Category: Floors

Elevating Spaces with Commercial Floor Coatings

Commercial spaces see a lot of foot traffic and wear-and-tear on their floors. From retail stores and restaurants to warehouses and industrial facilities, choosing the right flooring is crucial both functionally and aesthetically. Commercial floor coatings provide durable, long-lasting, and versatile solutions to elevate any commercial space.

Floor coatings are materials that are applied on top of the concrete floor surface to protect it and enhance its appearance. Several major types of coatings are designed for commercial use, including epoxy, polyurethane, acrylic, urethane, and specialty concrete floor coatings. These systems can withstand heavy loads, impacts, chemicals, and abrasion while offering benefits like slip resistance, ease of cleaning, and visually appealing finishes.

Types of Commercial Floor Coatings

Depending on the needs and desired appearance, there are a variety of floor coating systems to consider for commercial spaces.

Epoxy Floor Coatings

Epoxy floors are highly durable and chemical-resistant systems made from epoxy resins and hardeners. They can withstand heavy loads and impacts while providing an impermeable, protective barrier. Epoxy coatings are available in solid colors or decorative options like flakes or quartz broadcast systems. They offer excellent adhesion and are easy to clean.

Polyurethane Floor Coatings

Polyurethane coatings provide a high-gloss protective layer with excellent scratch, impact, and chemical resistance. These systems display vibrant colors, work well in wet areas, and can be used together with epoxy coatings for increased durability.

Acrylic Floor Coatings

Acrylic floor coatings create a decorative, matte finish that is highly customizable with color options, speckles, or quartz blends. They resist chemicals and impacts and wear well over time. Acrylic systems feature rapid installation and curing times compared to other options.

Urethane Floor Coatings

Urethane cement floors protect heavily against high traffic wear, chemical spills, and thermal shock. These systems are typically installed at 3/16″ thick or more to provide a durable, long-lasting floor. They can also help level surfaces in need of resurfacing.

Concrete Floor Coatings

Stained or colored concrete coatings introduce decorative visuals for retail, hospitality, and brand image-aligned spaces. Options include acid stains, dyes, water-based stains, sealers, and more to create unique designs, logos, or patterns across the floor.

The Benefits of Commercial Floor Coatings

Commercial spaces cannot afford downtime for frequent floor repairs and replacements, which can disrupt business operations. Floor coating systems provide more benefits over time compared to bare concrete or other flooring materials.

⇛ Durability – Floor coatings are extremely durable against heavy loads, abrasion, impacts, and chemical spills. They help concrete floors last longer under heavy commercial use.

⇛ Appearance – Coatings introduce eye-catching, polished finishes instead of dull gray concrete. This aesthetic appeal helps commercial facilities make better impressions.

⇛ Safety – Properly coated floors have better slip resistance from textured surfaces, reducing fall hazards compared to slick concrete. This improves safety for both workers and customers.

⇛ Low Maintenance – Coated concrete is easier to sweep and mop than unprotected porous concrete, which absorbs stains. Coatings also prevent concrete dusting, making cleaning and maintenance easier.

⇛ Health – Floor coatings provide more sanitary floors by limiting moisture absorption where bacteria grows. Facility-wide solutions like antimicrobial epoxy enhance health safety.

⇛ Affordability – Quality floor coatings offer excellent durability-per-dollar value, outperforming other flooring options over their longer lifespan. Fewer repairs or replacements save commercial spaces money over time.

⇛ Design Options – Modern floor coatings offer many customizable finishes beyond basic concrete gray. Facilities can match floor designs to their brand image with colors, patterns, flakes, quartz, and more.

⇛ LEED Credits – Sustainable, low VOC emission floor coatings can contribute points toward LEED green building certification. Their long lifespans also reduce waste from frequent floor replacements.

Factors to Consider Choosing the Right Commercial Floor Coating

With many commercial floor coatings options on the market, facilities should consider several factors specific to their commercial space when selecting a system.

Traffic Volume and Load Impact

Facilities with constant heavy vehicles, pallet jacks, carts, and foot traffic require thick, durable coatings that can withstand years of heavy loads and abrasion from traffic without showing signs of wear. Urethane cement coating systems 3/16″ thick and above provide the toughest protection in the highest traffic areas like warehouses and industrial spaces. Retail shops and office spaces see lighter loads from foot traffic that thinner coating systems can handle at more affordable upfront costs.

Chemical Exposure Risks

Certain commercial spaces handle oils, cleaners, solvents, or other chemicals that can spill and stain or degrade typical coatings and concrete. Chemical-resistant epoxy floor coatings provide an impermeable barrier that protects the underlying concrete from chemical damage while providing easy cleanability when spills occur. Healthcare and laboratories also utilize antimicrobial epoxy to resist germs for cleaner environments. Facilities with steam cleaning or thermal shock exposure should utilize thermal shock-resistant urethane cement coatings.

Budget Considerations

Thicker specialized coating systems designed for heavy loads, chemical resistance, antimicrobial protection, and decorative finishes come at higher upfront material and installation costs. More affordable standard thin mil coating systems still provide excellent protection and visual appeal over bare concrete. Facility managers should determine acceptable budgets for floor coating projects based on usage needs and plan for long term savings from avoided floor repairs or replacements down the road.

Desired Appearance

If visual appeal is important for retail, hospitality, and publicly facing spaces, consider decorative and customizable epoxy/acrylic floor coatings with color, flakes, quartz, patterns, logos, designs, and artistic finishes. These systems enhance aesthetics and brand imaging compared to dull gray concrete. Industrial spaces prioritize function over form and can utilize solid color or clear coatings.

Performance Needs

Facilities should assess their commercial space functionality and consider needs such as impact/scratch resistance for heavy loads, slip resistance for safety, decontamination ability for hygiene, thermal shock resistance, noise reduction, and underfoot comfort. For example, healthcare spaces may prioritize antimicrobial protection while warehouses focus on durability. These factors help determine appropriate coating selections.

Installation Scheduling Limitations

Some facilities can only afford shutdowns up to 24 hours for installation and curing times that can take days or weeks with thicker, more robust systems. Rapid install options like single-coat epoxies or fast-turnaround acrylics provide high-performing protection on quicker timeframes for high-traffic environments. They are It is ideal for facilities that only have weekends or evenings for installation windows.

Sustainability Considerations

Floor coatings with low/zero VOC emissions, antimicrobial ability for cleaner spaces, and long lifespans that reduce repairs align with green building best practices for LEED credits. Sustainable coatings also improve indoor air quality for healthier facility environments. This appeals to businesses targeting eco-conscious consumers.

Conclusion

Commercial concrete floor coatings deliver performance, protection, and aesthetics beyond traditional concrete using today’s modern, durable coating materials engineered for demanding commercial spaces. When selecting appropriate systems with expert guidance, facility managers must weigh factors like costs, appearance, installation impacts, usage conditions, and green building best practices. Investing in quality commercial floor coatings from trusted providers ultimately saves money over time through extended floor lifespans, easier maintenance, and avoiding operational disruptions from frequent repairs. Their many benefits keep facilities looking great while supporting safer, healthier, and more productive environments.

18 Types of Flooring || Choose Best Flooring For your Home!

18 Types of Flooring

Flooring is an important part of a building. A variety of materials are used to construct the floor. It is very important to choose an appropriate and reliable material to create an attractive floor for your home. In this article, I will help you to trace the right floor for your home. The following 18 types of flooring are generally used in building construction.

1. Mud Flooring

Mud flooring is not used in urban areas. It is mostly used in rural areas in the kutcha village houses. This type of flooring is very cheap and easy to construct. This flooring is eco-friendly. Know more about Mud flooring.

2. Muram Flooring

Muram flooring is again the cheapest type of flooring. It can only be used for the ground floor. It is used in kutcha village houses like mud flooring. It is also an eco-friendly flooring. Read more about Muram flooring.

3. Flagstone Flooring

Flagstone is nothing but sandstone with a regular size of 20 mm to 40mm. The thickness of these stones is uniform. When such types of stones are used for making a floor is known as flagstone flooring.

4. Brick Flooring

Brick flooring is another type of flooring. It is generally used where heavy objects are to be stacked like godowns, sheds, stores, etc. It is comparatively cheap and easy to construct. Learn more about Brick flooring.

Types of flooring - Brick Flooring — **Brick Flooring**

5. Cement Concrete Flooring

Cement concrete flooring is the most commonly used type of floor these days. It is used for both residential as well as public buildings. This type of flooring is cheap and easy to maintain.

6. Granolithic Flooring

Granolithic flooring is just like cement concrete flooring, The only difference is that the finishing cot is provided with a granolithic finish. The granolithic finish provides hard and durable flooring. Read more about Granolithic flooring.

Types of Flooring - Granolithic Flooring — **Granolithic Flooring**

7. Tiles Flooring

If you want to upgrade your home with a durable and attractive floor then tiles flooring will be the best choice for your home. Tiles are pre-cast units of pottery, cement concrete, or terrazzo. It is available in different shapes like square, polygonal, etc. This type of floor is durable and good-looking. It can be used for the bathroom, kitchen, W.C, swimming pool, etc.,

8. Terrazzo Flooring

Terrazzo flooring is a special type of cement concrete flooring. This special type of cement concrete is prepared by mixing of marble chips or other materials with cement or colored cement. In this case, marble chips or other decorative materials are used as an aggregate, and white cement or colored cement is used as a binder.

Generally, the ratio of cement and marble chips is 1:3. Although, this ratio depends upon the size of marble chips, is used.

This special type of concrete is known as terrazzo cement concrete. The floor in which topping or finishing is made of terrazzo cement concrete is known as terrazzo flooring. The thickness of the Terrazzo flooring varies between 8 mm to 12 mm.

Terrazzo flooring is more attractive than normal cement concrete flooring. These days, it has become a more popular flooring type. It has more wear-resisting properties. This flooring is mostly used in hotels, offices, and public buildings.

9. Mosaic Flooring

In this flooring, the top surface exhibits various patterns of marble pieces or broken tiles. These marble pieces may be in different colors. These types of flooring are very good in appearance. It is used in public as well as residential buildings. Read More About – Mosaic Flooring

10. Timber Flooring

Timber flooring is not common in India. however, it is used in hilly areas where timber is easily available.

18 Different Types of Flooring - Timber Flooring — **Timber Flooring**

11. Asphalt Flooring

Previously, asphalt flooring was not preferred because of the bad smell and ugly color, particularly for indoor floors.

However, after some quality development, it has become one of the most popular floorings for outdoor and indoor floors. Now, asphalt flooring is available in different colors. This floor is jointless, dustless, and waterproof. It is also acid-proof and attractive in appearance.

According to the composition of asphalt flooring materials, it is available in a different forms as follows
a) Asphalt tiles
b) Asphalt terrazzo
c) Mastic asphalt
d) Acid-proof asphalt block

Types of Flooring - #11. Asphalt Flooring — Types of Flooring – #11. **Asphalt Flooring**

12. Linoleum Flooring

Linoleum flooring is used as a covering of a floor, mostly laid over a concrete or wooden floor to get a more attractive look.

Types of flooring - Linoleum Flooring — **Linoleum Flooring**

13. Rubber Flooring

Rubber flooring is made from a mixture of raw rubber, fillers, and pigments at a very high temperature. The thickness of this type of flooring is generally 4 to 10 mm.

14. Magnesite Flooring

Magnesite flooring consists of a dry mix of magnesium oxide, asbestos, wood flour or inert material, and pigment. Before applying to the flooring surface, a plastic mixture is prepared by adding liquid magnesium chloride to this dry mixture. This flooring material can be laid on stone, wooden, and concrete surfaces. This floor is quite cheap and can be used on uneven surfaces. This type of flooring is mostly used in schools and public buildings.

15. Cork or Cork Tile Flooring

Cork flooring is available in two forms, they are cork carpet and cork tiles. Cork flooring is sound-proof as well as attractive in nature.

Cork carpet is available in the market in a form of rolls with a suitable width. On the other hand, cork tiles are available in a form of tiles with regular shapes and sizes. This flooring is used in the case of art galleries, churches, and hospital buildings.

16. Glass Flooring

This flooring is used when the light is to be transmitted to the floor below. These types of flooring glasses are available in the form of tiles or slabs. But, this is not a common type of material for flooring. This type of floor requires a suitable framework for fixing glasses.

17. Marble Flooring

Marble flooring is one of the most attractive flooring types. This flooring is mostly used in high-class buildings, such as palaces and mansions. The price of this flooring is high because it requires high-quality marble and requires more labor for installation. Marble tiles are cut from marble slabs, and it laid on floors just like tiles floor.

After installation, rubbing and polishing work is carried out with the help of a power-driven polishing machine. The final surface of this flooring is very attractive in appearance, and also very smooth in nature.

Types of Flooring - #17. Marble Flooring — Types of Flooring – #17. **Marble Flooring**

18. Plastic or P.V.C Flooring

Floors can be constructed from thermoplastic tiles, which are a plastic material of recent origin. These tiles can easily be laid on concrete floors but they are usually not laid on wooden floors as their fixing over wooden floors is very difficult and costly. This floor is yet in the experimental stage and has not come in a big way in the market.

`19. Bamboo Flooring

Bamboo flooring is a kind of eco-friendly flooring that has gained a lot of prevalence nowadays. Bamboo is a grass, although, it would be wrong to say just grass because it is the largest grass in the world. Nowadays, bamboo is widely used as a flooring material, and as an alternative to hardwood. Know more about Bamboo Flooring.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Bamboo Flooring

Bamboo Flooring

Bamboo flooring is a popular choice for homeowners who want a sustainable, eco-friendly, and cost-effective alternative to traditional hardwood flooring. Day by day the popularity of bamboo flooring is increasing as an alternative to hardwood flooring. The growth of bamboo plants requires less time as compared to hardwood trees.

Who doesn’t want his floor to be beautiful and eco-friendly? In that case, bamboo flooring fulfills all the requirements easily, and also their maintenance work is very easy. But the price is somewhat the same for both bamboo and hardwood flooring.

Bamboo is not a tree. Actually, it is one type of grass, and it is the tallest grass in the world. It may be 130 to 150 ft long. This type of bamboo is called Giant Bamboo. But it is not the regular height of the bamboo. Usually, its height is between 15 ft to 75 ft. Although, their height and diameter vary from place to place. Read Also: 18 Types of Flooring.

Advantages of Bamboo Flooring

Following are the 8 advantages of bamboo flooring:

1. Bamboo is a very strong material. And, also their strength is more as compared to steel. They can withstand more compressive as well as tensile stress than steel.

2. Bamboo is a widely available material. Now it is also available in online marketplaces. You do not need to go anywhere to order bamboo flooring planks, you can easily place your order from your home by using a smartphone.

3. Bamboo floors are eco-friendly and durable.

4. Bamboo flooring is attractive in appearance. It gives a beautiful look after lamination.

5. It can be used as an alternative to hardwood flooring. So, it can be used where hardwood is not widely available.

6. Bamboo flooring is available various in colors and styles. So, it will help you to make your house floor as you want.

7. The installation process of bamboo flooring is very easy. No skilled labor is required. You can also install it yourself. It is very easy to cut to any required size and shape.

8. It is very easy to clean.

Disadvantages of Bamboo Flooring

The following are the disadvantages of bamboo flooring:

1. Limited Suitability: Bamboo flooring is not suitable for every room, it can not be used in the bathroom and kitchen.

2. Moisture Sensitivity: It may absorb moisture during rainy seasons and may get easily decayed due to moisture absorption. Therefore, it is necessary to maintain a consistent humidity level to prevent any possible issues.

3. Fade by sunlight: Over time, exposure to direct sunlight can cause bamboo flooring to fade or discolor. Therefore, it is not advisable to install bamboo flooring on such floors of the house where direct sunlight is likely to hit it.

4. Limited Color Options: Other types of flooring like tiles flooring, hardwood flooring, etc. offer a wide range of colors, but in the case of bamboo flooring, there is primarily available in shades of light or dark brown. This limited color option may block you to get desired design and colors for your floors.

5. It is easily spoiled by fungi and insects.

Read Also:

Muram Flooring

Mud Flooring

Asphalt Flooring || Building Construction

Asphalt Flooring

Asphalt flooring is water-proof, dustless, jointless, acid-proof, and attractive in appearance and as such becoming popular these days. Asphalt flooring is also non-slippery and noiseless.

Construction Method

Construction of asphalt flooring consists of the following two operations.

Preparation of Mastic Asphalt

Asphalt which is generally available in drums is broken into pieces and put in an iron pot known as ‘cauldron’. The iron pot is heated by lighting fire under it. Due to heating, asphalt starts melting.

The mass is continuously heated and stirred till the whole of the mass melts. Once the whole mass acquires uniform consistency (i.e., the whole mass has melted) clean sharp sand or grit is added in a proportion of two parts of sand or grit to one part of asphalt.

This mixture of sand and asphalt is continued to be heated till it starts emitting light brown-colored smoke. At this stage, the mixture which is also known as compost, acquires such a consistency that it can drop freely from the stirrer. At this temperature, the mix or compost is considered fit for use.

Compost should not be heated further as otherwise, it may get over-burnt and its properties undergo marked change which is unfavorable for a good floor finishing.

Read Also: Different Types of Flooring

Laying of Asphalt

The hard and unsinkable base is prepared by a 10 cm to 15 cm thick layer of lean cement concrete or lime concrete. The surface is thoroughly cleaned and dried. The mastic asphalt prepared as above is poured on the prepared base with the help of iron ladles and spread evenly on the surface in thickness varying from 13 mm to 25 mm.

Before the mastic asphalt becomes hard on cooling, very fine sand is shifted on the surface. The surface is then rubbed with the help of a trowel or hand float. The asphalt floor is put to use after it has hardened.

In case mastic is to be laid in two layers instead of one, sand should not be shifted over the bottom layer. The second layer should be laid before the bottom layer solidifies. The second layer of mastic should be covered with fine sand and finished by trowelling before the mastic becomes hard.

In the old days, asphalt floors were not favored because of the bad smell and ugly color of the asphalt. Nowadays asphalt flooring can be made in a variety of colors. Floors may be made from asphalt tiles, which are manufactured from natural asphalt, asbestos fibers, and mineral pigments. Asphalt floors may also be formed from asphalt terrazzo which is manufactured by mixing marble, and chips into colored asphalt.

Mosaic Flooring | Building Construction

Mosaic Flooring

Mosaic flooring is very good in appearance, and best for all types of buildings. This flooring is used for both residential and commercial buildings. In mosaic flooring, the top surface exhibits different designs of marble pieces or broken tile pieces.

Pieces of marble and tiles used for this floor may be in different colors and sizes, depending on what type is required for a particular building. The process of cutting or breaking tiles or marble is very specialized work. The tiles should be broken to the shape of a wedge, with a polished or glazed side on the broad face.

Mosaic Flooring | Building Construction — Mosaic Flooring

Read Also: Different Types of Flooring

Method of Construction

In the case of mosaic flooring construction, at first, a hard sub-grade of lime concrete is prepared around 100 to 150 mm thick. Then, A layer of cement concrete is laid over the subgrade, and the thickness of this layer is kept around 25 mm to 40 mm. The surface of this layer is then cleaned properly and wetted by sprinkling water over it.

After properly completing the above processes, a layer of lime surkhi mortar or cement mortar is laid over the concrete base. And the thickness of this layer is around 40 mm to 60 mm. This mortar should be spread on a small area at a time so that it is possible to finish the flooring of this area before the mortar becomes dry and hard.

Now on this lime surkhi mortar layer, an another layer of paste or cementing material( 2 slaked lime :1 powdered marble: 1 pozzolana ) is laid, and the thickness of this layer is around 3 mm. After that, broken tiles or marble pieces are set in desired design and pattern.

When fragments of broken tiles or pieces of marble are set in the desired pattern, the dry cement is sprinkled over the top and the surface is then either gently rolled with a light roller or a large flat piece of wood, is placed on the surface and gently hammered on the top.

While rolling, water is sprinkled and cement works up between the pieces of tiles or marble. After rolling and when pieces are well set, the extra cement is wiped clean with sawdust.

The surface is left for a day to dry, and then it is polished by rubbing with a pumice stone to get a smooth and polished surface. At last, the finished surface is allowed to dry for one or two weeks before use.

Read More:

Timber Flooring

Tiles Flooring

Mud Flooring

Timber Flooring | Building Construction

Timber Flooring

Timber flooring is one of the most popular and attractive types of flooring. But, they are not good in fire resistance and damp resistance.

Timber flooring is a popular choice for adding warmth and natural character to homes and commercial spaces. It is a durable and long-lasting flooring option. Whether you are renovating your home or designing a new room, timber flooring can provide a beautiful solution for your flooring needs.

Although it is a good flooring option but cannot be used everywhere, as its price is much higher than other floorings, and is often not possible due to the lack of fair quality wood.

The timber floor is to be best suited for areas where the timber is easily available. This is why in our country this floor is mostly used in hilly areas.

They are also used for specific purposes made halls like dancing halls, auditoriums, etc. This floor, as far as possible, should not be used for ground floors but if they have to be, a cover of an impervious material should be provided throughout the area of the buildings below the ground floor in order to prevent dampness.

Read Also: Characteristics of a Good Timber

Methods of Construction

Timber flooring can be provided in the following methods:

Wooden block floors
Strip flooring
Wall plates and sleeper wall flooring

1. Wooden block floors

In this method of construction, at first, a layer of concrete around 15 mm thick is prepared. After the base concrete has fully set and hardened, it is left to dry completely.

Now the concrete base is covered with a layer of mastic asphalt or bitumen and then, the short wooden blocks somewhat thicker like brick are laid over this prepared base.

Generally, the size of the wooden blocks varying from 200 mm*80 mm to 300 mm*80 mm, and the thickness of these blocks are ranging between 20 mm to 40 mm.

In order to bind the wooden blocks together and also to impart resistance to the surface, hot bitumen is poured over the wooden block pavement. The hot bitumen will penetrate the wooden blocks and keep them bonded.

2. Strip flooring

In this case, the base of cement concrete 15 cm thick is laid. While laying the concrete layer, wooden strips trapezoidal in section are embedded in it by maintaining the top level of the strip slightly above the surface of the concrete layer. While embedding, the wider face of the strips is kept embedded. This measure does not allow the strips to be dislodged. Once the cement concrete has fully set, timber planks are nailed straightway to the embedded strips.

While fixing the wooden planks some open space is left between the underside of the planks and the upper surface of the concrete layer. This open space should be ventilated properly either through the air bricks or in a different way.

3. Wall plates and sleeper wall flooring

This type of floor is provided where chances of the rise of dampness are very likely. Timber boards are supported on timber joists which in turn remain nailed to wall plates.

In case the room is very large, intermediate, dwarf walls are constructed to support the joists. Intermediate walls are termed dwarf walls or sleeper walls.

A longitudinal timber piece is fixed on the top of the sleeper walls and timber joists are nailed to this piece. The sleeper walls are generally 10 cm thick and are honey-combed.

In order to prevent the dampness from rising, a 15 cm layer of cement concrete is applied covering the whole area of the floor. D.P.C is applied throughout the width of the wall immediately below the wall plate.

The hollow space between the flooring and the concrete is kept properly ventilated by keeping openings in the main wall above ground level.

These openings are fitted with wire netting to prevent rats and vermins from getting access into the hollow space. Planks used for the boarding may be jointed to each other by tongued and grooved joints, rebated joints, or simple butt joints. Timber to be used for flooring should be of the best quality, well-seasoned, and free from cracks, knots, and other defects.

Read More:

Precaution in Timbering

Timber – MCQ

Brick Flooring

Terrazzo Flooring | Building Construction

Terrazzo Flooring

Terrazzo flooring is a special type of concrete flooring, which is becoming more and more popular due to its highly decorated. The floor in which topping or finishing is made of terrazzo cement concrete is known as terrazzo flooring.

Terrazzo cement concrete is one type of cement concrete in which marble chips or other decorative materials(like granite, glass, quartz, etc.) are used as an aggregate.

Terrazzo is a mixture of marble chips or other decorative material with white or colored cement. Cement and marble chips are mixed in a proportion of 1:3, this proportion maybe 1: 2, the ratio of cement and aggregate(marble chips or other materials) depends on the size of the aggregate available for use.

Read Also: Different Types of Flooring

The thickness of the terrazzo varies between 1/4 to 3/4 inches. Any expected floor color can be obtained by using a different color of cement, and by using different types of marble chips or other decorative materials.

In details ….. coming soon

Tiles Flooring

Brick Flooring

Linoleum Flooring

Tiles Flooring | Building Construction

Tiles Flooring

Tiles are pre-cast units of pottery or cement concrete or terrazzo. They are produced in square, polygonal, rectangular, and various other shapes, sizes, and thicknesses. Pre-cast units of terrazzo tiles are also known as mosaic tiles. The tiles made of pottery are known as white-glazed tiles. Tile flooring is mostly used in residential buildings, office buildings, hotels, etc. White glazed tiles are commonly used in bathrooms, kitchens, swimming pools, etc.

In the case of mosaic tiles, need to polish and fixed them in their position. Whereas, white glazed tiles are not required to polish. Floor tiles can be available in different colors. Usually, some colorful art is printed over it to get a better decorative look.

Read Also: Different Types of Flooring

Method of Making Tiles Flooring

The method of making tiles flooring is almost similar to the making of stone flooring. Tile floorings require hard subgrade, before making a hard surface the ground is leveled, watered, and rammed properly.

A hard subgrade surface, which may be in the form of R.C.C. slab or cement concrete. Well consolidated layer of lime concrete, 100 mm to 150 mm thick covered by 2.5 cm to 4 cm thick cement concrete layer can serve the purpose of hard sub-grade.

Over the prepared subgrade surface, a thick layer of lime mortar about 12 mm to 25 mm is spread to act as bedding mortar. Now, it is almost ready to receive the tiles over it. Before placing tiles over it, this mortar is allowed to harden a bit and then a neat cement slurry is spread over it with the help of a brush or otherwise.

Now readymade tiles are laid on this mortar layer by applying thin cement paste along all of its sides. The tiles are gently tapped. The cement that oozes out through the joints due to tapping should be cleaned instantly.

After 2 or 3 days of laying the tiles, all its joints should be rubbed with carborundum stone so that a smooth finished surface of the floor may be obtained. The entire surface of the floor is then rubbed by hand or by a power-driven rubbing machine. The process of rubbing is also known as the polishing of the surface. Finally, The rubbed or polished surface should be washed with a solution of soap.

Advantages

The following are the advantages of tile flooring:

1. This floor is non-absorbent.

2. Good looking, it gives a decorative look.

3. Durable.

4. Maintainance work is easy.

Disadvantages

The following are the advantages of tile flooring:

1. It is very costly.

2. Maintenance cost is high.

3. It provides a slippery surface.

4. Skilled labor required.

Characteristics of a Good Flooring Tiles

The following are the characteristics of good flooring tiles:

1. It should be hard enough.

2. It should be free from any bends and cracks.

3. It should be proper in shape and size.

4. It should have good durability properties.

5. It should have good heat-resistant properties.

6. They should produce a clear ringing sound when struck by each other.

7. It should be well burnt.

8. It should be uniform in color.

FAQs

How many types of floor tiles are available?

There are several types of floor tiles are available in the market. the following are the 13 types of floor tiles:

Ceramic Tiles
Porcelain Tiles
Mosaic Tiles
Granite Tiles
Marble Tiles
Terrazzo Tiles
Onyx Tiles
Quartzite Tiles
Travertine Tiles
Quarry Tiles
Slate Tiles
Sandstone Tiles

Which types of tiles are best for shower walls?

Porcelain and glazed ceramic tiles are mostly recommended for use in shower walls. Glass tiles are also preferred for shower walls, as they give an attractive look to the wall.

Read More:

Brick Flooring

Linoleum Flooring

Granolithic Flooring

Ribbed Floors || Building Construction

Ribbed Floors

The ribbed floor is a type of R.C.C. floor. Ribbed flooring is designed for use as a self-supported suspended floor, mostly, this type of floor is used in commercial buildings.

In the case of the ribbed floor, the bulk of cement concrete below the neutral axis is considered useless in R.C.C., which is removed and only ribs are left in which reinforcing bars are placed. If removed portion from below the neutral axis is left as such, then the ceiling of the ribbed does not look good when viewed from below.

The hollow tiles made of cement, gypsum, concrete, or some other material are placed between the ribs to enhance the view of the ceiling from below, and finally, a flat ceiling is obtained.

This type of floor is used to reduce the total weight of the floor. It is light in weight and economical as it requires less concrete as compared to others.

When the ceiling of the floor is made by using hollow tiles, then it is known as hollow tiled ribbed floor. If space between ribs is not filled and left as such it is known as a ribbed floor.

Ribs and topping act monolithically. In such floors, the thickness of the topping is never allowed to exceed 8 cm. The thickness of ribs may be kept 10 cm and center to center distance of ribs is kept nearly 50 cm.

The flat smooth ceiling can also be obtained by fixing a metal lathe at the underside of the ribs and putting plaster over it. Hollow tiled ribbed floors are fire-proof, Bound-proof, and light in weight.

Mud Flooring

Flagstone Flooring

Granolithic Flooring

Stone Patti Floors || Building Construction

Stone Patti Floors

In stone regions where stone patties are excavated, their floors are very common. A very large number of stone patties are excavated from the regions of Jodhpur, Kota, and Bhilwara in Rajasthan.

In this region, upper floors of stone patties are preferred to all other types of upper floors. In Jodhpur, usually, 75 mm to 100 mm thick stone patties are excavated, and 100 mm thick patty can be used for floor span lengths upto a 3m.

Kota patties can be used up to spans of nearly 4 m. In case of large spans above 3 m, steel or R.C.C. girders are used to divide them into a number of small spans.

If a stone Patti floor is to be provided in a big hall, first of all, the hall is divided into a number of small panels by using big girders at the center to center spacing of say 5 m. Now, for further division of panels, small-sized girders may be used over the main girders at right angles, at center to center spacing of say 3 m. Lastly, 3 m wide panels are directly bridged over by stone patties.

Stone patties can be placed on the bottom flanges or on the upper flanges of the girders. After laying the stone patties, the joints between stone patties are filled with cement mortar and stone clippings.

Stone patties may be cracked or split due to very heavy impact load on them. To overcome this difficulty stone patty is covered by a layer of small bricks laid on edge in lime mortar.

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Flagstone Flooring

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