Category: Floors

Linoleum Flooring | Building Construction

Linoleum Flooring

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

The linoleum flooring material is formed by mixing linseed oil, pigments, gums, cork dust, resin, wood flour and other filling materials in a correct proportion.

It is available in a variety of colours, printed on both sides, in a rolling form. The width of the linoleum flooring varies from 180 cm to 362 cm, and thickness varies from 2 mm to 7 mm.

Higher thicknesses( 5 to 7 mm) are preferable in the place where the traffic movement is heavy, like in the hospital, cinema hall, public sector, theatre etc. Linoleum tiles are also available in the market.

Read Also: Different Types of Flooring

Advantages

Following are the advantages of linoleum flooring

1. The linoleum flooring material is cheap.
2. It is durable.
3. It gives an attractive look.
4. It reduces noise to a considerable extent.
5. This floor is comfortable for the users.
6. It can be easily cleaned.

Disadvantages

1. It is not suitable for the wet or moist place, because it is subjected to rotting when kept wet.

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Magnesite Flooring | Building Construction

Magnesite Flooring

Magnesite flooring consists of a dry mixture of magnesium oxide, asbestos, wood flour, or other inert material, and a pigment. At the site of work, to this dry mixture, liquid magnesium chloride is added to form a plastic mix.

Read Also: Different Types of Flooring

Magnesite Flooring | Building Construction

For the construction of magnesite flooring, This plastic material can be laid on surfaces of concrete, stone, wood or steel plates, and then trowelled smooth before it hardens.

The metal surface that comes into contact with this flooring material must contain a coating of bituminous paint.

This flooring material is quite cheap and can be laid over a rough surface about 12mm thick.

This floor is not very attractive and is less durable, and it offers less noise than clay tiles, marble, and terrazzo. This floor can be used in schools and office buildings.

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10 Factors Affecting Selection of Floors

Before selecting flooring material for a particular building, the following factors should be carefully considered.

1. Appearance

The selection of flooring material should be such that it gives a pleasing appearance to the floor users, and should produce color effects in conformity with the use of buildings.

Generally, tile, marble, terrazzo, and cement mortar floors provide a good appearance, but on the other hand, floorings with asphalt covering give an ugly appearance.

2. Durability

The flooring material should be durable and strong enough to impart resistance to wear, tear, and chemical action.

3. Hardness

The floor should be hard enough. Floors like cement concrete, terrazzo, and mosaic are sufficiently hard, whereas asphalt, cork, ribbon, plastic, etc. are not hard.

4. Noise

A good floor should not be produced any noise. Noise causes discomfort to the occupants. At places where silence is of paramount importance, only sound-absorbing materials should be preferred for the construction of floors, like dancing halls.

5. Comfort

The floor should give comfort to occupants under living and working conditions. Floors like Cork flooring, rubber flooring, linoleum flooring, etc. are preferred from a comfort point of view.

6. Fire Resistance

A good floor should offer sufficient resistance to fire so that it offers a barrier to spread fire at a different level in the building.

7. Dam proof

It should be damp-proof so that a healthy and dry environment prevails in the building.

8. Cleaning

The floors should be such that they can be easily and effectively cleaned.

9. Slipperiness

The surface of the floor should be smooth but not too slippery. The slippery surface is dangerous for old people, children, and pregnant women.

10. Maintenance

The flooring material should be such that minimal maintenance is required.

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Rubber Flooring | Building Construction

Rubber Flooring

Rubber flooring is made from a mixture of raw rubber, fillers such as fiber, cork, etc., and pigments at a very high temperature. In order to speed up the vulcanization process, a small percentage of sulfur is added.

Rubber flooring is available in sheet or tile form and in various colors such as linoleum. Its thickness is never more than 10 mm. It is cemented to concrete or wood in the same manner as linoleum.

It is very costly in its initial cost. The rubber flooring material is durable, elastic, good-looking, noiseless, comparatively warm, and soft. This floor, is, however, not resistant to oil grease and gasoline. This floor is mostly not used for ground floors.

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Brick Flooring

Flagstone Flooring

Muram Flooring

What is Brick Flooring? Method, Advantages & Disadvantages

What is Brick Flooring?

Brick flooring is one type of floor made of brick. Brick is a cheap material and is available easily at any place; therefore, its construction is comparatively cheap.

This floor is used almost in similar conditions as flagstone floors. It is used for places where heavy articles are to be stored like – godowns, sheds, stores, etc.

In brick flooring, bricks may be laid either on edge or flat, and the brickwork is carried out in cement or lime mortar. Read Also: Types of Bricks.

Method of Construction

In the construction of brick flooring, first of all, depending on the type of soil and structure, an excavation of around 40 cm is made below the proposed surface. The excavation surface is then leveled, watered, and rammed properly.

Over this, a hard sub-grade is prepared by laying about a 25 cm thick layer of rubble boulders or broken brickbats. The layer is then well-rammed and watered.

After preparing a suitable subgrade, a layer of lime concrete about 10 to 15 cm thick is laid over it. In some cases, a layer of lean concrete (1 cement: 3 sand: 6 coarse aggregates) is laid in place of lime concrete.

After this, bricks are laid in the desired shape( maybe in parallel rows or herring-bond pattern) on a layer of lime mortar about 2.5 cm thick.

The vertical joints of bricks are usually set in cement mortar 1:3. The thickness of vertical joints may vary from 1.5 mm to 6 mm. Fine joints can be obtained by adopting rubbed bricks.

Advantages of Brick Flooring

The following are the major advantages of brick flooring:

It offers a durable and sufficient hard floor surface.
It provides a non-slippery surface.
It offers a fir-resisting surface.
It is cheaper than terrazzo flooring, mosaic flooring, cement concrete, and marble flooring.
The maintenance process is easy.

Disadvantages of Brick Flooring

The main disadvantage is that it is absorbent.
It is more costly than mud flooring and muram flooring.

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Granolithic Flooring

Rubber Flooring

Linoleum Flooring

Granolithic Flooring | Building Construction

Granolithic Flooring

Granolithic flooring is the same as cement concrete flooring, except that the finishing layer. This layer is done with a granolithic finish which is cement concrete made of a specially chosen aggregate.

⇛The granolithic finish makes the floor hard, abrasion-resistant, and durable. The granolithic concrete layer thickness should not be less than 13 mm.

⇛It is necessary to obtain the coarse aggregate from hard fine granite, basalt, limestone, or quartzite.

⇛For granolithic flooring, a typical grading of coarse aggregate as recommended by the National Building Organization (N.B.O) is as follows:

Read Also: Different Types of Flooring

I.S Sieve	Percentage by Weight Passing Each Sieve
125 mm	100 %
10 mm	85 – 100 %
No. 480	0 – 20 %
No. 240	0 – 5 %

⇛ A mix of 1:1:2 is appropriate for the granolithic finish when the granolithic topping thickness is between 13 mm and 40 mm. The finish should be laid in one layer and monolithic with the base.

⇛ It should be laid in two layers if the thickness exceeds 40 mm. The top layer is placed when the bottom layer remains in a plastic state.

⇛ It is preferred to use crushed aggregate to get the granolithic finish. Sometimes, granulated aggregate is used as coarse aggregate.

Method of Granolithic Flooring Construction

For the construction of granolithic flooring, first of all, the base concrete, which is 2.5 cm thick cement concrete over 10 to 15 cm of lean cement or lime concrete, is laid and consolidated before laying the topping.

It is necessary to finish the top surface of this base in such a way as to create the required bond between the base course and the topping.

Granolithic concrete is prepared in a proportion of 1:1:2 by mixing cement, fine aggregate & specially chosen aggregate, and laying the topping layer over the prepared base.

The granolithic topping surface is allowed to be set for 7 days and the surface may then be rubbed to obtain a good surface. The surface is kept wet while it is being rubbed.

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Muram Flooring | Building Construction

Muram Flooring

Muram flooring is usually made in the Kutcha village house. It is also a cheap floor like a mud floor, and it can only be adopted for the ground floor.

It maintains and adjusts the temperature in both summer and winter. This floor is most appropriate, especially when individuals have to use it bare-footed. Muram flooring, also known as namely murram or moorum flooring.

Read Also: Types of Flooring

Method of Muram Flooring Construction

⇰ For the construction of muram flooring, first of all, a subgrade or hard bed is made by laying a layer of rubble boulders or hard broken bricks. This layer is rammed hard, and sufficient water is given during the process of ramming.

⇰ After this process, a layer of muram about 150 mm thick is laid over the prepared subgrade, and it is well-consolidated and well-watered every time. Finally, a 25mm thickness of powder or fine muram is spread, and the entire surface of the floor is freely sprinkled with water. The surface is then well-rammed.

⇰ After ramming, the surface is immersed with water until the floor is fully saturated with water, and about a 6 mm thick water layer is formed on the top of the floor.

⇰ The surface is then well trampled under the feet of laborers and leveled till the cream of muram rises to the top. The surface is then leveled and left for a day in that state.

⇰ It is then rammed again with the help of a wooden rammer or thapies for three days. Ramming should be started every day for three days after sprinkling little water over it so that a hard surface is formed.

⇰ This surface is then coated with a paste of cow dung and rammed again with thapies for two days.

⇰ Finally, finishing is done with a cement cow-dung plaster ratio of 1:4 and is wiped clean immediately by hand.

Maintenance of Muram Flooring

For maintenance of muram flooring, a thin wash of cow-dung and cement should be provided to the surface of the floor and wiped clean instantly to keep the surface in good condition.

If applied thick wash, it would be quickly caked and peeled off. Wash may be implemented once or twice a week depending on the intensity of traffic over the floor.

Advantages of Muram Flooring

The following are the advantages of muram flooring:

1. This floor is hard and very cheap.

2. It is smooth and easy to construct.

3. Muram flooring gives comfort in all seasons.

4. It has a long life if well-maintained.

Disadvantages of Muram Flooring

1. Frequent maintenance is required.

2. This floor is less impermeable.

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Flagstone Flooring | Building Construction

Flagstone Flooring

The floor whose surface is covered by a square or rectangular flagstone slab is called flagstone flooring. Flagstone is another form of sandstone. 20 mm to 40 mm uniformly thick sandstone slab is known as flagstone. It is mainly used for flooring, roofing, and walkways.

Read Also: Different Types of Flooring

Method of Flagstone Flooring

For the construction of flagstone flooring, first of all, a layer of earth is filled uniformly in the flooring area. The layer is rammed hard after mixing water with it.

If the soil quality is not too good, a layer of rubble boulders or broken brick-bats around 250 mm thick is laid on it. This layer is then rammed so that the broken bricks are fully embedded in the flooring soil, and a hard bed is obtained.

A layer of lime concrete, 100 mm to 150 mm thick, is then spread over the hard bed. Again this layer is rammed to get a consolidated layer and left to set for 2 to 3 days.

Construction method of flagstone flooring

After this process, a layer of lime mortar, 20 to 25 mm thick is spread and flagstones are fitted in it. Once stone slabs are properly set in the mortar layer, the mortar that has come out through joints is raked off for a depth of about 20 mm and flush-pointed with 1:3 cement mortar.

The standard dimensions of stone blocks are usually 300 mm x 300 mm, 450 mm x 450 mm, 600 mm x 600 mm, and 450 mm x 600 mm. The stones used should be enough hard, durable, and of fine quality.

The stones are dressed on all the edges so that joints are kept thin, to give them a better look. These types of floors are used in such a place(like – Stores, Godowns, sheds, etc.) where heavy load movement have to be handled.

Advantages of Flagstone Flooring

Following are the 4 advantages of flagstone flooring:

1. Flagstone flooring is very economical for the place where the stone is easily available.
2. Maintenance is easy and cheap.
3. It is hard, durable, and wear-resistant.
4. It can withstand wear during the movement of heavy loads.

Disadvantages of Flagstone Flooring

1. It is not a very fine and smooth type of floor.
2. It is not very impervious as water can percolate through damaged portions.
3. When iron-tired thellas move over the flagstone floor, it produces a lot of noise.

Mud Flooring

Muram Flooring

Granolithic Flooring

Mud Flooring – Construction Method, Maintenance, Advantages

Mud flooring, also known as earth flooring or mud floors is the cheapest form of flooring. This is a traditional flooring type, made from a mixture of clay soil(mud), water, and sometimes other natural materials like – straw or animal dung(mostly cow dung). The mud floor is usually made in the Kutcha village house.

Mud Flooring with advantages and Disadvantages

⇛ Materials required for making mud floors are very easy to get at any place.

⇛ It is fairly hard, impervious, and easy to construct and maintain.

⇛ Mud flooring is ideal for locations where the temperature increases very high during the summer and falls extremely low in the winter. This type of floor helps to keep the house warm in cold weather and keep cool even in hot weather.

Method of Mud Flooring

⇒ First, about 25 cm thick, a layer of selected earth is uniformly distributed. Then the layer is moistened by sprinkling water over it. After moistening, the layer is compacted by a rammer to get a hard-consolidated layer of about 15 cm thickness. Ramming should be done frequently to get a proper hard-level surface.

⇒ During ramming, if any place of the floor is found sits there should be filled with selected earth and if there is too much soil at any place then it has to be lifted. It should be remembered that no water is added during the process of ramming.

⇒ This layer may be cracked after it dries, to prevent this type of crack in the mud floor, moist selected earth is mixed with the chopped straw before ramming.

Maintenance of Mud Floors

⇨ Mud floors require frequent maintenance for their upkeep. The floor should be given a thin wash of cow dung and cement mixture at least once a week.

⇨ Cow-dung and cement wash consists of three to four parts of cow-dung to one part of cement. The floor is not good from a sanitary point of view.

Advantages of Mud Flooring

The main advantages of mud flooring are as follows:

It is eco-friendly and very cheap.
Skilled labour is not required.
Required materials for this type of flooring are easily available at any place.
It is easy to maintain and repair.
It is well resistant to fire.
It is suitable for extremely acidic environmental conditions.
It has better heat insulation properties compared to other types of flooring. It helps to keep the space cool in summer and warm in winter.
Mud flooring is non-toxic and does not release harmful chemicals and components into the air.

Disadvantages of Mud Flooring

It absorbs moisture from the atmosphere.
Without proper maintenance its life is short.
Periodically, maintenance is required.
It is less impermeable and not durable.

However, it should be noted that mud floors may not be suitable for areas with excessive moisture or heavy foot traffic.

Brick Flooring

Flagstone Flooring

Muram Flooring

Composite Steel Concrete Floor and Deck System

Composite Steel Concrete Floor & Deck System

The use of steel members to support a concrete floor slab offers the possibility of composite construction, in which the steel member are joined to the slab by shear connectors so that the slab serves as a compression flange.

In one simple and constructionally convenient slab system, steel decking, which is often used to act merely as rapidly erected permanent formwork for a bar reinforced slab, serves also as the reinforcement for the concrete slab in a composite role, using thicker wall sections with indentations or protrusions for shear connectors.

Slabs may also be designed to act compositely with the supporting beams by the more usual forms of stud, angle, or channel shear connectors, so that the slab alone spans the short distance between the beams while the compositely acting slab and beam provided the supporting system.

The further combination of a concrete slab on metal decking with shear connect.

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Mud Flooring

Muram Flooring