Floor and Floor Treatments

Floor And Floor Treatments 3 (1+2)

Lesson :04 NON-RESILIENT: TRADITIONAL FLOORING

Construction technique:

• An excavation is made about 40 cm below the intended surface or level of the floor.
• The earth is then leveled, watered and well rammed until it becomes dry and hard.
• The sub-grade bed is prepared and well soaked bricks are laid in desired shape (parallel rows or herring-bone pattern) in cement or lime mortar.
• The slope is provided to the floor to take care of floor washing.
• Adequate bond between the brick and the mortar is obtained by plastering the surface.
• Flooring should be cured for a minimum period of seven days before use.

Maintenance

Easy to maintain with sweeping and mopping.

Concrete Flooring:

Concrete is the primary structural material of floor in most contemporary structures. Bare concrete surface can be covered with colored cement flooring. This is called as Indian Patent Stone (IPS). This type of flooring is commonly used in residential, commercial and public buildings and also for utility and service areas. Concrete is a mixture of cement, water, fine sand (aggregate) and coarse crushed stone (coarse aggregate). These are mixed in dry form and then combined with water, to form concrete mixture. This flooring requires curing with water for longer duration. Curing agent (generally water) controls the drying process so that maximum hardness can be achieved. The surface of interior concrete floors may be enhanced by the application of floor finish. Color sealing can be applied.

Characteristics:

• Do not possess satisfactory insulation property against sound and heat.
• Concrete is non-absorbent after curing.
• Freshly laid concrete floor must be sealed with permeable sealer.
• Sometimes the curing process of concretes can take up to one year.
• There is possibility of developing hair cracks on account of settlements.
• It is non- combustible and hence offers a fire resistant.
• It is smooth, hard and even surface.
• Defects cannot be repaired by patch work.

Construction technique: Can be divided into two steps

Step 1

• Prepare of sub base i.e the earth filling is consolidated thoroughly.
• 10-15 cm thick layer sand course is spread over the whole area, consolidated to the required level and slope.
• Base of cement concrete is laid to a thickness of 7-10 cm and leveled to a rough surface.
• When base concrete layer is fully set and hardened its surface is thoroughly cleaned. The surface of the base concrete is made damp and applied with a coat of cement slurry and evenly spread by using wooden floaters till the cream of the mortar comes at top. The surface then smoothened and finally finished with color sealers and polished till it shines.

Maintenances:

Easy to maintain with sweeping and mopping and with water. Polishing can be done to regain shining.