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The type of floor finish to be applied to a floor will depend

FLOOR FINISHES
upon a number of factors such as;
✓degree of comfort required (comfort criteria)
✓type of base
✓room usage
✓maintenance problems
✓cost

✓Appearance

✓safety and individual preference

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Floor finishes Floor finishes

The performance criteria of floor finishes may be
discussed under the following headings;
Wear
✓Good resistance to wear caused by pedestrians and vehicles is
almost always a primary requirement – surfaces are often deemed to
be worn out when quite superficial deterioration mars the
appearance.
✓Wear is greatest where traffic is concentrated, where it starts,
stops and in particular where it turns, and it is an advantage if
floorings can be renewed locally in such areas.
✓It is often economical to eliminate causes of serious deterioration
such as badly designed legs to furniture and steel tyred trucks.
✓The effective lives of most flooring depend very much on how well
they are looked after and in selecting materials it is most important
to know how much effort and care will be expended in cleaning and
maintenance when the building is in use.
Cleaning and surface protection
✓It is important that the correct treatment is applied for each type of
floor finish.
✓Manufacturers’ instructions should be carefully followed and tried
out on small areas, and instructions should be displayed for
maintenance staff to read.
✓In deciding upon floorings, it should ne borne in mind that if too
many treatments are required in one building, then wrong treatments
are more likely to be given to some surfaces.
✓In design of buildings, it is important to realize that it is often
difficult to clean and treat floors without scrapping and dirtying the
lower parts of walls and fixed furniture. These parts should therefore
be hard and easily cleaned.
✓Smoothness, which makes floorings easier to keep clean, is obtained
by fine abrasion; pores can be then filled and the final polish given by
a polish or seal.

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Floor finishes Floor finishes

Comfort criteria Sound control
✓Although to some extent subjective, comfort assessments are
influenced by the temperature, resilience, colour, pattern and ✓ soft flooring which are not masked by furniture can
texture of the floor, the temperature and humidity of the contribute to the absorption of air-borne sound in a room.
atmosphere and by the footwear and activities of the users. ✓ They also absorb impact sound and reduce its transmission
✓The properties which affect the ‘comfort’ of floors are; through floors.
✓Sound control ✓ Examples include floating floors comprising tongued and
✓Resilience grooved strip or boards, or heavy screeds on resilient
✓Freedom from slipperiness underlays, reduce the transmission of impact sound if they
are isolated at their edges from surrounding walls and
✓Warmth
columns.
✓Appearance
✓ floor finishes are generally of little value in reducing the
Softness, quietness, resilience and warmth tend to go together, transmission of air-borne sound through floors – the extent to
while on the other extreme, hardness, noisiness and coldness are
which this occurs depending mainly upon the mass of the
associated with materials such as concrete and clay tiles.
floor as a whole and that of the surrounding walls.

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Floor finishes
Resilience
✓ ‘Dead’ floors are tiring to walk on and resilience is particularly necessary
for dancing, gymnastic and similar activities.
✓Thus wood is more resilient than concrete and wood strips laid on joists
or battens are more comfortable than wood blocks laid on concrete.
Freedom from slipperiness
✓slipping on floors is a major cause of injuries in buildings, in particular to
children, physically handicapped and elderly.
✓Accidents are more likely to occur in badly lit conditions ,sharp corners,
thresholds, stairs and ramps, on surfaces made uneven or polished by wear
or where the degree of slipperiness suddenly changes. Unexpected
conditions are dangerous, e.g where polish is transferred on footwear from
a polished surface onto materials such as terrazzo and where a floor is dull
in appearance is slippery.
✓Gloss and slipperiness are not related. Moisture, dirt and grease reduce
friction and are particularly hazardous on rubber, PVC and some clay tiles.
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Floor finishes
Appearance
✓Floor covering are an important factor in determining the
‘scale’ of a room and whether it is gay or formal, warm or
cold, etc.
✓Floor finishes are always condemned because they have
lost a surface pattern, faded or worn unevenly.
Monochromes (black, white, glossy surfaces),show the
slightest mark, whereas marbled and similar patterns help
to camouflage even marks made by black rubber shoes.
✓Patterns and colours should be chosen from large samples.
To ensure matching throughout a contract, the material
should be obtained in one batch and a proportion of
additional material should be ordered for future repairs.
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Floor finishes
Resistance to water
✓Where floor surfaces are likely to be constantly wet the
choice of floorings excludes wood products, carpet, linoleum,
and all adhesives.
✓Finishes in baths and other wet areas may require tanking,
but mainly should be water resistant.
Resistance to freezing
✓In very cold regions, external floor finish must be frost
proof e.g mastic asphalt, tarmacadam, fully vitrified ceramic
tiles and good quality stones and concrete.
Freedom from dusting
✓Dust arising from abrasion must be avoided particularly
where precision work if performed. Concrete floorings tend
to produce dust, while ceramic tiles do not. Care must
always be taken while choosing the jointing material.
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Floor finishes
✓Stair treads of hard stones, terrazzo and timber require
non-slip nosing or inserts.
✓Resistance to slip is increased by frequent joints, embossed
surfaces and by the temporary depression of soft materials
such as cork.
Warmth
✓Effective ‘warmth’ depends upon the temperature of a
surface, its thermal conductivity, thermal capacity, the
temperature of the air near the surface and on whether
shoes are worn.
✓Dampness reduces the thermal insulation of porous floorings
and increase the transfer of heat from shoe to floor. Parts of
the body not in contact with floors are cooled by radiation to
cold surfaces. Contrariwise hot floors can be uncomfortable
and floor warming should not raise the surface temperature
above 25 degrees.
Floor finishes
Special requirements
Industrial floors
✓Typical requirements are high resistance to impact, trucking, thermal shock
and constant wet conditions.
Under floor warming
✓Generally, under floor warming which does cause discomfort to occupants does
not present much problems.
✓Stones,ceramics and concrete which have high thermal capacity are ideal but
manufacturers of other floor finishes and of adhesives should be consulted.
✓Some organic materials soften, embrittle or shrink, especially if they are
overlaid with carpets or similar insulation.
Floor finishes
Resistance to chemicals
✓No flooring or jointing material can resist all possible
combinations of chemical attack, and in buildings, such as
food processing factories and laboratories spillage should
either be avoided or arrangements made for its prompt
removal.
✓In such situations paviors or vitrified ceramic tiles with
chemical resistant bedding mortars and jointing materials
combine high resistance to chemicals with resistance to
trucking and thermal shock.
✓Floors should be laid to a fall, where dangers of slipping or
or trucks rolling do not arise.
✓A chemical resistant membrane such as mastic asphalt or
polythene sheet may be required below the flooring as a
second defense.
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Floor finishes Floor finishes

Fire properties
Floors do not generally present a serious fire hazard, but
non-combustible flooring may be required in escape routes
Resistance to sparking
✓Sparks can arise from impact by metals on hard surfaces or
from friction on electrically non-conductive materials such
as pvc and rubber.
✓Where gases with a low flash point occur, as in operating
theatres, electrically conductive materials must be used.
Expert advice should be sought for specific cases.
✓Ordinary grades of ceramic tiles, PVC, rubber, cork and
asphalt are poor conductors of electricity but conductive
grades are available.
✓Terrazzo is often used as an electrically conductive floor.
Electrical bonding by copper strips or by a special adhesive
or coating on the underside of flooring may be required to
give uniform conductivity through out a floor.
✓Floor polishes or seals must not be allowed to reduce
anti-static properties.
X-ray resistance
✓Ordinary flooring do not resist X-rays and a lead or other
resistant barrier may be needed

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Floor finishes Floor finishes

Costs of flooring Floor finishes can be considered under three main headings;

✓Initialcosts of floor vary as much as possible but A.
differences in serviceable lives can be of the same
order.
✓Low initial cost is often associated with rapid B.
deterioration, high maintenance costs and high costs-
in-use.
✓The fact that timber, terrazzo, cork, natural stones C.
being homogeneous throughout their thickness can be
resurfaced, substantially reduces their costs in use.
In –situ floor finishes – those finishes which are mixed on
site, laid in a fluid state, allowed to dry and set to form
a hard joint less surface
Applied floor finishes – those finishes which are supplied
in tile or sheet form and are laid on to suitably
prepared base.
Timber floor finishes – boards, sheet and blocks of
timber laid on or attached to a suitable structural
frame or base.

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Floor finishes Floor finishes

A. In situ floor finishes – can also be classified as those laid while 1) Granolithic
plastic. They can either be laid with or without joints. They are
classified as below; ✓ this is generally a monolithic screed finish in which the screed
contains a crushed granite aggregate.
Laid with joints
✓ A mixture of Portland cement and granite chippings can be applied
1. Granolithic to a ‘green’ or cured concrete sub-floor. A typical mix of
2. Plain concrete granolithic is 1 part cement; 1 part sand; 2 parts granite chippings
(5-10mm free form dust) by volume.
3. Terrazzo
✓ After the topping has been leveled and fully compacted, and is set,
4. Magnesium oxychloride (magnesite)
it must be trowelled at least three times during the next 6 to 10
Laid without joints; hours to produce a hard and dense surface free from laitance. The
1. Mastic asphalt surface of the finish can be polished to a fine finish where the
marble aggregates enhance the appearance of the floor finish.
2. Pitch mastic
✓ The finish obtained is very hardwearing, noisy and cold to touch. It
3. Cement rubber – latex is used mainly in situations where easy maintenance and durability
4. Cement bitumen emulsion are paramount such as common entrance halls to a block of flats or
garages.
5. Resin – based in situ floorings

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✓Other properties include; subject to ‘dusting’, resistant to alkalis,
mineral oils and many salts, slippery when wet, if abrasive is not
incorporated in surface. It is mainly gray in colour and the bays are
defined by dividing strips.
✓If it is being applied to green concrete subfloor as a topping it is
applied in a single layer approximately 20mm thick in bays not
exceeding 28m2 and trowelled to a smooth surface. This method
results in a monolithic floor and finish construction.
✓The surface of mature concrete will need to be prepared by hacking
the entire area, brushing well to remove all laitance before laying a
single layer of granolithic which should at least be 40mm thick. The
finish should be laid on a wet cement slurry coating in bays not
exceeding 14m2.
✓Non –slip properties can be obtained by troweling in non-slip granules
or later, surfaces can be mechanically or chemically roughened.
✓For its maintenance, it is mainly swept and washed.

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Floor finishes
2) Plain concrete toppings
These with ordinary aggregates provide utilitarian finishes for light and
medium duty. They should be laid as recommended for granolithic
finishes.
3) Terrazzo
✓Thisquality floor and wall finish although initially costly provides a
hard wearing washable surface in a very wide range of colour
combinations.
✓It consist of white or coloured cement with crushed marble
aggregate, laid usually on a concrete base and later ground and
polished.
✓Itcan be slippery when wet or where floor polish is transferred to it
from adjacent floorings.
✓For safety, the finish should not be smoother than ‘fine grit’.
✓Carborandum or bauxite grit can incorporated in, or trowelled into
the mixes. Non – slip inlays are often included in the front edges of
stair treads. If polish is ever used, it should be wax free.
Floor finish
✓Terrazzo is often used in entrance halls to public buildings, food
shops, lavatories and in hospitals. It is especially suitable for anti-
static floors.
✓It can be laid in three ways, monolithically (laid on green
concrete), bonded (on a screed backing) or using unbonded
construction (use thick screed backing reinforced with light mesh
reinforcement and laid on bitumen felt).
✓The surface is finished by grinding and polishing using a machine.
✓Before it is opened to traffic, terrazzo should be scrubbed with an
acid and alkali free soap and allowed to stand overnight. The
following day, the surface should be scrubbed vigorously with hot
water and rinsed.
✓Subsequently surfaces should be kept clean with soft soap, while
avoiding harsh detergents.

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Floor finishes
4) Magnesium oxychloride (magnesite)
✓This comparatively low cost – finish consisting of calcined magnesite, wood
or mineral fillers, pigments and sometimes silica, talc or powdered asbestos,
gauged with a solution of magnesium chloride, can be laid in plain colours
and in mottled and terrazzo effects. However, the colours are dull and this
finish has been largely overtaken by preformed floorings.
✓If the surface is protected by oil or wax, resistance to wear is moderate to
high and the flooring is free from dusting. It is slippery if highly polished but
abrasive grit can be incorporated in the finish to give a non-slip surface.
✓Wood-fillers make the material moderately warm and resilient.
✓This material is not seriously affected by alkalis, non-drying oils, greases
and organic solvent, but it gradually disintegrates if it is continuously
exposed to water or to acids and salts.
✓Itabsorbs moisture from the air and ‘sweating’ may occur in humid
atmospheres.
✓It corrodes metals and stains plaster and should be separated form them by
at least 25mm of uncracked, dense concrete or by a bituminous coating.
✓Can be used as an underlay for thin sheet and tile floorings.

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The other in situ floor finishes laid without joints are;
1) Mastic asphalt
✓This is a naturally occurring bituminous material obtained from asphalt
lakes or it can also be derived from crude oil residues. This asphalt is
used as a matrix or cement to a suitably graded mineral aggregate to
form mastic asphalt as a material suitable for floor finishing.
✓When laid, mastic asphalt is impervious to water and is ideal for
situations such as washrooms and balconies. It also forms a very good
surface on which to apply thin tile and sheet finishes and will at the
same time fulfill the function of a damp proof membrane or waterproof
decking.
✓Mastic asphalt is a thermoplastic material and has to be melted before
it can be applied to form a joint less floor finish.
✓Hot mastic asphalt is applied by means of a float at a temperature of
between 180 – 210 degrees in a single 13mm coat as a base for applied
finish or in a 16mm single coat for a self finish.

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Floor finishes
✓Any sound and rigid sub-floor is suitable but a layer of ordinary black
sheathing felt should be included between the sub-floor and mastic
asphalt to overcome the problems caused by differential movement.
✓The finish obtained is smooth and hard but the colour range is
limited to dark colours such as red, brown and black.
✓A matt surface can be produced by giving the top surface a dusting of
sand or powdered stone. Also can be polished but heavily gritted
material is less polished.
✓Floated and slightly coarsened concrete or wood boards may be used
as the base.
✓The properties include; wear varying with aggregate from good to
excellent, indented by point loads, low resilience but tolerates slight
movement if laid on sheathing felt, slippery if wet or polished,
moderately warm and quiet, water and vapour proof, it can be
damaged by oils ,greases, acids and sugar solutions, but special grades
are available, and very resistant to alkalis at normal temperatures.
✓Can be swept and washed with warm water and neutral detergent.
Non- solvent polish can be applied, and can be stripped occasionally.

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Floor finishes
2) Pitch mastic
✓This is a similar material to mastic asphalt but is produced from a
mixture of calcareous and/or siliceous aggregates bonded with coal tar
pitch.
✓ It is laid to a similar thickness and in a similar manner to mastic
asphalt with a polished or matt finish.
✓Pitch mastic floors are resistant to water but have a better resistance
to oil and fats than mastic asphalt and are therefore suitable for
washrooms and kitchens.
✓The appropriate base for this finish is floated and slightly coarsened
concrete, not timber. No damp proof membrane is required when it is
used.
✓This finish has similar properties to mastic asphalt but with superior
resistance to mineral oils and inferior resistance to alkalis.
✓It is more brittle at low temperatures and softer at high
temperatures, hence not suitable over floor warming.

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Floor finishes
B) Applied finishes
✓many of the applied floor finishes are thin flexible materials and
should be laid on a sub-floor with a smooth finish. This is often
achieved by laying a cement/sand bed or screed with a steel float
finish on a concrete sub-floor. The usual screed mix is 1:3
cement/sand and great care must be taken to ensure that a good
bond is obtained with the sub-floor.
✓ If the screed is laid on ‘green’ concrete, a thickness of 12mm is
usually specified whereas screeds on mature concrete require a
thickness of 40mm or thereabout.
✓A mature sub-concrete floor must be clean, free from dust and
dampened with water to reduce the suction before applying the
bonding agent to receive the screed.
✓To reduce the possibility of drying shrinkage cracks, screeds should
not be laid in bays exceeding 15m2 in area. Screeds laid over rigid
insulation should be atleast 50mm thick and reinforced with light
steel mesh (chicken wire).
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Floor finishes
The applied floor finishes can be divided into two;
1.Sheet coverings – consists of linoleum, flexible PVC (polyvinyl chloride),
rubber, carpet, etc
2.Tilecoverings - clay tiles (quarry, ceramic, ceramic mosaics),
thermoplastic tiles, cork tiles.
Note however that most of the materials can be produced both as in sheet
and tile forms. They are discussed below;
a)Linoleum (sheet and tiles)
✓This is produced in sheet or tile form from a mixture of drying oils, resins,
fillers, cork and other pigments, which is pressed onto a jute canvas or glass
fibre or hessian or bitumen saturated felt paper or polyester backing.
✓The sheet can be supplied in plain, printed or inlaid finishes. Good quality
linoleum has the pattern inlaid or continuing through the thickness whereas
the cheaper quality has only a printed surface pattern.
✓Linoleum gives a quiet, resilient and hardwearing surface suitable for most
domestic floors
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Floor finishes
✓Thickness varies from 2 to 6.5mm for a standard sheet width of
1,800mm; tiles are usually 300mm square with the same range of
thickness.
✓Fixing of linoleum tiles and sheet is by adhesive to any dry smooth
surface, although the adhesive can sometimes be omitted with the
thicker sheets.
b) Flexible PVC (sheet and tiles)
✓This is a popular hardwearing floor finish produced by a mixture of
polyvinyl chloride resins with pigments , fillers, extenders ,stabilizers
and plasticizers to control flexibility.
✓The mixture is calendered between heated rollers to produce a
sheet of the correct thickness. Designs can be printed onto the sheet
and then a clear surface of clear plastic can be laminated on top to
seal and protect the design. The sheet can be ‘welded’ together at
joints if required.
✓Where this type of floor covering is used on concrete ground floor
slabs, the floor should contain dpm.
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Floor finishes
✓It can also be produced as 300 x 300mm square tiles or in sheet form up
to 2,400mm wide with a range of thickness form 1.5 to 4.5mm.
✓Thefloor tiles and sheet are fixed with an adhesive recommended by the
manufacturer and produce a surface suitable for most situations.
c) Rubber (tiles and sheet)
✓Solid rubber tiles or sheet is produced from natural or synthetic rubber
compounded with fillers to give colour and texture, the rubber content not
being less than 35%. Sulphur is added to vulcanize the rubber ( chemical
process for converting rubber or related polymers into more durable
materials via the addition of sulfur or other equivalent curatives).
✓The covering is hardwearing, quiet and water resistant. It also has
resistance to oils, fats and greases and is anti-static.
✓It is suitable for bathrooms and washrooms, but is not commonly specified for
houses, but tends to be put in places where performance characteristics of the
covering far outweigh its appearance, which tends to be rather bland in comparison
with other sheet coverings.
✓Thicknessrange from 3 to 6.5mm with square tiles sizes ranging from 150 to
1,200mm; sheet widths range from 900 to 1800mm.
✓Fixingis by rubber-, epoxy – or neoprene-based adhesives, as recommended by
manufacturer, to a smooth surface.
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d) Carpet (sheets and tiles)
✓The main materials used in the production of carpets are nylon, acrylics
and wool or mixtures of these materials. The yarn produced can be heated
to produce a hardwearing twist pile or woven into a soft velvet pile.
✓Carpets are manufactured by weaving or stitching yarn into the backing
material. Alternatively, with synthetic fibres, a bunch of fibres can be
needle punched into the backing or glued to the backing. The backing may
be jute, or more common latex.
✓The number of tufts per unit area determines the density of the carpet.
Dense carpet with a short pile tends to be harder wearing than less dense
carpets with a longer pile.
✓There is a vast range of carpet styles, types, patterns, colours, qualities and sizes
available for general domestic use in dry situations since the resistance of carpets
to dampness is generally poor.
✓To obtain maximum life, carpets should be laid over an underlay of felt or latex
and secured by adhesives, nailing around the perimeter or being stretched over and
attached to special edge fixed strips.
✓Carpet is supplied in narrow or wide rolls, carpet squares (600 x 600 x 25mm
thick) are available for covering floors without the use of adhesives; these rely on
interlocking of the edge fibres to form a continuous coverings.

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Floor finishes
Those that are available as tile coverings only are discussed below;
e) Clay tiles; which are available in three types;
i) Quarry tiles
✓The term quarry is derived from the Italian word quadro meaning square and
does not mean that the tiles are cut or won from an open excavation or
quarry.
✓They are made from ordinary or unrefined clays worked into a plastic form,
pressed into shape and hard burnt.
✓Being hardwearing and with a good resistant to water they are suitable for
kitchens and entrance halls but they tend to be noisy and cold.
✓They are produced as square tiles in sizes ranging from 100 x 100 x 20mm to
225 x 225 x 32mm thick.
✓They are laid and jointed in cement; sand mortar, joints grouted with
cement; sand (1:1) grout, and expansion joints of compressible material need
to be laid around the perimeter of the tile covering due to their ability to
expand when they absorb water.
✓They have limited range of colours, mainly red, browns and buffs (pale
yellow-brown). There is a variety of tread patterns available to provide non-
slip surfaces, also a wide range of fittings are available to form skirting and
edge coves.

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Floor finishes
ii) Ceramic tiles
✓These are similar to quarry tiles but are produced from refined
natural clays which are mixed with fluxes to increase vitrification
(process of transforming material into glass). This in then pressed
after grinding and tempered into the desired shape before being fired
at high temperature.
✓Plain clay floor tiles being denser than quarry tiles, are made
smaller and thinner units ranging from 50 x 50mm units to 600 x
600mm, in thickness of 9.5 to 20mm.
✓They are available in much wider range of colours, textures and
designs than quarry tiles and are also thinner and have a fine, smooth
surface finish.
✓Laying, finishes and fittings available are all as well described for
quarry tiles. (also read tiles under wall finishes).
iii) Ceramic mosaics
These are supplied as 38mm square pieces mounted on a paper
backing in pattern ready for laying.

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f) Thermoplastic tiles
✓These are plastic resins mixed with thermoplastic binders, fillers
and pigments and calendered to a thickness of 2-3mm.
✓They differ from other plastic such as PVC in that they only become
flexible when they are heated. The tiles therefore need to be
warmed so that they become flexible before they are laid. They are
fixed with a bituminous adhesive.
✓Because they are so thin the base that they are laid upon should be
flat, as any imperfections will be noticeable in the covering.
✓The tiles are hardwearing, moisture resistant and are suitable for
most situations, being produced generally as a 225mm square tile
either 3 or 4.5mm in thickness.
✓As they age, they can become brittle and fracture, detaching from
their base adhesive. Development of PVC has largely displaced
thermoplastic tiles as they are more resilient and offer a brighter
colour range.

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Floor finishes
G) Cork tiles
✓These are formed of cork granules compressed and baked at high
temperature so that the natural resins present in the grain bond the
particles together.
✓The material thus formed is the cut into tiles and these are fixed to the
surface of the floor with an adhesive recommended by the manufacturer,
with the addition of steel pins around the edge to prevent curling.
✓The tiles are generally 300mm square with thicknesses of 5mm upward
according to the wearing quality required and supplied in three natural
shades.
✓They are hardwearing, quiet and resilient but unless treated with a
surface sealant they may collect dirt and grit.
✓Their surfaces need to be sealed to provide good wearing characteristics
and resistance to water.
✓They have extremely good thermal resistance and therefore provide a
floor covering that is warm to the touch.
✓Cork carpet is a similar material but it is made pliable by bonding the
cork granules with linseed oil and resins on to a jute canvas backing.

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Floor finishes
C) Timber floor finishes and products
✓Timber is a very popular floor finish with both designer and user because of
its natural appearance, resilience and warmth.
✓It is available as board, strip, sheet, parquet or block finish and if attached
to joists, as in case of suspended timber floor, it also acts as a structural
decking.
a) Timber boards
✓Timber floor boards are jointed together by tongued and grooved joints
along their edges and are fixed by nailing to the support joists or fillets
attached to a solid floor. They are available in widths greater than 100mm.
Thicknesses are generally 20, 32 or 38mm. Are generally of made from
softwood.
✓The boards are butt jointed in their length, the joints being positioned
centrally over the supports and staggered so that butt joints do not occur in
the same position in consecutive lengths.
✓The support spacing will be governed by the spanning properties of the board (which
is controlled by its thickness) and supports placed at 400mm centres are usual for
boards of 19 and 22mm thick.
✓The tongue is positioned slightly off center and the boards should be laid with the
narrow shoulder on the underside to give maximum wear.

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✓It is essential that the boards are well cramped together before being
fixed to form a tight joint and that they are laid in position where they
will not be affected with dampness.
✓Timber is a hygroscopic material and will therefore swell and shrink as its
moistures content varies.
✓CT (333).
b) Timber strip flooring
✓These are available in widths up to 100mm, and have the same
thicknesses as those of timber boards. Most are made from hardwood
timber, but softwood strips are also available.
✓They are normally nailed to timber joists and fixed together by tongued
and grooved joints.
✓On concrete sub-floors it is possible to fix timber strip flooring to timber
battens fixed to galvanized steel clips embedded in floor. They are nailed
one strip at a time and secret nailing used (CT333).
✓They are considered superior to wood blocks.
✓(FBT 243).

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Floor finishes
c) Wood blocks
✓These are small blocks of timber usually hardwood which are designed to
be laid in set patterns, flat or quarter sawn into blocks 90mm in width,
thicknesses between 19 -38mm. Lengths range from 150 to 300mm; and
the width being proportional to the length to enable the various patterns
to be created.
✓Block thicknesses range form 20 to 30mm thick and the final thickness after
sanding and polishing being about 5 to 10mm thinner. The blocks are jointed along
their edges with a T & G joint and have a rebate, chamfer or dovetail along bottom
longitudinal edges to take up any surplus adhesive used for fixing.
✓Wood blocks can be fixed by using hot bitumen or cold latex bitumen emulsion. If
hot bitumen is used the upper surface of the sub-floor is first primed with black
varnish to improve adhesion, and then before laying, the bottom face of the block
is dipped into the hot bitumen. Cold adhesive does not require a priming coat to
the sub-floor.
✓To allow for moisture movement, cork expansion strip should be placed around
the entire edge of the block floor.
✓They are normally laid in a herringbone or basket weave pattern (CT 333).

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d) Parquet
✓This is a superior form of wood block flooring made from specially
selected hardwoods chosen mainly for their decorative appearance.
✓They are cut to from patterns either by laying the cut sections directly
onto the sub-floor or pressed onto backing and laid as panels. If the
sections or panels are laid onto timber boarding then the boards should be
covered with hardboard or plywood sheeting prior to laying the parquet
covering to make any surface regularities in the floor boards.
✓They are generally smaller and thinner, and can be fixed using adhesives
or secret nailing.
e) Laminate
A form of parquet flooring in which hardwood strips are mounted on a
laminate backing forming panels of 19 – 25mm thickness, range sizes from
300 to 600mm square . The panels are tongued and grooved on all edges.
The joint between the floor and wall finishes is normally covered by a
skirting board. These are available in a variety of sizes and designs and are
normally timber.

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Floor finishes
Floor screeds
✓It is possible to provide a trowelled finish to solid concrete floors
that is smooth and level enough for the application of most floor
finishes.
✓This is rarely practiced because it could cause damage to the
surface of the floor before the finish is applied, meaning that the
surface of the floor will need to be re-smoothed and re-levelled
prior to the application of the finish.
✓In addition, by providing a screed to the surface of the floor,
conduits, pipes and cables for services may be accommodated
within the thickness of the screed.
✓Screed can either be bonded (bonded to floor to ensure adequate
adhesion) or un –bonded (it is held down by its own mass).
✓Bonded can be monolithic or separate construction, and un-
bonded can be classified as un-bonded and floating screed.
✓FBT 239 -240

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