|
Floor
A floor is the bottom surface of a room or vehicle. Floors vary from simple dirt in a cave to many layered surfaces made with modern technology. Floors may be stone, wood, bamboo, metal or any other material that can support the expected load. The levels of a building are often referred to as floors, although a more proper term is storey. Floors typically consist of a subfloor for support and a floor covering used to give a good walking surface. In modern buildings the subfloor often has electrical wiring, plumbing, and other services built in. As floors must meet many needs, some essential to safety, floors are built to strict building codes in some regions. Special floor structures Where a special floor structure like a floating floor is laid upon another floor, both may be called subfloors. Special floor structures are used for a number of purposes: * Balcony, a platform projecting from a wall * Floating floor, normally for noise or vibration reduction * Glass floor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Storey
A storey (British English) or story (American English) is any level part of a building with a floor that could be used by people (for living, work, storage, recreation, etc.). Plurals for the word are ''storeys'' (UK) and ''stories'' (US). The terms ''floor'', ''level'', or ''deck'' are used in similar ways, except that it is usual to speak of a "16-''storey'' building", but "the 16th ''floor''". The floor at ground or street level is called the "ground floor" (i.e. it needs no number; the floor below it is called "basement", and the floor above it is called "first") in many regions. However, in some regions, like the U.S., ''ground floor'' is synonymous with ''first floor'', leading to differing numberings of floors, depending on region – even between different national varieties of English. The words ''storey'' and ''floor'' normally exclude levels of the building that are not covered by a roof, such as the terrace on the rooftops of many buildings. Nevertheless, a flat r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flooring
Flooring is the general term for a permanent covering of a floor, or for the work of installing such a floor covering. Floor covering is a term to generically describe any finish material applied over a floor structure to provide a walking surface. Both terms are used interchangeably but floor covering refers more to loose-laid materials. Materials almost always classified as flooring include carpet, laminate, tile, and vinyl. Subfloor The floor under the flooring is called the subfloor, which provides the support for the flooring. Special purpose subfloors like floating floors, raised floors or sprung floors may be laid upon another underlying subfloor which provides the structural strength. Subfloors that are below grade (underground) or ground level floors in buildings without basements typically have a concrete subfloor. Subfloors above grade (above ground) typically have a plywood subfloor. Flooring materials The choice of materials for floor covering is affected by fact ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wood Flooring
Wood flooring is any product manufactured from timber that is designed for use as flooring, either structural or aesthetic. Wood is a common choice as a flooring material and can come in various styles, colors, cuts, and species. Bamboo flooring is often considered a form of wood flooring, although it is made from bamboo rather than timber. Types Solid Hardwood flooring Solid hardwood floors are made of planks milled from a single piece of timber. Solid hardwood floors were originally used for structural purposes, being installed perpendicular to the wooden support beams of a building known as joists or bearers. With the increased use of concrete as a subfloor in some parts of the world, engineered wood flooring has gained some popularity. However, solid wood floors are still common and popular, but are commonly more expensive in the United States and considered higher end. Solid wood floors have a thicker wear surface and can be sanded and finished more times than an engi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sprung Floor
A sprung floor is a floor that absorbs shocks, giving it a softer feel. Such floors are considered the best kind for dance and indoor sports and physical education, and can enhance performance and greatly reduce injuries. Modern sprung floors are supported by foam backing or rubber feet, while traditional floors provide their spring through bending woven wooden battens. The earliest, on-record, sprung-floor ballroom is in the New Zealand Premier House, when expanded in 1872–73. Dance halls with sprung hard wood floors date back to the late 19th century. The sprung floor at Blackpool Tower Ballroom dates from 1894. The UK's Accrington Conservative Club, built in 1890, had a Grand Ballroom with a sprung floor. Many other historical dance halls have sprung hard wood floors, such as the Spanish Ballroom at Glen Echo Park, Maryland (1933), Willowbrook Ballroom in Chicago (1921), the Crystal Ballroom in Portland, Oregon (1914), the Carrillo Ballroom in Santa Barbara, California ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glass Floor
Glass floors are made with transparent glass when it is useful to view something from above or below; whereas translucent glass is used when there is no need to view through. In either case, toughened glass is usually chosen, for its durability and resistance to breakage. Flooring Translucent floors are sometimes set into outdoor sidewalks and pavements, or the floors of well-lit interior spaces, to daylight the space below. These are generally called pavement lights, and have a long history. Glass as a flooring material is used in both residential and commercial structures. Special hollow glass blocks known as '"glass pavers" are often used in combination with a metal frame. Glass floors are often lit from below with natural or artificial light, or may be treated as ordinary floor surfaces illuminated from above. A German manufacturer of squash court floors has diversified into making glass floors for other sports, such as basketball. Their glass floors usually are tra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vinyl Composition Tile
Vinyl composition tile (VCT) is a finished flooring material used primarily in commercial and institutional applications. Modern vinyl floor tiles and sheet flooring and versions of those products sold since the early 1980s are composed of colored polyvinyl chloride (PVC) chips formed into solid sheets of varying thicknesses ( is most common) by heat and pressure. Floor tiles are cut into modular shapes such squares or rectangles. In installation the floor tiles or sheet flooring are applied to a smooth, leveled sub-floor using a specially formulated vinyl adhesive or tile mastic that remains pliable. In commercial applications some tiles are typically waxed and buffed using special materials and equipment. Modern vinyl floor tile is frequently chosen for high-traffic areas because of its low cost, durability, and ease of maintenance. Vinyl tiles have high resilience to abrasion and impact damage and can be repeatedly refinished with chemical strippers and mechanical buffin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Raised Floor
A raised floor (also raised flooring, access floor(ing), or raised-access computer floor) provides an elevated structural floor above a solid substrate (often a concrete slab) to create a hidden void for the passage of mechanical and electrical services. Raised floors are widely used in modern office buildings, and in specialized areas such as command centers, Information technology data centers and computer rooms, where there is a requirement to route mechanical services and cables, wiring, and electrical supply. Such flooring can be installed at varying heights from to heights above to suit services that may be accommodated beneath. Additional structural support and lighting are often provided when a floor is raised enough for a person to crawl or even walk beneath. In the U.S., underfloor air distribution is becoming a more common way to cool a building by using the void below the raised floor as a plenum chamber to distribute conditioned air, which has been done in Euro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nightingale Floor
' are floors that make a chirping sound when walked upon. These floors were used in the hallways of some temples and palaces, the most famous example being Nijō Castle, in Kyoto, Japan. Dry boards naturally creak under pressure, but these floors were built in a way that the flooring nails rub against a jacket or clamp, causing chirping noises. It is unclear if the design was intentional. It seems that, at least initially, the effect arose by chance. An information sign in Nijō castle states that "The singing sound is not actually intentional, stemming rather from the movement of nails against clumps in the floor caused by wear and tear over the years". Legend has it that the squeaking floors were used as a security device, assuring that none could sneak through the corridors undetected. The English name "nightingale" refers to the Japanese bush warbler, or ''uguisu'', which is a common songbird in Japan. Etymology refers to the Japanese bush warbler. The latter segment c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Earthen Floor
An earthen floor, also called an adobe floor, is a floor made of dirt, raw earth, or other unworked ground materials. It is usually constructed, in modern times, with a mixture of sand, finely chopped straw and clay, mixed to a thickened consistency and spread with a trowel on a sub-surface such as concrete. Once dry, it is then usually saturated with several treatments of a drying oil. Benefits * Variety of colors, textures, and materials * Can be installed over nearly any subflooring * Integrates well with in-floor radiant heat tubing * One of the cheapest flooring methods, green or otherwise History Earthen floors were predominant in most houses until the mid 14th century in Europe, and persist to this day in many parts of the world. Gies, Frances & Gies, Joseph, Life in a Medieval Village In medieval times, almost all peasant housing had earthen floors, usually of hardpacked dirt topped off with a thin layer of straw for warmth and comfort. In China, most cottages and smal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Floating Floor
A floating floor is a floor that does not need to be nailed or glued to the subfloor. The term floating floor refers to the installation method, but is often used synonymously with laminate flooring. It is applied now to other coverings such as floating tile systems and vinyl flooring in a domestic context. A sprung floor is a special type of floating floor designed to enhance sports or dance performance. In general though the term refers to a floor used to reduce noise or vibration. A domestic floating floor might be constructed over a subfloor or even over an existing floor. It can consist of a glass fibre, felt or cork layer for sound insulation with neoprene pads holding up a laminate floor. There is a gap between the floating floor and the walls to decouple them and allow for expansion; this gap is covered with skirting boards or mouldings. Floating floors as used in sound studios can be either just larger versions of the domestic variety, or much larger constructions wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Floating Floor
A floating floor is a floor that does not need to be nailed or glued to the subfloor. The term floating floor refers to the installation method, but is often used synonymously with laminate flooring. It is applied now to other coverings such as floating tile systems and vinyl flooring in a domestic context. A sprung floor is a special type of floating floor designed to enhance sports or dance performance. In general though the term refers to a floor used to reduce noise or vibration. A domestic floating floor might be constructed over a subfloor or even over an existing floor. It can consist of a glass fibre, felt or cork layer for sound insulation with neoprene pads holding up a laminate floor. There is a gap between the floating floor and the walls to decouple them and allow for expansion; this gap is covered with skirting boards or mouldings. Floating floors as used in sound studios can be either just larger versions of the domestic variety, or much larger constructions wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Terrazzo
Terrazzo is a composite material, poured in place or precast, which is used for floor and wall treatments. It consists of chips of marble, quartz, granite, glass, or other suitable material, poured with a cementitious binder (for chemical binding), polymeric (for physical binding), or a combination of both. Metal strips often divide sections, or changes in color or material in a pattern. Additional chips may be sprinkled atop the mix before it sets. After it is cured it is ground and polished smooth or otherwise finished to produce a uniformly textured surface. "Terrazzo" is also often used to describe any pattern similar to the original terrazzo floors. History Terrazzo proper Although the history of terrazzo can be traced back to the ancient mosaics of Egypt, its more recent predecessors come from Italy. The form of terrazzo used today derives partly from the 18th century ''pavimento alla Veneziana'' ( Venetian pavement) and the cheaper ''seminato.'' ''Pavimento alla Venezi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.jpg "Click for more on -> Vinyl Composition Tile")
