2. Floors And Flooring
Floors divide the building into different levels one
above the other .The purpose of providing a number
of floors is to get the maximum living area within a
restricted site . The purpose of a floor is - To provide
a level surface. To support live and dead loads. A
floor must satisfy the following requirements –
Adequate strength and stability. Adequate fire
resistance. Sound insulation. Damp resistance.
Thermal insulation. Floors are of two types – Ground
floors. Upper floors.
4. MUD AND MURAM FLOORING
MUD FLOORING Used for unimportant buildings,
particularly in villages. MERITS Cheap, hard and fairly
impervious. Easy in construction and maintenance. Good
thermal insulation. DEMERITS For proper maintenance,
the floors are required to be given a wash of cement cow
dung plaster once or twice a week which is objectionable
from sanitary considerations.
5. NATURAL STONE FLOORING
Natural stone refers to a variety of mountain
born materials including Slate,
Marble, Limestone, Travertine, Granite, and
Sandstone. Each of these has slightly
different properties.
6. CLAY/CERAMIC TILE FLOORING
Ceramics are an ancient craft that date back some
4,000 years, originating in Ancient Egypt around
4,700 BCE.
The origin of the word “ceramic” comes from the
Greek word “keramos,” or pottery. The word “tile”
originates from the Latin “tegula” and its French
derivative, “tuile.”Tiles are made from clay, which
once shaped and dried, are fired in a kiln at very
hot temperatures. This process hardens the tiles,
creating “bisque,” which can then be glazed and
fired a second time. Tiles can also be
used unglazed, although the color range is limited
to the natural shades of the clay.
7. CEMENT CONCRETE FLOORING
CEMENT CONCRETE FLOORING Used for
residential, commercial and industrial buildings.
The floor consists of two components – The two
components of the floor can be constructed either
monolithically or non-monolithically. Base course
may be 7.5 to 10 cm thick. It may be either in lean
cement concrete (1 : 3 : 6 or 1 : 5 : 10) or lime
concrete containing 40% mortar of 1 : 2 lime-sand
and 60% coarse aggregate. The topping is then
laid in square or rectangular panels of size 1X1 or
2X2 or 1X2 m. It consists of 1 : 2 : 4 cement
concrete.
8. PAVEMENT BLOCKS FLOORING
This is also known as brick
paving .It is a decorative method
of creating a hard surface .They
are used for drive ways
,pavements, town centres etc.
9. TREMIX FLOORING
Tremix flooring is a special type of flooring mostly being done in the industrial sector. It provides
better wearing and tearing properties. It is generally used for industrial purpose, where rigid
surface necessary for machine foundation, light load carrier vehicle and light weight cranes.
Generally the mix of concrete used for Tremix is 1:1:5:3 (1 cement: 1.5 sand and: 3 stone
aggregates), mostly rich mix of 1:1:2 preferred for better wear and tear. In this flooring
necessary reinforcement provides depending upon the thickness of the flooring, whereas the
thickness of concrete is decided from 100 to 200 mm over PCC (1:4:8) and well prepared stone
soling base ranging from 230 to 300 mm. In industrial flooring PCC base should be kept up to
100 mm and same as floor concrete 150 mm, may be satisfactory for heavy duty areas
such as warehouses, garage and machine shops.
10. IPS FLOORING
IPS flooring stands for Indian patent stone
flooring, it is a basic type of flooring which
provides good wearing properties. It is generally
used for all types of floors and mix of concrete
used for IPS flooring specification is 1:1.5:3
(cement, sand and stone aggregates). As per
the nature of use the flooring thickness of
concrete is decided from 25 mm to 50 mm. It is
laid over the concrete base (1:4:8), which is
almost 3 to 4 inches thick plain cement concrete
(PCC) base. You can decide the thickness of the IPS
flooring as per the requirement of work; in residential
floor 75 mm floor thickness is sufficient whereas
industrial floor thickness should be kept 150 mm.
11. ASPHALT FLOORING
The technology used in making
asphalt tiles and sheets for
flooring has improved
considerably. Asphalt tiles and
sheets are available in different
colours and forms.
12. BRICK FLOORING
Brick flooring has been used for centuries
in homes and offices, as sidewalks and
streets, and for buildings. It's been
popular enough that brick pattern
laminate flooring was created for people
who wanted the look without having the
rough texture and challenge of cleaning
brick flooring.
13. TERRAZZO FLOORING
Terrazzo is a highly versatile material that has been
used as a flooring product since Roman times but
can be moulded into almost any shape. Terrazzo
tiles and Terrazzo flooring is used throughout the
world in locations such as train stations, airports,
shopping malls and supermarkets and enjoys an
enviable reputation due to its combination of
durability, ease of maintenance, beauty and
performance.
14. MOSAIC FLOORING
MOSAIC FLOORING Made of small pieces of
broken tiles of china
glazed/cement/marble arranged in
different pattern. Tiles used are available in
a variety of patterns and colours.
Commonly used in operation theatres,
temples, bathrooms and superior type of
building floors.
15. TILED FLOORING
TILED FLOORING Constructed from square or
any other shape made of clay, cement or
terrazzo. Available in different sizes and
thicknesses. Used in residential houses,
offices, schools and other public buildings. An
alternative to terrazzo flooring. MERITS Non
absorbent, decorative and durable. Quick
laying of floors. Easily repaired. DEMERITS
Initial and maintenance cost is high. On
becoming wet, provides a slippery surface.
16. TIMBER FLOORING
TIMBER FLOORING Not used much for
residential buildings in India because it is
costly. Used for carpentry halls, dancing
halls, auditoriums etc.Common in hilly areas
where timber is cheap and available. Entire
area below the floor is covered with an
impervious material(cement concrete or
asphalt) to prevent dampness. Elastic in
nature. Resistant to wear and tear.
17. RUBBER FLOORING
RUBBER FLOORING Consists of sheets or
tiles of rubber in a variety of patterns and
colours with thickness varying from 3 to
10 mm. Sheet or tile is manufactured by
mixing pure rubber with fillers such as
cotton fiber, granulated cork or asbestos
fiber. Sheets/tiles are fixed to concrete
base by appropriate adhesives. Resilient
and noise proof. They are costly. Used in
office or public buildings.
18. LINOLEUM FLOORING
LINOLEUM FLOORING A covering
available in rolls which is spread directly
on concrete or wooden flooring.
Linoleum sheets may be plain or
printed. It may be 2 to 6 mm thick and 2
to 4 m wide. Linoleum tiles are also
available. Linoleum coverings are
attractive, resilient, durable, cheap and
can be cleaned easily. It rots when gets
wet. Hence it cannot be used for
bathrooms and kitchens.
19. CORK FLOORING
CORK FLOORING Cork is the outer
bark of cork oak tree. This flooring
is perfectly noiseless and is used in
libraries, theatres, art galleries etc.
It may be in the form of either carpet
or tiles. It is fixed to a concrete
base. Its size varies from 10 cm X
10 cm to 30 cm X 90 cm and
thickness varies from 5 mm to 15
mm.
20. GLASS FLOORING
GLASS FLOORING It is used where light is
to be transmitted from upper floor to
lower floor. Structural glass is available in
the form of tiles or slabs. Its thickness
varies from 12 to 30 mm. These slabs or
tiles are fixed in closely spaced frames. It is
very costly and therefore not commonly
used.
21. PLASTIC OR P.V.C. FLOORING
PLASTIC OR P.V.C. FLOORING It is made of plastic
material fabricated in the form of tiles of
different sizes and colour shades. Widely used
in all types of buildings. The tiles are laid on
concrete base. The floor is washed with warm
soap water before use. It is resilient, smooth,
good looking and can be cleaned easily. It is
costly and slippery and is damaged when comes
in contact with burning objects.
22. VINYLE FLOORING
Vinyl tile is a simple, inexpensive
way to cover a floor. Many tiles
have a self-adhesive that only
requires peeling off the backing
and sticking them down. Tiles
without the backing require
spreading an adhesive over the
floor with a notched trowel, then
setting the tiles.
23. LAMINATE FLOORING
Laminate flooring consist of two layers, one is
outer layer, a glued-on layer and an inner layer.
Laminate flooring look like wooden flooring,
some even has a look of marble and granite.
Laminate flooring gives the flexibility. Almost any
wood patterned or lightly colored stone
patterned laminate floor will give the
opportunity to change the look of a room
completely. If you are putting borders in a small
room that is not right because due to furniture
you will not be able to see any borders. But
these borders will look very attractive and
decent in big rooms.