FLOOR FINISHES

By: Zafar Mehdi

FLOOR

Structural component made to provide a level surface .

It is a horizontal sanitary surface that supports the occupants of

a building, furniture and equipment.

STRUCTURE OF A FLOOR.

The floor is divided into three components

Sub base
Base concrete
Floor finish
 SELECTION OF FLOORING MATERIAL

Cleanliness-
The flooring should be capable of being cleaned easily, and
it should be non-absorbent.
Resistance-
Should have effective resistance against absorption of oil,
grease etc.
Durability -
The flooring should have sufficient resistance to wear,
temperature changes, disintegration with time and decay.
Tiles, marble, terrazzo, concrete, mosaic etc. are
considered to be of best types.
 SELECTION OF FLOORING MATERIAL
Hardness-
It should be sufficiently hard to resist indentation
marks, imprints etc. likely to be caused by shifting of
furniture, equipments etc.

Maintenance -
Flooring material should require least
maintenance, repairs can be done easily.
Tiles, marble, terrazzo, concrete etc. require less
maintenance.
TYPES OF FLOORING

STONE --- MARBLE, GRANITE, KOTA

TILE (CERAMIC, VETRIFIED)
TERRAZZO FLOORING
BRICK ON EDGE FLOORING
CEMENT CONCRETE FLOORING
TIMBER WOODEN BOARDSAND BLOCKS.
PVC SHEETS FLOORING
 STONE FLOORING
There are following types of stone flooring
1-marble flooring
2-granite flooring
3-kota stone flooring

Marble flooring
Marble flooring is commonly is provided in places of
worship and in public buildings having rich specification.
CLASSIFICATION OF MARBLE

WHITE MARBLE
COLOURED MARBLE

Green marble makrana

Black marble
Pink marble
 LAYING OF MARBLE FLOORING

The size of marble slabs to be used in flooring depends

upon the pattern to be used.
The slab for normal works are square or rectangular in
shape and their thickness varies from 20 mm to 40mm.
The flooring is laid on prepared sub grade of concrete or
on RCC floor slab.
Before laying of flooring, the sub grad4e in cleaned wetted
and mopped properly.
Then a layer of bedding mortar which can be 1:4 cement
mortar(1 cement:4 coarse sand) or lime mortar is spread
in average thickness of about 20mm under the area of
each slab.
The marble slab is laid on the top of the bedding mortar,
pressed and tapped with wooden mallet.
Finishing of marble
flooring
 GRANITE FLOORING

Granite has fine

grains and it is
harder than marble
TYPES OF GRANITE

There are mainly three types of granite-

GREEN GRANITE RED GRANITE BLACK GRANITE

 KOTA STONE FLOORING

Kota stone is commanly 25 to 40 mm thick.

It should be hard, sound,dense and homogenious
in texture.
it is done to obtain smooth surface.
 LAYING
Same as that of marble
Except that the edge of slab to
be jointed shuold be buttered
with grey cement.
Tiled Floors
 Tiled Floors
The usefulness of tiles as a flooring material is due to

Their pleasant appearance.

It eliminates the possibility of cracks.
Quick execution of flooring

Constructed from square, hexagonal or other shapes

Made of clay ( pottery), cement concrete or terrazzo.
Available in different sizes and thicknesses.
Commonly used in residential houses, offices, schools,
hospitals and other public buildings, for floor to be laid quickly.
 BASE FOR TILE FLOORING

Flooring may be laid on reasonably rigid base.

Surface of the base shall be rough to form suitable key
with bedding mortar.
The base, about 35 to 50 mm below the level of the
finished floor, to be properly graded and free from lose
earth, dirt, dust and lumps.
 LAYING OF TILES
Laying of Bedding Mortar-

For pre-finished ceramic tiles the bedding mortar used for this
has the cement and coarse sand ration of 1:4
For glazed earthenware tile -the bedding mortar used for this has
the cement and coarse sand ration of 1:3
Quantity of water should be such that it gives the motar
sufficient amount of plasticity and also makes the mortar
workable.
Average thickness of bedding mortar = 20 mm
Thickness under the tile = not less than 10 mm.
Allowed to harden for 12 to 24 hours.
Before laying the tiles, neat cement slurry is spread over the
bedding mortar
Preparing the bed for laying the tile
 LAYING OF TILES
Tiles are laid flat, gently pressed into the bedding mortar with
the help of wooden mallet.
Before laying the tiles, thin paste of cement is applied on their
sides, over the entire perimeter surface
Next day
Joints between adjacent tiles are cleaned of loose mortar
etc. to a depth of 5 mm, using wire brush
Then grouted with cement slurry of the tile colour.
The slurry is also applied over the flooring.
Then curing is done for seven days
In Vitrified ceramic tiles wetting of the back surface before
laying is adequate.
In Glazed earthenware tiles - tiles are soaked in water for an hour
before laying.
Cutting of the Tile
Fixing of the tile after the laying of tile
 VITRIFIED TILES

Pre polished tiles having glazed surface.

Made up of same or homogenous material
Made of White burning clay, specially suited to the
verifications process.
Has special qualities like compaction, hardness, strength
and ultra low water absorption
 VITRIFIED TILES
MANUFACTURE
White burning clay is fired at 1200 degree Celsius in
111.3m kiln.
This firing yields a tile that confirms all the parameters.
Clay is then mixed with high grade, pure white burning
minerals.
Base concrete in a ratio of 1:8:16 or 1:6:12.
and the cement and sand ration1:4 or 1:5
Tiles laid with the help of wet cement paste
Gap between the tiles grouted by powder mixture.
 VITRIFIED TILES

SIZES

290 by 290mm - Rs 45 per sq. ft.

400 by 400 mm - Rs 70 per sq. ft.
596 by 596 mm - Rs 75 per sq. ft.

THICKNESS

8mm or 10 mm
 VITRIFIED TILES
MERITS

Scratch resistant.
Fire proof.
More durable.
Easy maintenance.
Less slippery.
More glossy and is widely used in commercial purposes

DEMERITS

Non stain resistant.

Costlier
 CERAMIC TILE

Ceramic tiles are not homogeneous tiles.

Flooring made of these tiles as a basic material, is known as
ceramic tile flooring.

MATERIALS
Clay
Sand
Crushed stone
 CERAMIC TILE FLOORING

DEMERITS OF CERAMIC TILE

Cannot be used in heavy traffic.

Does not last for long time.

MERITS

Water resistant
 CEMENT CONCRETE FLOORING TILES
These are available as
(a) Plain cement and plain coloured tiles for general
purpose
(b) Terrazzo tiles with chips of varying sizes, and
(c) Heavy duty plain cement / coloured tiles.

SIZE:
These are available in three sizes:
200x200x20 mm
250x250x22 mm
300x300x25 mm
CHEQUERED CEMENT CONCRETE TILES

Chequered tiles

Laying of footpath Prep. of base

 CHEQUERED CEMENT CONCRETE TILES
SIZES:

Available in three sizes

200x200X22 mm,
250x250X22 mm, and
300x300x25 mm.

RANGE OF DIMENSIONS:

Shall not exceed I mm on length and breadth and 3 mm on

thickness
 CHEQUERED CEMENT CONCRETE TILES
USED IN

Footpaths
Entrance
Staircase of Public Buildings
Foot Dyer Bridges
Passages
Driveways, etc.

MANUFACTURE

mixture of cement, natural aggregates, and colouring

materials as required, by pressure process.
Subjected to a pressure of not less than 140 kg/cm2
 CHEQUERED CEMENT CONCRETE TILES

TILE CHARACTERISTICS

The center to center distance of chequers shall not be less than 5

mm and not more than 50 mm.
The grooves shall be uniform and straight.
The depth of grooves not be less than 3 mm.
The edges of the tiles may be rounded.
 COMPARISON OF CHARACTERISTICS OF VARIOUS TYPES OF TILES

Item CC ceramic tiles Vitrified tiles

Common sizes 250x250, 300x300, 600x600, 600x400,
375x375, 400x400, 300x300, 450x450,
600x600, 600x400, 300x300
300x300, 450x450,
300x300
Thickness ( mm ) 20-25 8-10
Weight ( Kg/Sq M) 40-50 16-22
Water absorption 5-10 0-5
(in%)
 Terrazo and Mossaic flooring

Mosaic

Flooring is made up of marble chips laid on thin layer of

concrete topping.
Widely used in school, residential buildings, hospitals,
offices and other public buildings.

Terrazzo

Is the specially prepared concrete surface containing

cement and marble chips in proportion to 1:12 to 1:2
 MOSAIC FLOORING

MATERIALS

White cement or grey cement.

Marble chips, size varies from 3mm to 6mm.
Tint of color as desired

PREPARATION

The sub base is prepared in ratio 1:6:12.

It is 3 inch deep
A 30mm deep plain cement concrete is laid in the ratio of
1:2:4.
 MOSAIC FLOORING
The finishing layer is of cement and marble dust mixed with
marble chips. Cement and marble dust are mixed in ratio of 5:l
cement and marble dust with marble chips, mixed in ratio of 1:2.
Then grinding finishes the floor.
Mosaic flooring
 Mosaic flooring
Cement sand mortar

Lime concrete

SECTION OF MOSAIC FLOORING

TERRAZZO FLOORING
The area is divided in to suitable panels of predetermined size
and shape
Strips are jointed to base concrete with help of cement mortar
Thickness of strip may be 4 to 6 mm.
Surface of base concrete is cleaned and wetted and then base
concrete is laid in alternate panels.
The surface is then cured for 7 days.
It is then scrubbed and cleaned thoroughly and cement grout
is applied again.
After 6 days curing, final grinding is done with carborundom
stone of 320-grid size.
Then it is washed with dilute oxalic solution and finally
the floor is polished with the machine
 Stone chips

Marble chips
 Mortar screed
Glass strip
Marble chips and
cement

Cement
concrete(1:2:4)

Lime concrete

SECTION THROUGH TERRAZO FLOORING

 The propotion of terrago mix depends on the size of
marble chips. But is generally taken 1:2 to 1:3 i.e. one part
of cement to two or three pats of marble chips by
volume.
The total thickness of terrazo flooring is about 20mm.

Colour Pigment to Proportion Proportion Proportion of

be used of Pigment of Cement White Cement
Red Red oxide One Unit 15-20% -
of Iron 60ml
Black Carbon One Unit 25-40% -
Black 60ml
Pink Red Oxide One Unit - 10%
60ml
TERRAZO FLOORING
BRICK FLOORING
It is used where
Cheap construction is done
Places where heavy articles are to be
stacked.

MATERIALS

Brick
Lime or Cement mortar
Base concrete generally 75mm thick of
ratio of 1:4:8 and lean cement concrete
1:5:10.
LAYING OF BRICKS

Bricks are laid on edge and on bed.

The joint between the brick should not exceed10mm
thickness
The brick is protected from rain when mortar is still green.

General

The usefulness of bricks as flooring material lie mainly in their

good wearing quality and ease of quick installation. The
performance depends on the quality of bricks, bedding prepared
and the laying is done. Its done generally in low cost areas.
Laying
The bricks shall be laid on the edge on 12mm mortar bed in plain or
diagonal herring bone pattern.
Each brick should be properly bedded and set home by gently
tapping with wooden trowel handle or mallet.
Its inside face is applied with mortar, before the next brick is laid
and pressed against it.
On competition of a portion of flooring the joints should be filled
with mortar.
The surface of the flooring during laying should be frequently
checked with a straight edge.
Curing
Brick work should be protected from rain by suitable covering
when the mortar is still green. Brickwork shall be kept constantly
moist on all faces for a period of 7 days.
CEMENT CONCRETE FLOORING
 Consists of cement concrete(1:2:4)
thickness of 25,40 or 50mm.
Laid over base concrete after proper sub base
preparation

QUALITIES

Smooth, hard and pleasing in apperance.

Posses good durablity.
Economical.
Does not required proper maintenance.
Required skilled labor.
Does not equalize the temperature.
Can be easily cleaned
Can carry expected loading and traffic.
USES
This is one of the most common flooring used throughout the
world for nearly all types of buildings like houses, shops, hospitals
etc.

DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
CHOICE OF AGGREGATE: should be hard enough for good durability
as well as abrasion resistance.
WATER CEMENT RATIO: lower the water cement ratio, greater the
durability and wear resistance.
DENSITY OF FLOORING: flooring should be well compacted.
density is increased with increase in density of finish.
CURING: adequate curing is essential to ensure good wear
resistances
 CEMENT CONCRETE FLOOR FINISH
Finish is laid with base concrete on ground.
Topping is laid within 2-3 hours of laying the base concrete
Base concrete imparts strength and have good wearing
properties.
,

Base concrete
Consists of 100 mm thick1:4:8 cement concrete
Before placing the base concrete, the sub base should be properly
wetted.
Surface should not be finished smooth but kept rough to provide
adequate bond for topping.
Floor finishing
Topping consist of 1:2:4 cement concrete with a minimum
thickness of 25 mm. Topping should be placed in position as soon
as possible but not later than 2to 3 hours of laying
Prep of base from (brick ballast)
CEMENT CONCRETE FLOORING
 TIMBER FLOORING

Flooring in which timber is used is known as timber flooring.

It is the most common flooring and it possess natural
beauty.
MATERIAL USED IN TIMBER FLOORING

In Artificial wooden flooring M.D.F boards are used

For natural wooden flooring teak, oak, shesham etc
are used.
Different types are adhesive used in tmber flooring

CONSTRUTION METHOD-

Steps used in timber flooring-

Firstly ground is levelled and compected properly.
Over the compacted surface of ground,a layer of lime
Concrete 10-15 cm. or cement concrete 5 to 8 cm
thick is laid and properly compected.
Small walls at a distance of nearly 1.5 to 2.0 c/c are
constructed over the concrete bed.
Over the dwarf walls, timber beams generally 8x10cm.in
size ,
called sleeper or needle are laid.
The wooden boards ,generally 2-3 cm. thick and
maximum width of wooden boards recommended is 10
cm.
In another type of timber floor asphalt layer about 6mm.
Thick laid over the lime cement concrete base.over this
base timber joints are laid dividing the floor area in
square or rectangles.timber planks 3-4 cm. thick over
these joints.

The wooden planks are joined by tongue and groove.

 plaster

dado
Tlmber planks

Wall

D.P.C

Asphalt

G.L
1.5cm. Lime concrete

TIMBER PLANKS FLOORING

 plaster

Wooden block or
Saw dust tiles

wall

D.P.C

Asphalt

G..L
1.5cm. Lime concrete

TIMBER PIECES FLOORING

MERITS

Scratch resistant
Non fading
Not much polishing required.
Does not damage the sub floor.
Elastic in nature

DEMERITS

Costlier than other flooring

Not easily available
It is usually used where temperature drop low.
Non water resistant
Maintenance problems
Cannot be used where there is heavy traffic.
USES

Auditoriums
dancing halls
Gymnasia
squash courts and
residential areas etc.
 PVC SHEET FLOORING
PVC flooring material
is manufactured in
different patterns to
suite different
conditions.
Gives a resilient and
non-porous surface.
Burning cigarettes will
damage the neat
surface of PVC sheet.
Rubber base
adhesives are used
for fixing.
 LAYING AND FIXING
Flooring shall be laid on
the sub-floor and marked
with guidelines
Adhesive shall then be
applied with proper tools.
When tack free, the
flooring is properly placed
so that air is squeezed
out.
Roller shall be used.
MARKET SURVEY