Floor is a generic term for permanent floor coverings, or for the job of installing such floor coverings. Floor cover is a term to describe in general any finished material applied over a floor structure to provide a walking surface. Both terms are used interchangeably but the floor covering refers more to loose material.
Materials are almost always classified as floors including carpets, laminates, tiles and vinyl.
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Subfloor
The floor below the floor is called a subfloor, which provides support for the floor. Special purpose substrates such as floating floors, raised floors, or raised floors can be placed on top of other underlying subfloor that provide structural strength. Subfloors that are under the floor (underground) or ground floor in a building without a basement usually have a concrete subfloor. Top class (topsoil) subfloor usually has a plywood subfloor.
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Floor material
Material selection for floor coverings is influenced by factors such as cost, durability, noise isolation, comfort and cleaning efforts. Some types of flooring should not be installed below the level, including laminate and hardwood due to potential damage from moisture.
Sub-floors can be completed in a way that makes it usable without additional work, see:
- Dry ground floor or clay floor
- Solid ground floor, slope/solidification/granolytic screening, modified concrete with polymer and leveling/screed wear.
Carpet
Carpet is a soft floor covering made of fiber tied carpet or stapled fiber. Carpets refers to wall-to-wall coverage, whereas carpets are only used to cover space. This type of floor is usually used indoors and can be used in both high and low traffic areas. This usually lasts for 15-18 years before it needs to be replaced. The quality of the carpet is usually measured in the face weight, or how much fiber there is per square inch. The higher the weight of the face, the more luxurious the carpet will be felt.
Carpets come in a variety of materials including wool, nylon, olefin and polyester.
There are different types of carpets like bend, which are often referred to as berber. The twist carpet consists of several bent fibers mounted on the carpet mats. This is usually used in areas with low traffic. Another type of carpet is a circular carpet, composed of circular fibers mounted on a carpet mat. This type of carpet is usually used in high traffic areas because it is easy to clean.
Carpet Padding
Padding can be placed under the carpet for added comfort and provide some noise insulation. The comfort level is determined by the type of material used, which may include memory foam and regrind rubber.
Wooden floor
Many different wood species are made to wooden floors in two main forms: boards and parquet. Hardwood is usually much more durable than softwood. Reclaimed wood has a unique appearance and is used in green buildings (which are environmentally responsible).
Hardwoods are engineered to have a thin solid wood coating on the top with a composite core. This can be a cheaper option than buying hardwood, but it can not be sanded and repaired. These floors are usually installed by the click-key method.
Bamboo floor is a floor made of bamboo plants and is a type of hardwood floor, although technically not wood. Bamboo is known to be durable and environmentally friendly. It is available in a variety of patterns, colors, and textures.
The cork floor is a floor material made from a by-product of a cork oak tree. The cork floor is considered environmentally friendly because the bark of a cork oak tree is stripped every nine to ten years and does not damage the tree. The cork floor is on tiles and boards, and can have glue or glue mounting.
Laminate
Laminates are floor coverings that look similar to hardwood but are made with plywood or medium density fiberboard ("MDF") with a plastic laminate top layer. HDF laminates consist of a high density fiberboard topped by one or more layers of decorative paper and a transparent protective layer. Laminates may be more durable than hardwood, but can not be smoothed like hardwoods. Floor laminates are available in many different patterns that can resemble different wood or even ceramic tiles. This usually locks or taps together. Underlayment is required for laminate flooring to provide moisture and noise control. The actual AC rating is a good gauge of how well laminated products can work in your residential or commercial environments, so be wiser when you're going through the laminate flooring options to understand what AC Ratings really are.
Hard floor
The hard floor (not to be confused with "hardwood") is a family of flooring materials that include concrete or cement, ceramic tiles, glass tiles, and natural stone products.
Ceramic tile is a clay product that is formed into thin tiles and fired. Ceramic tiles are arranged on a bed of mortar or mastic with joints between grouting tiles. Varieties of ceramic tiles include quartz tiles, porcelain, terracotta.
Many different natural stones are cut into different sizes, shapes, and thickness to be used as flooring. The stone floor uses a mounting method similar to ceramic tiles. Slate and marble are popular stone floor types that require polishing and sealing. Stone aggregates, such as Terrazzo, can also be used instead of raw cut stones and are available as ready-made tiles or to be built in place using cement binders.
Stoneware porcelain can be used as a substitute for natural stone. These are ceramic materials such as tiles; However, it is usually 20 mm (0.79 inches) thick and often comes in a 60 cm (24 inch) box.
Concrete or finished cement floors are also used because of their ability to be treated for different flavors and durability, such as polished concrete. Epoxy coatings from concrete floors are used to update or upgrade concrete floor surfaces in commercial and residential applications - see the seamless polymer flooring section below.
Long-lasting floor
Unlike ceramic and stone tiles, made of minerals, tough floors are made of materials that have some elasticity, providing a degree of flexibility called endurance. Performance surfaces used for dancing or athletics are usually made of wood or tough floors.
The tough floor includes many different manufacturing products including linoleum, vinyl sheets, vinyl composition tiles (VCT), corks (sheets or tiles), and rubber.
Vinyl floors are available in large sheets or pre-cut tiles; the first tough. Some come with pre-applied adhesives for peel installations and sticks, others require adhesives to spread to the substrate.
The two basic categories of vinyl floor tiles are solid vinyl and vinyl composition, and the three basic categories of vinyl sheet sheets are homogeneous, ornamental, and plated composites. This type of vinyl floor is different in the manufacturing process and content, ranging from vinyl content (polyvinyl chloride) from 11% to 55%.
Robust floor products, such as PVC and polypropylene, are becoming more popular in specialized applications such as trailer flooring and garage flooring. New apps also appear for the ocean floor. There are important factors to consider in a specific application, which may not be in a typical application. For example, certain tires will leave marks on the PVC floor but they will be less common on polypropylene products. Adhesives also change based on application.
Smooth polymer floor
Many different and seamless flooring materials are available that vary from latex air drying emulsion polymers to reactive thermoset resins such as water-soluble urethan, solvents or solvents, polyaspartics and epoxies. Applied in liquid form, all dry and/or medicated to provide a really smooth floor covering.
They find use in situations ranging from simple protection from the domestic garage floor, to the restoration and protection of commercial and industrial floors. They are also used to solve problems in industries such as wet areas in laboratories or food processing plants where oil and fat spills are easily absorbed and difficult to clean. Another reason for covering concrete with synthetic resin floors is to improve chemical resistance, increase resistance to impact and wear, and for aesthetic performance purposes.
A smooth polymer floor can take many forms:
- The floor seal is applied less than 6 miles (0.15 mm)
- Floor coatings are applied at 6 - 12 miles (0.15 - 0.3 mm)
- High floor building coatings are applied on 6 - 40 miles (0.15 - 1 mm)
- Floor broadcast with embedded aggregate is applied over 80 miles (2 mm)
- Grooves used (self-trimming floors) applied on 80 - 120 mil (2 - 3 mm)
- Spades finished with screed resin flooring applied over 160 miles (4 mm)
- Heavy duty flow is applied at 160 - 240 miles (4 - 6 mm)
- Heavy duty shovel so floor screed resin used exceeds 240mil (6 mm)
They usually have granular or rubber particles added to provide better traction/slip resistance on the sidewalk and steps especially in the frequently washed areas, and for better traction/skid resistance in the traffic aisles.
Ongoing floor
Sustainable floors are produced from more sustainable materials (and by more sustainable processes) that reduce demands on ecosystems over their lifecycle.
Features
There are a number of special features that can be used to decorate the floor or do useful services:
- Floor medallions decorative center decoration of floor design
- The latch to help keep the floor clean
- Grating is used to drain water or to rub the dirt from shoes
- Tactile or rumbling strips to warn eg wheelchairs, this will usually also be colored or patterned.
- A light strip to show an exit route, especially on an airplane.
- Relief or wallcoverings to decorate the side of the floor or to cover the edges of the floating floors.
- Anti-slip pedestal: The addition of either granular or rubber particles will allow the wheels, shoes, or legs to be better.
See also
- Floor cleaning
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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