FLOORS

In order to sub-divide the portion between the plinth level or basement level and roof level, solid constructions are Carrie
out. These constructions are known as floors and exposed top surface of floors are termed as floorings. Purpose of flooring
is to get a good hard, level and beautiful surface for living. The floors directly resting on the ground are known as ground
floors while the floors of each storey are known as upper floors.
1. Ground Floor
2. Upper Flors

Components of Floor

A floor consist of two components

1. Floor base
2. Covering for Base Floor.
The floor base is provided to support the floor covering or flooring. For Ground floors base is provided to reduce
settlement, dampness and thermal insulation.

A. Ground Floor:
Apart from giving good finished surface, these floors should have good damp resistance. The ground surface is
rammed well and a layer of red earth or sand is placed which is compacted. A layer of broken bricks, stones etc. is
provided up to 150 mm below floor finish level and rammed. While ramming the surface is kept moist to get good
compaction. Then 1 : 4 : 8 concrete of 100 to 150 mm thickness is provided as base course. Over this bed floor finish is
laid.

The types of flooring used are:

1. Mud and moorum 2. Brick 3. Flag stone 4. Cement concrete 5. Terrazzo

6. Mosaic 7. Marble 8. Tiles 9. Timber 10. Rubber 11. P.V.C.

1. Mud and Moorum Flooring: These floorings are used in low cost housing, specially in villages. Over the hard layer of
earth filling
mud or moorum layer is provided. The floor needs a thin wash of cow dung at least once a weak.
2. Brick Flooring: This is also a cheap floor construction. It is commonly used in godowns and factories. Bricks are
laid flat or on
edges. Bricks of good quality should be used for the construction. Brick layer is provided on sand bed or on lean concrete
(1 : 8 : 16) bed. In both cases joints are rendered flush and finished with cement mortar.
3. Flag Stone Flooring: Laminated sand stones or slates of 20 mm to 40 mm thick in the form of slabs of 300 mm × 300
mm or 450 mm
× 450 mm or in the form of rectangles of size 450 mm × 600 mm are used as floor finishes. The stone slabs are
laid on 20 to 25 mm thick mortar spread over concrete bed. The joints are to be finished with rich mortar.
4. Cement Concrete Floors: It is modestly cheap and durable floor and hence commonly used in residential, commercial
and industrial
buildings. It consists of two courses-base course and wearing coat. Base course is laid over well compacted soil. Its
thickness is usually 75 mm to 100 mm. It consists of lean cement concrete mix (1 : 4 : 8) or lime concrete containing 40%
of 1 : 2 lime mortar and 60% of coarse aggregate of 40 mm size. After base coarse is hardened wearing coat of 40 mm is
laid. It consists of panels of 1 m × 1 m, 2 m × 2 m or 1 m × 2 m. Alternate panels are laid with 1 : 2 : 4 concrete using
wooden, glass or asbestos strip separators of 1.5 mm to 2.0 mm thickness. To get good bond between base coarse and
wearing coat cement slurry wash is given before laying wearing coat panels. After 3–4 days of laying of one set of panel,
another alternate panels are laid. Top of these panels are finished by tamping the surface with wooden floats and tapping
with trowels, till cement slurry appears on top. It needs curing for 7 to 14 days. To get good appearance many times red-
oxide finishing coat is provided.
5. Terrazzo Flooring: Terrazzo finishing coat is applied over concrete flooring to get pleasing appearance. Terrazzo finish
consists of 75 to 80% of surface marble chips embedded in cement mortar. Marble chips are mixed in
cement in the proportion 1 : 1.25 to 1 : 2 and about 6 mm terrazzo topping is laid. The top is tamped
and
rolled. Additional marble chips are spread during tamping to get proper distribution of marble chips on the surface. After
drying it for 12 to 20 hours, it is cured for 2–3 days.

Then grinding is made in the following three steps:

Ist grinding—Using coarse grade (No. 60) carborundum stones.
IInd grinding—Using medium grade (No. 120) carborundum stones.
IIIrd grinding—Using fine grade (No. 320) carborundum stones.
Plenty of water is used during grinding. After each grinding cement grout of cream-like consistency is applied and
cured for 6–7 days. After final grinding and curing the floor is washed with plenty of water and then with dilute oxalic acid
solution. Then floor is finished with polishing using machines and wax polish.

6. Mosaic Flooring: It consists of a finishing coat of small pieces of broken tiles of China glazed or of marble arranged in
different
patterns set in lime-surkhi or cement mortar. The base coarse is concrete flooring and on it 30 to 40 mm mortar layer is
provided. On this mortar layer broken pieces of China glazed or marble are set to get different attractive patterns. After 20
to 24 hours of drying the top is rubbed with carborundum stone to get smooth and polished surface.
7. Marble Flooring: Marble slabs are cut to get marble tiles of 20 to 25 mm thickness. They are laid on floors similar to
other tiles.
With power driven machine surface is polished to get even and shining surface. This type of flooring is widely used in
hospitals and temples.
8. Tiled Flooring: This is an alternative to terrazzo flooring, used commonly used in residential, office and commercial
buildings.
Tiles of clay, cement or terrazzo of standard sizes are manufactured in factories under controlled conditions. On the
concrete base, 25 mm to 30 mm thick mortar is laid and these tiles are placed and pressed with trowel or wooden mallet.
Before placing tiles care is taken to see that, neat cement slurry is applied to bottom side and sides of tiles to get good
bond. Next day joints are cleaned of loose mortar and raked up to 5 mm depth. Then that is filled with colored cement
slurry to get uniform color on the top surface. After curing for 7 days grinding and polishing is made as in the case of
terrazzo flooring.
9. Timber Flooring: Timber flooring is used in dancing halls and in auditoriums. Timber plates may be directly placed on
concrete
bed or may be provided over timber frame work. In latter case it is necessary to provide proper
ventilation
below the floor. This flooring is costly.
10. Rubber Flooring: Tiles or sheets of rubber with fillers such as cotton fibers, asbestos fiber or granulated cork are
manufactured in variety of patterns and colors. These sheets or tiles may be fixed to concrete or timber floors. These floors
are attractive and noise proof. However they are costly.
11. P.V.C. Flooring: Poly-Vinyl-Chloride (PVC) is a plastic which is available in different color and shade. Nowadays
tiles of this
material are used widely. Adhesives are applied on concrete base as well as on bottom of PVC tiles. Then the tile is
pressed gently with 5 kg wooden roller till the oozing of adhesive is seen. The oozed out adhesive is wiped and the floor is
washed with warm soap water. The floor finish is smooth, attractive and can be easily cleaned. However it is slippery and
costly.

B. Upper Floor
In olden days upper floors were made of timber floors or steel joist and stone slabs. For larger spans jack arch floorings
were used. Jack arch floor consisted of I-section steel beams supported on walls and gap between I-sections beams filled
with concrete arch.
Nowadays R.C.C. floors are commonly used. It may consist of only slab, if
span is less or it may be beam and slab flooring. In halls of hotels and assembly, many provide flat slabs i.e. slabs directly
supported over columns. The columns are provided with widened portion called column head. They give elegant look to
halls, particularly when the head room is high. R.C.C. floors need proper thickness and reinforcements. They are arrived at
by structural design engineers.

In R.C.C. concrete is used to resist compression and steel to resist tension. Hence the concrete in tension zone do not
contribute in resisting the load. It just keeps the steel at required position. In reinforced brick slab an attempt is made to
replace concrete in tension zone by bricks. It is better thermal efficient than solid concrete floors.