Floor

UNIT - III

Chapter - 6 (D)

FLOORING

FLOOR

Floor: A Floor is the horizontal element of the superstructure of a building.

Ground Floor: It is the bottom-most floor of the building built at the ground level.

Basement Floor: When the bottom-most floor is constructed below the ground level, it is called Basement Floor.

Upper Floors: Floors above the Ground Floor are Top or Upper Floors, namely, First Floor, Second Floor, etc.

1. COMPONENTS OF A FLOOR

Floor has the following two components:

1. Floor Base or Sub-floor or Base Course

Floor Base provides proper support to Floor Covering and all other super-imposed loads. The Floor Base for a Ground Floor is a lean Plain Cement Concrete (1 : 4:8) of about 150 mm thickness. It is laid over the compacted earth or sand.

[The R.C.C. slab available at the Upper Floor will serve as a base for floors at higher levels.]

The ground is first watered and rammed or compacted well. A 10 cm to 15 cm thick layer of lime concrete is spread and compacted. A layer of fine sand 2 cm to 3 cm thick is provided above the lime concrete to act as a Cushion.

2. Floor Covering or Flooring

Floor Covering is also simply called as Flooring. The exposed top surface of a floor prepared with a covering is called Flooring. It is the one constructed over the floor base. Depending on the service requirements, domestic or industrial, the flooring may be of cement concrete or of any special type.

Flooring is the layer which has to offer resistance to wear and tear. It a hard, clean, smooth, impervious, durable and attractive surface to the floor.

Floor Finishes: To provide a pleasing appearance, certain materials are laid on the floor base. These materials are known as Floor Finishes.

Floor finishing is classified into two types as follows:

(i) Finishing that can be cast on the base: Cement Concrete, Terrazzo and Granolithic Floorings come under this type.

(ii) Paving: Paved slabs and sheets fall under this category.