Except for Bath rooms, kitchens, etc
Properties:
Seasoned in ovens for 2-4 weeks (given several coats
of lacquer for greater stain and spot resistance)
Attractive, resilient, durable, cheap and easily cleanable
Subjected to rotting when kept wet or moist for some
time
Sub-base:
Concrete or wood base
Construction:
Linoleum sheets are easily spread or
Fixed or glued to base in various patterns
The sheets are either plain or printed.
Available in 2-6mm thickness and 2-4m wide roll
LINOLEUM FLOORING
CARPET FLOORING
• A textile floor covering consisting of an upper layer of
"pile" attached to a backing.
Suitable:
Passage ways, Bed Rooms, Hall ways
Properties:
The pile is generally either made from wool or a
manmade fiber such as polypropylene, and usually consists
of twisted tufts which are often heat-treated
to maintain their structure.
Sub-base:
Concrete or wood base
Construction:
Carpets and carpet tiles can be laid loose, stuck with a
suitable adhesive or in the case of carpets edge fixed
using special grip strips.
CARPET FLOORING
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