Week 6

 Flooring 

Gina Christopher 

FRAMING SYSTEMS

Floor framing systems can be wood, steel, or concrete. Wood flooring systems include light frame and heavy timber frame. Light frame construction uses multiple small wood members to carry a load. Heavy timber framing relies on a structural frame consisting of columns and beams to carry a load. Steel floor-framing is either light gauge with multiple open web joists or structural steel with beams and girders. Concrete as a flooring system is either poured in place on site or cast at a plant and assembled on site. When a first floor is located above a crawl space, or is directly on the earth, the underside of the floor must be insulted in most areas of the U.S. This insulation is used to prevent cold air moving from the ground into the finished space above, as well as keep a stable temperature for the concrete slab. 

INTERIOR FLOOR-FINISH MATERIALS

 Multiple materials are used as floor finishes. The use of the space and building code requirements are generally used to narrow the focus on the type of floor finished to use. Floor finishes are usually divided into hard surfaces and soft surfaces. 

Hard surface finish materials include concrete, brick, stone, terrazzo, and ceramic tile. Concrete is often used as a sub-floor and can easily be a finished floor surface. Brick pavers, although more commonly used outdoors, can also serve as a finished floor. A variety of stones can be used as floor-finish materials. Terrazzo has recently regained popularity as a green building material. It is composed of a cement or resin binder with marble or glass clips, which gives it its unique coloring and appearance. Ceramic tile can be installed in two ways: on a 1-1/4" thick mortar bed, or as thin set where the tile is adhered to the surface below using a thin layer of adhesive.  

Soft surface finish materials include carpet, wood, and resilient flooring. Carpet can be used in residential and commercial settings. Carpet contributes to noise control and has excellent acoustical absorption characteristics. Wood is also used in commercial and residential applications. Wood floor finishes are strips, planks, or blocks. Several species can be used for wood flooring including oak, walnut, cherry, maple, teak, and mahogany. The most important consideration from a sustainability position is whether the product comes from a sustainably managed source such as SFC certified wood. A second issue to address is the type of finish used. Resilient flooring covers a variety of materials, including all forms of vinyl, rubber, linoleum, cork, and bamboo. Vinyl is used in commercial and residential applications and comes in sheets or tiles. Vinyl is not very sustainable. Rubber is also used in commercial and residential applications. Rubber is a good non-slip flooring option and is available in sheets or tiles. Rubber is a sustainable product. Linoleum was used a lot prior to vinyl, and its ingredients are environmentally safe. Linoleum is anti-microbial and resists static build up. It is often sued in healthcare and education spaces. Cork is a sustainable and durable. Frank Lloyd Wright used a lot of Cork in kitchen and bath designs. Cork inhibits fire as has good acoustical and insulation properties. Bamboo has become a popular sustainable flooring alternative. Bamboo is stable but does not absorb water as well as wood. 

INTERIOR DETAILING 

The most common way to deal with the joint at the floor and wall is by covering it with a baseboard to hide any imperfections. Baseboards or base moldings are made from several materials including wood, vinyl, and rubber. A reveal joint is created when the wall surface does not meet the floor. A clean joint relies on careful craftsmanship to create a precise connection between the floor material and the wall material.  

INTERIOR DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS 

Interior designers are primarily concerned with the floor-finish materials and the furniture, fixtures, and equipment places on top of the floor framing. The most common problems related to floor framing involve space re-use. When a space is renovated and the use is changed, it is important to remember the following considerations: 

-Type of framing: Can the deflection in the framing support the new finish material?

-Before adding stone, granite, or concrete countertops, was the floor system designed to support this load?

-Was the space originally designed for heavy loads, such as libraries and files?