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Floor
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Aflooristhewalkingsurfaceofaroomorvehicle.
Floorsvaryfromsimpledirtinacavetomany
layeredsurfaces\moderntechnology.Floorsmay
bestone,wood,bamboo,metal,oranyother
materialthatcansupporttheexpectedload.
Thelevelsofabuildingareoftenreferredtoas
floorsalthoughamorepropertermisstoryor
storey.
Floorstypicallyconsistofasubfloorforsupport
andafloorcoveringusedtogiveagoodwalking
surface.Inmodernbuildingsthesubflooroftenhas
electricalwiring,plumbing,andotherservicesbuilt
in.Asfloorsmustmeetmanyneeds,someessential
tosafety,floorsarebuilttostrictbuildingcodesin
thefirstworld.

Scrapingawoodenfloor,Caillebotte(1875)

Contents
1Specialfloorstructures
2Floorcovering
3Subfloorconstruction
3.1Groundfloorconstruction
3.2Upperfloorconstruction
3.3Utilities
4Problemswithfloors
5Floorcleaning
6Seealso
7References

Specialfloorstructures
Whereaspecialfloorstructurelikeafloatingfloorislaiduponanotherfloorthenbothmaybereferredto
assubfloors.
Specialfloorstructuresareusedforanumberofpurposes:
Balcony,aplatformprojectingfromawall
Floatingfloor,normallyfornoiseorvibrationreduction
Glassfloor,asinglassbottomedelevators
Nightingalefloormakesanoisewhenanintruderwalksonit
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Raisedfloor,utilitiesunderneathcanbeaccessedeasily
Sprungfloor,improvestheperformanceandsafetyofathletesanddancers

Floorcovering
Floorcoveringisatermtogenericallydescribeanyfinishmaterialappliedoverafloorstructuretoprovide
awalkingsurface.Flooringisthegeneraltermforapermanentcoveringofafloor,orfortheworkof
installingsuchafloorcovering.Bothtermsareused
interchangeablybutfloorcoveringrefersmoretolooselaid
materials.
Materialsalmostalwaysclassifiedasfloorcoveringincludecarpet,
arearugs,andresilientflooringsuchaslinoleumorvinylflooring.
Materialscommonlycalledflooringincludewoodflooring,
laminatedwood,ceramictile,stone,terrazzo,andvariousseamless
chemicalfloorcoatings.[1]
Thechoiceofmaterialforfloorcoveringisaffectedbyfactorssuch
ascost,endurance,noiseinsulation,comfortandcleaningeffort.
Sometypesofflooringmustnotbeinstalledbelowgrade(lower
thangroundlevel),andlaminateorhardwoodshouldbeavoided
wheretheremaybemoistureorcondensation.

Floorsmayincorporateglass,mosaic
orotherartisticexpression.

Thesubfloormaybefinishedinawaythatmakesitusablewithout
anyextrawork,see:
Earthenflooradobeorclayfloors
Solidgroundfloorcementscreedorgranolithic
Thereareanumberofspecialfeaturesthatmaybeusedtoornament
afloororperformausefulservice.ExamplesincludeFloor
medallionswhichprovideadecorativecenterpieceofafloordesign,
orGratingsusedtodrainwaterortorubdirtoffshoes.

Patternedfloor

Subfloorconstruction
Floorsmaybebuiltonbeamsorjoistsorusestructureslikeprefabricatedhollowcoreslabs.Thesubfloor
buildsonthoseandattachesbyvariousmeansparticulartothesupportstructurebutthesupportand
subfloortogetheralwaysprovidesthestrengthofaflooronecansenseunderfoot.Nowadays,subfloorsare
generallymadefromatleasttwolayersofmoistureresistant('AC'grade,onesidefinishedandsandedflat)
plywoodorcompositesheeting,jointlyalsotermedUnderlaymentsonfloorjoistsof2x8,2x10,or2x12's
(dimensionallumber)spacedgenerallyon16inch(40.6cm)centers,intheUnitedStatesandCanada.
Someflooringcomponentsusedsolelyonconcreteslabsconsistofadimpledrubberizedorplasticlayer
muchlikebubblewrapthatprovidelittletinypillarsfortheonehalfinch(12.7mm)sheetmaterialabove.
Thesearemanufacturedin2ft2ft(61cm61cm)squaresandtheedgesfittogetherlikeamortiseand
tenonjoint.Likeaflooronjoistsnotonconcrete,asecondsheetingunderlaymentlayerisaddedwith
staggeredjointstodisperseforcesthatwouldopenajointunderthestressofliveloadslikeaperson
walking.
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Threelayersarecommononlyinhighendhighestqualityconstruction.Thetwolayersinhighquality
constructionwillbothbethick34inch(19.1mm)sheets(aswillthethirdwhenpresent),butthetwolayers
mayachieveacombinedthicknessofonlyhalfthatincheaperconstruction12in(12.7mm)panel
overlaidby14in(6.4mm)plywoodsubflooring.Atthehighestend,orinselectroomsofthebuildingthere
mightwellbethreesheetinglayers,andsuchstiffsubflooringisnecessarytopreventthecrackingoflarge
floortilesof910inches(22.925.4cm)ormoreonaside,andthestructureundersuchafloorwill
frequentlyalsohaveextra'bracing'and'blocking'joisttojoistintendedspreadtheweighttohaveaslittle
saggingonanyjoistaspossiblewhenthereisaliveloadonthefloorabove.
InEuropeandNorthAmericaonlyafewrarefloorswillbeseentohavenoseparatefloorcoveringontop,
andthosearenormallybecauseofatemporaryconditionpendingsalesoroccupancyinsemicustomnew
constructionandsomerentalmarkets,suchfloorsareprovidedforthenewhomebuyer(renter)toselect
theirownpreferredfloorcoveringsusuallyawalltowallcarpet,oronepiecevinylfloorcovering.Wood
clad('Hardwood')andtilecoveredfinishedfloorsgenerallywillrequireastifferhigherqualitysubfloor,
especiallyforthelaterclass.Sincethewallbaseandflooringinteractformingajoint,suchlateradded
semicustomfloorswillgenerallynotbehardwoodforthatjointconstructionwouldbeinthewrongorder
unlessthewallbasetrimwasalsodelayedpendingthechoosing.
Thesubfloormayalsoprovideunderfloorheatingandiffloorradiantheatingisnotused,willcertainly
sufferpunctureopeningstobeputthroughforforcedairductsforbothheatingandairconditioning,orpipe
holesforforcedhotwaterorsteamheatingtransportpipingconveyingtheheatfromfurnacetothetolocal
room'sheatexchangers(radiators).
Somesubfloorsareinsetbelowthetopsurfacelevelofsurroundingflooring'sjoistsandsuchsubfloorsand
anormalheightjoistarejoinedtomakeaplywoodboxbothmoldingandcontainingatleasttwoinches
(5cm)ofconcrete(A'MudFloor'inbuildersparlance).Alternatively,onlyaslightlyinsetfloortoppedbya
fibrousmeshandconcretebuildingcompositefloorcladdingisusedforsmallerhighqualitytilefloors
these'concrete'subfloorshaveagoodthermalmatchwithceramictilesandsoarepopularwithbuilders
constructingkitchen,laundryandespeciallybothcommonandhighendbathroomsandanyotherroom
wherelargeexpansesofwellsupportedceramictilewillbeusedasafinishedfloor.Floorsusingsmall
(4.5inor11.4cmandsmaller)ceramictilesgenerallyuseonlyanadditional14inch(6.4mm)layerof
plywood(ifthat)andsubstituteadhesiveandsubstratematerialsmakingdowithbothaflexiblejointsand
semiflexiblemountingcompoundsandsoaredesignedtowithstandthegreaterflexingwhichlargetiles
cannottoleratewithoutbreaking.

Groundfloorconstruction
Agroundlevelfloorcanbeanearthenfloormadeofsoil,orbesolidgroundfloorsmadeofconcreteslab.
Groundlevelslabfloorsareuncommoninnorthernlatitudeswherefreezingprovidessignificantstructural
problems,exceptinheatedinteriorspacessuchasbasementsorforoutdoorunheatedstructuressuchasa
gazeboorshedwhereunitarytemperaturesarenotcreatingpocketsoftroublesomemeltwaters.Ground
levelslabfloorsarepreparedforpouringbygradingthesite,whichusuallyalsoinvolvesremovingtopsoil
andotherorganicmaterialswellawayfromtheslabsite.Oncethesitehasreachedasuitablefirminorganic
basematerialthatisgradedfurthersothatitisflatandlevel,andthentoppedbyspreadingalayercakeof
forcedispersingsandandgravel.Deeperchannelsmaybedug,especiallytheslabendsandacrosstheslab
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widthatregularintervalsinwhichacontinuousrunofrebarisbentandwiredtositattwoheightswithin
formingasubslab'concretegirder'.Abovethetargetedbottomheight(coplanarwiththecompactedsand
andgraveltopping)aseparategridofrebarorweldedwiremeshisusuallyaddedtoreinforcetheconcrete,
andwillbetiedtotheunderslab'girder'rebaratintervals.Theunderslabcastgirdersareusedespeciallyif
ittheslabbeusedstructurally,i.e.tosupportpartofthebuilding.

Upperfloorconstruction
Floorsinwoodframehomesareusuallyconstructedwithjoists
centerednomorethan16inches(41centimeters)apart,accordingto
mostbuildingcodes.Heavyfloors,suchasthosemadeofstone,
requiremorecloselyspacedjoists.Ifthespanbetweenloadbearing
wallsistoolongforjoiststosafelysupport,thenaheavycrossbeam
(thickorlaminatedwood,orametalIbeamorHbeam)maybe
used.A"subfloor"ofplywoodorwaferboardisthenlaidoverthe
joists.

Utilities
Inmodernbuildings,therearenumerousservicesprovidedviaducts
orwiresunderneaththefloororabovetheceiling.Thefloorofone
leveltypicallyalsoholdstheceilingofthelevelbelow(ifany).

Multifloorconstruction,Katowice
(2012)

Servicesprovidedbysubfloorsinclude:
Airconditioning
Communicationfibers
Electricalwiring
Fireprotection
Thermalinsulation
Plumbing
Sewerage
Soundproofing
Underfloorheating
Infloorssupportedbyjoists,utilitiesarerunthroughthefloorbydrillingsmallholesthroughthejoiststo
serveasconduits.Wherethefloorisoverthebasementorcrawlspace,utilitiesmayinsteadberununderthe
joists,makingtheinstallationlessexpensive.Also,ductsforairconditioning(centralheatingandcooling)
arelargeandcannotcrossthroughjoistsorbeamsthus,ductsaretypicallyatorneartheplenum,orcome
directlyfromunderneath(orfromanattic).
Pipesforplumbing,sewerage,underfloorheating,andotherutilitiesmaybelaiddirectlyinslabfloors,
typicallyviacellularfloorraceways.However,latermaintenanceofthesesystemscanbeexpensive,
requiringtheopeningofconcreteorotherfixedstructures.Electricallyheatedfloorsareavailable,andboth
kindsofsystemscanalsobeusedinwoodfloorsaswell.

Problemswithfloors
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Woodfloors,particularlyolderones,willtendto'squeak'incertainplaces.Thisiscausedbythewood
rubbingagainstotherwood,usuallyatajointofthesubfloor.Firmlysecuringthepiecestoeachotherwith
screwsornailsmayreducethisproblem.
Floorvibrationisaproblemwithfloors.Woodfloorstendtopasssound,particularlyheavyfootstepsand
lowbassfrequencies.Floatingfloorscanreducethisproblem.Concretefloorsareusuallysomassivethey
donothavethisproblem,buttheyarealsomuchmoreexpensivetoconstructandmustmeetmorestringent
buildingrequirementsduetotheirweight.
Floorswithachemicalsealer,likestainedconcreteorepoxyfinishes,usuallyhaveaslickfinishpresenting
apotentialslipandfallhazard,howeverthereareantiskidadditiveswhichcanhelpmitigatethisand
provideincreasedtraction.
Theflooringmayneedprotectionsometimes.Agymfloorcovercanbeusedtoreducetheneedtosatisfy
incompatiblerequirements.

Floorcleaning
Floorcleaningisamajoroccupationthroughoutthe
worldandhasbeensinceancienttimes.Cleaningis
essentialtopreventinjuriesduetoslipsandtoremove
dirt.Floorsarealsotreatedtoprotectorbeautifythe
surface.Thecorrectmethodtocleanonetypeoffloor
canoftendamageanother,soitisimportanttousethe
correcttreatment.

Seealso
Monksweepingthefloor Sailorsscrubbingthedeck
floorofthebattleship
(1472)
HMSRodney

Floorarea(building)
Floornumbering
Floorplan

Sidewalk
Storey

References
1. WorldFloorCoveringAssociation(http://www.wfca.org/)

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