Considerations before choosing a floor:-
1. Will there be heavy wear?
2. Is the area subject to moisture?
3. Does the floor need to be a sound barrier?
4. How easy is it to clean & maintain?
5. To what degree floor need to be slip-resistant?
6. Can it cause allergies or asthma?
7. How durable is the product?
8. Is it suitable for the subfloor?
Subfloor:-
A subfloor is what’s below your flooring material.
Advantages of subfloor:
Provides drainage abilities.
Warms flooring material upto 30%.
Protects against moisture seepage.
Lengthens the life of new flooring.
Increase its feel & quality.
Examples of subfloors:-Plywood, Plank, Oriented Stran
Board, Concrete.
1. Plywood: Made from thin sheets of usual pinewood
those are glued together, forming 4ft x 8ft sheets.
2. Plank: There are ¾ inch thick x 4 – 8-inch wide
southern pine board which is nailed together.
3. Oriented Stran Board: It is a bunch of wood chips
glued together.
4. Concrete: Consists of slabs of 4 – 6-inch thick concrete
pour. It may tend to absorb moisture which might take
longer to dry.
Classification of Floor Finishes:-
HARD SEMI – HARD SOFT
Cementitious
(Terrazzo &
Thermoplastic tiles
Granolithic) Stone
Vinyl Rubber Linoleum Carpets
(Marble. Slate etc)
Cork
Resin Bitumastic
Magnesite Wood
Hard Floors
Stone
Long life and natural in appearance. All stones are heavy
and must be put on a concrete subfloor. For e.g.
Marble: Composition: Calcite & Calcium Carbonate.
Available in a wide range of colors. More porous, soft &
chemically sensitive than granite. Harmed by acid
including soft drinks. Absorbs Oil. Should be sealed
with penetrating sealers. Use neutral cleaners. Do not
clean at high pressure.
Granite: Composition: Quartz & Feldspar. Hardest in
nature. Resistant to most chemicals except oil. Sealed
with oil-repellent sealers. Do not use hydrofluoric acid.
Can be cleaned at high pressure.
Slate: Composition: Grains of Mica & Quartz & Chlorite,
Hematite& other Minerals. Dense, but soft & easily
scratched. Low porosity to oil & other [Link] an
uneven surface. Sealed with oil repellant sealers. Never
cleaned at high pressure.
Cementitious
Good for areas that take hard wear & tear as they are
resistant to chipping and cracking, scratching, indentations,
heat insects, and rot. Used in areas like the basement,
garage, utility areas, etc. They are easy to clean but should
be polished carefully as polishing can make them too
slippery. The cement in these floorings is absorbent hence
avoid the use of strong alkali.e.g. are
Granolithic Floor
Composed of cement & fine aggregate mortar (being granite
clippings). Hard wearing. Suitable in high traffic areas. May
absorb water.
Terrazzo
Composition: Marble, Quartz, Granite, Glass, in cementitious
mixtures. Does not need protection from wear & tear but
from absorption & stains. Water base impregnates are
applied. Use only neutral Ph cleaners.
Wood Floorings
Advantages
Long-lasting,
Easy cleaning,
Doesn’t retain dust
Warm
Goes with all interiors
Simple clean up
Disadvantages/ care to be taken
Easily scratched.
Easily dented
Cannot take excessive wear & water.
Needs occasional polishing & sealing.
Ceramic Tiles
Clayware is available in a great variety of qualities,
colors & sizes.
Not affected by water, grease, acid, or alkalis.
May crack or break due to heavyweights.
Maybe glazed or unglazed.
Terra Kotta
Hard baked, brownish-red earthen wave often glazed &
colored.
Not installed in a high traffic area.
May crumble & show wear easily.
Porcelain
Unglazed
Dense
Imperious
Fine-grained & smooth.
Fire hardened – very hard
Can be cleaned at high pressure.
Quarry
The most common colors are dark red, brown & grey.
Fire hardened – very hard
Can be cleaned at high pressure.
Resin Flooring
Consists of synthetic resins, usually an epoxy,
polyester, or polyurethane with hardness by using
hardness.
Sometimes vinyl & marble chips are included.
Unaffected by spillage of water, food, alcohol &
chemicals.
In spite of being shiny, they are non-skid.
Bitumastic
Jointless flooring consists of asphalt rolled in a hot
plastic state.
Soft in texture.
Impermeable to water.
Softens with heat & dents easily.
Harmed by spirits, oil & acids.
Cost is low.
Magnesite
Consists of wood flour & other fillers mixed with burnt
magnesite.
Hardwearing & great compressive strength.
Thermally insulating, non-skid, frame retardant & spark
proof.
Extremely porous so no washing.
Harmed by water, chemicals & abrasives.
Cleaning of Hard floorings
Daily cleaning – Sweep and damp mop/ Vaccum
cleaning
Periodically – wash/ scrub with detergent suds. Rinse
Dry and Polish.
Sealed to make the floor non-slip and resistant to dirt.
For tiles care to be taken to clean the grouting
regularly with detergent and toothbrush.
Semi-Hard Finishes
Resistant (except thermoplastic tiles).
Good appearance.
Unaffected by insects, pests & fungi.
Easy to clean
Less permanent than hard floorings
Thermoplastic Tiles
Made from asphaltic binds with inert fillers & pigments.
Applied with water-based polish & may get slippery.
Hard & noisy
Get dents easily
Softens with heat.
Non-porous but harmed by strong alkalis, grease,
spirits.
Durable & cheap.
Vinyl Floor finishes
Manufactured from P.V.C synthetic resins, inert filers &
pigments.
Resistant to damage but very sensitive to heat.
They are of 4 types:-
Vinyl asbestos
Flexible Vinyl flooring.
Cushioned Vinyl floor.
Slip-resistant flooring.
Avoid excessive use of water, stripping & abrasives.
Rubber Floorings
Available in tiles or sheets.
During manufacturing, rubber & fillings material
pigments is vulcanized.
It is soft, quiet, resistant & comfortable.
Non-absorbent & resist water.
Harmed by sprit, grease, alkali’s & coarse abrasives.
Linoleum
Composition: Mixture of powdered cork, resin, linseed
oil, & pigments of it on jute canvas. Made to heat &
pressure.
Polished very often.
Dents easily & damaged by alkali’s
Damp mopping is done using mild detergents.
Further preservation adds baby oil in a small amount to
the mop water.
Cork tiles
Composition: made from the outer back of cork of oak
tree with natural resins.
Warm and restful appearance.
Absorbent & very sensitive to heat.
Avoid indentations, excessive water, abrasives, and
high alkaline cleaners.
Cleaning of Semi-Hard Floors
1. Daily cleaning – Sweep and Damp Mop / Vaccum
cleaning
2. Periodic cleaning – Soft scrubbing with Neutral
detergent lather. Rinse with a damp mop. Polish. If it is
a sealed flooring use a self shine polish occasionally
3. For rubber, floorings wash only when dirty and don’t
over-wet
Soft Foor Finishes
These are resilient floorings and include all types of carpets,
rugs, and mats. They are quiet and slip-resistant.
Carpets
Consist of a backing and a surface pile.
The backing may be jute, nylon or polyester.
The pile may be of wool, cotton, nylon or polyester.
Used for their appearance, warmth, safety factor and
sound insulation.
Care and Maintenance
Regular maintenance program since they are easily
damaged
Do not drag anything on a carpet
New carpets should be lightly cleaned with a hand
brush or a carpet sweeper. Trim off loose tufts
Vacuum clean daily.
Periodic cleaning includes shampooing , hot water
extraction or dry powdering
Shampooing – Shampoos can be of two types
Liquid and dry foam. Liquid shampoos produce
very little foam but tend to leave a residue that
traps dirt making it necessary to clean carpets
frequently. Dry foam shampoos are also liquid but
leave a dry foam on the surface of the carpet after
application – hence the name dry foam. The foam
loosens and lifts out the dirt, holding it on the
surface of the carpet pile until it can be removed
by dry suction. Dry foam shampoos contain some
solvent in addition to the detergent to assist in the
removal of greasy soil. They also take less time to
dry
Hot water extraction: done by a hot water
extraction machine that injects a nonfoaming
shampoo solution at high pressure through the
carpet. Simultaneously it extracts the solution and
soil.
Dry powdering: A powder containing absorbents
(sawdust), solvents & drying agents is sprinkled on
the carpet & left for 15 to 20 minutes. The powder
absorbs the grease & dirt & latter vacuum
cleaned.
