2. FLOOR FINISHES
Flooring includes a variety of materials that are used to
permanently cover a floor.There are three main categories of
flooring products-
Commercial-designed for educational, health care, retail,light
industrial, office and other commercial settings.Product
includes wear-resistant carpets,laminate flooring,ceramic tile.
Residential-designed for bathroom,bedroom,dining
room,family room,foyers,home offices,kitchens and living
room. Products include ceramic tile,laminates,granite and
wood floors.
Industrial-designed for factories, garages, warehouses,
etc.Products includes, vinyl tiles, ceramic tiles, granite.
3. Before constructing the flooring, levelling should be done
and marking should be done on wall at 30 cm above from
required level. For this purpose spirit level or mercury level
should be used. For better accuracy, water level used by
mason (mistry), should not be used. Due to more length of
pipe and friction inside the pipe, results are not accurate.
One should use long wooden patty while making floors so
that floor surface can be flat.
In some places concrete is used before flooring.This
concrete is known as subgrade.The places where flooring is
done directly on soil, surface should be rammed with the
help of wooden hammer, so that the surface should not be
settled down. If concrete is used after 24 hours, cement
slurry (2 kg cement per square meter) should be laid and
then flooring is done. If this concreting is done on ground it
is known as base concrete. If it is done on RCC slab, it is
known as kusson of size 100 mm and 40 mm respectively.
5. TILES
Tiles
Types : Ceramic, vitrified and glass mosaic.
Finish : Glossy
Durability : 10-15 years
Usage :Tiles are mostly used for exteriors
such as lobby and verandah and can be
fitted with cement.
Installation time : 2 days
Cost (per sq ft): Ceramic: Rs 15-40; vitrified:
Rs 32-150; glass mosaic: Rs 275-1,200
Labour cost : Rs 10-25 a sq ft
Installation cost for a 12'x12' room : Rs
5,120.
The tiles need to be laid down smoothly. If
uneven, air pockets between the tiles will
lead to cracks.
CERAMICTILES
6. The tiles shall be of approved make and shall generally conform to IS:15622.
They shall be flat and true to shape and free from blisters, crazing, chips, welts,
crawling or other imperfections detracting from their appearance.The tiles shall
be tested in accordance with IS:13630.
The tiles shall be square or rectangular of nominal size such as 150 x 150 mm,
200 x 200 mm, 300 x 300 ,The thickness of the tiles shall be 7 mm as specified
Tolerance in SizeThe length of all four sides shall be measured correct to 0.1 mm
and average length / breadth shall not vary more than ± 0.8 mm from the
specified dimension.The variation of individual dimension from average value of
length/breadth shall not exceed ± 0.5 mm.Tolerance in thickness shall be ± 0.4
mm.
NOTE : The actual size of tiles supplied shall be 1 mm less so that with 1 mm
joint, the tile when laid shall conform to the nominal size.
The top surface of the tiles shall be glazed and the glaze shall be either glossy or
matt as specified.The underside of the tiles shall not have glaze on more than
5% of the area in order that the tile may adhere properly to the base. The edges
of the tiles shall be preferably free from glaze. However, any glaze if
unavoidable, shall be permissible on only upto 50 per cent of the surface area of
the edges.
Preparation of Surface and Laying
Base concrete or the RCC slab on which the tiles are to be laid shall be cleaned,
wetted and mopped. The bedding for the tile shall be with cement mortar 1:4 (1
cement : 4 coarse sand) or as specified. The average thickness of the bedding
shall be 10 mm while the thickness under any portion of the tiles shall not be less
than 5 mm.
7. Mortar shall be spread, tamped and corrected to proper levels and allowed to harden
sufficiently to offer a fairly rigid cushion for the tiles to be set and to enable the mason to
place wooden plank across and squat on it.
Over this mortar bedding neat grey cement slurry of honey like consistency shall be spread
at the rate of 3.3 kg of cement per square metre over such an area as would accommodate
about twenty tiles. Tiles shall be soaked in water washed clean and shall be fixed in this
grout one after another, each tile gently being tapped with a wooden mallet till it is properly
bedded and in level with the adjoining tiles. The joints shall be kept as thin as possible and
in straight lines or to suit the required pattern.
The surface of the flooring during laying shall be frequently checked with a straight edge
about 2 m long, so as to obtain a true surface with the required slope.
Where full size tiles cannot be fixed these shall be cut (sawn) to the required size, and their
edge rubbed smooth to ensure straight and true joints.
Tiles which are fixed in the floor adjoining the wall shall enter not less than 10 mm under the
plaster, skirting or dado.
After tiles have been laid surplus cement slurry shall be cleaned off.
Pointing and Finishing
The joints shall be cleaned off the grey cement slurry with wire/coir brush or trowel to a
depth of 2 mm to 3 mm and all dust and loose mortar removed. Joints shall then be flush
pointed with white cement added with pigment if required to match the colour of tiles.The
floor shall then be kept wet for 7 days. After curing, the surface shall be washed and
finished clean. 6.4 Acceptance CriteriaThe finished floor shall not sound hollow when
tapped with a wooden mallet.
No loose tiles shall be accepted. Joints cannot be too wide and too narrow, and shall be in
straight lines or as per the layout drawing. Joints shall be parallel to wall and orthogonal
8. WOODEN FLOORING
Types : Laminated, grooves, rough, parquet
and real wood.
Finish : Satin
Durability : 5-6 years
Usage :Wooden flooring is mostly used in
bedrooms or stairs. It helps keep the room
cool in summers and warm during winters,
and can be easily laid on the existing floor
by using foam.
Installation time : 1 day
Cost (per sq ft): Laminated: Rs 40-60;
grooves (4"x8"): Rs 175-200; rough (4"x8"):
Rs 200-350; parquet: Rs 50-60; real wood: Rs
300-1,200
Labour cost : Rs 10-15 a sq ft
Installation cost for a 12'x12' room : Rs 7,560
One can use a damp cloth or mop, but never
drain it with water for cleaning it. BS-8201 CODE OF
PRACTICE for
wooden flooring
9. PVC FLOORING
PVC orVinyl
Types : Rolls and tiles
Finish : Matt
Durability : 4-5 years
Usage :Vinyl flooring is not as hard as
marble or tiles and is water-resistant. So, it's
suitable for children's room and the kitchen.
It can be easily applied with adhesive.
Installation time: 1-2 days
Cost (per sq ft): Roll (6"x50"): Rs 22-25; tile
(4"x8"): Rs 60-90
Labour cost : Rs 10-15 a sq ft
Installation cost for a 12'x12' room : Rs
4,968#
The flooring can be easily dented or
scratched if you use or drag heavy material.
10. MARBLE FLOORING
Types : Sandstone, composite, Kota stone and
white marble.
Finish : Satin, though you can opt for a glossy
one by polishing it or a matt finish through a
honed polish.
Durability : 25 years
Usage : Marble is fitted with cement and is
suitable for both the exterior and interior of a
house.
Installation time : 8-10 days
Cost (per sq ft): Sandstone (2"x2"): Rs 22-25;
Kota stone (2"x2"): Rs 25-28; composite: Rs 175-
600; white marble (9"x9"): Rs 60-80
Labour cost : Rs 10-50 a sq ft
Installation cost for a 12'x12' room : Rs 7,488.
It needs regular maintenance and can be easily
damaged by acidic chemicals or liquids. It's also
slippery when wet.
11. Laying of marble tiles:
Before laying the tiles thin paste of cement
slurry (4.5 kg/m2) is spread and tiles are lid
flat over it by gently pressing them into the
bedding mortar with the help of wooden
mallet till levelled surface is obtained.The
flooring is then cured for seven days, then
grinding and polishing is done in the same
manner.These days glazed tiles are
commonly used in houses.
12. GRANITE FLOORING
Types : Crystal, honed, polished. It also comes in
various colours.
Finish : Glossy
Durability : Lasts a lifetime with good care.
Usage : It's handy for the kitchen as it is resistant
to oil spills, sugary drinks and acid. Honed
granite is good for the bathroom.
Installation time : 3-4 days
Cost (per sq ft): Grey: Rs 70-120; pink or white:
Rs 70-110; black: Rs 110-190; earthen: Rs 175-
300
Labour cost : Rs 10-50 a sq ft
Installation cost for a 12'x12' room : Rs 14,400
Though it doesn't crack or damage easily, it
needs regular cleaning. Polished granite is very
slippery when wet.
14. STONE FLOORING
Usage(for residential)- it is the
perfect,permanent solution for
covering basement,garage,and
patio concrete floors even in
flood prone areas.
The under layer of the flooring
shall be-1:1:2 (cement: fine
aggregate: coarse aggregate)
Basic types of natural stones-
limestones,sandstone,quartzites
tone,slatestone,cobblestone,pe
bblestones.
15. TYPES OF STONE FLOORING
LIMESTONE
STANDARD
SIZES(CM)
30X30
40X40
60X30
60X40
60X60
90X30
90X60
• Recognized for its great strength as it does
not blister upon exposing it to water
•Well suited for flooring and paving
purposes
• Also be used in any weather, as extreme
degree of temperature, cold or hot, hardly
affects the color and texture of limestone
• Generally used as limestone tiles,
limestone blocks, limestone slabs, limestone
chips in flooring, wall cladding, countertops,
fireplace mantels and for pavement of floors
of large commercial complexes, hospitals,
airports, shopping malls, railway stations,
parks etc.
17. Sandstone
The entire range is acknowledged
for perfect finish, high tensile
strength, breakage resistance and
durability thereby widely used for all
types of interior & exterior
applications depending upon the
imagination of an architect.
Every slab shall be chisel-dressed on
all sides to minimum depth of 20mm
Further, it is available in different
sizes and finishes like natural,
calibrated, honed, polished and
flamed.
18. Specifications:
Standard Sizes of Sandstone:
30 x 30 cm (12 x 12 inches)
40 x 40 cm (16 x 16 inches)
60 x 30 cm (24 x 12 inches)
60 x 40 cm (24 x 16 inches)
60 x 60 cm (24 x 24 inches)
90 x 30 cm (36 x 12 inches)
90 x 60 cm (36 x 24 inches)
Finishes:Natural, Honed, Calibrated, Sawn,
Sandblast Forms:Tiles, Slabs, Blocks
StandardThickness:10- 20mm
19. QUARTZITE FLOORING
This fireproof and non-slippery
stone is widely used in wall-
cladding, roofing, flooring and for all
types of interior as well as exterior
decorations.
• Standard Sizes of Quartzite:
•30 x 30 cm (12 x 12 inches)
• 40 x 40 cm (16 x 16 inches)
• 60 x 30 cm (24 x 12 inches)
• 60 x 40 cm (24 x 16 inches)
Finishes:Honed, NaturalCleft,
Polished, Calibrated,Any cut to size
Forms:Tiles StandardThickness:10
mm - 15 mm
20. COBBLESTONE
Cobblestone (usually used for old roads) •
cobblestone is used basically to make
pathways, pavements and for landscaping,
cobbles stone are fireproof, need little
maintenance and no paint.
• Standard Sizes:
• 10x10x8 cm/4x4x3 in
• 14x14x6 cm/5x5x2 in
• 14x14x8 cm/5x5x3 in
• 14x20x8 cm/5x8x3 in
• 20x10x8 cm/8x4x3 in
Finishes:All sides natural (Hand dressed).
Top surface can be honed, Flamed
Forms: Sandstone cobbles, Limestone
cobbles, Granite cobbles
StandardThickness:6- 8cm/2-3Inch
21. SLATE STONE
Slate stone (thin stone flakes, colored gray
to dark gray variants)
• Suitable for exterior and interior applications
such as wall-cladding, roofing, flooring,
hearths, fireplaces, kitchen, landscaping,
driveways, pools, etc
• Standard Sizes:
• 30 x 30 cm (12 x 12 inches)
• 40 x 40 cm (16 x 16 inches)
• 60 x 30 cm (24 x 12 inches)
• 60 x 40 cm (24 x 16 inches)
• 60 x 60 cm (24 x 24 inches)
Finishes:Natural,Calibrated, Honed, Polished
Forms:Tiles, Slab
StandardThickness:10 mm - 15 mm
22. PEBBLESTONE
Pebbles stones (an
aggregate) are used as
decorative landscaping
stones in homes, artificial
ponds, fountains, posh
lounges, open air
theaters, aquaria, parks,
out houses and gardens.
• Example of floor finish
specifications: Pebble
wash-out flooring.
23. • Specifications:
• Standard Sizes:
• 15mm- 30mm
• 25mm- 50mm
• 50mm-100mm
Finishes: Dry tumbled pebbles, wet tumbled
pebbles, natural river pebbles.The finished surface
varies as dry tumbling provides the pebbles a
polished and smooth finish in comparison to the
wet tumbled stones
Forms: Round, Flat, Oval
StandardThickness:15mm- 4inch diameter