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A solid ground
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 ...
consists of a layer of concrete, which in the case of a domestic building will be the surface layer brought up to ground floor level with
hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...
filling under it. The advantage of a solid ground floor is the elimination of dry rot and other problems normally associated with hollow joisted floors. The disadvantage is that the floor is less resilient to walk upon and may be more tiring for the user. Solid ground floors are usually found or situated in a
kitchen A kitchen is a room or part of a room used for cooking and food preparation in a dwelling or in a commercial establishment. A modern middle-class residential kitchen is typically equipped with a stove, a sink with hot and cold running water, a ...
but will be necessary for other rooms where wood blocks and other similar finishes are required.


Finishes applied to solid ground floors in construction

Cement screed: The concrete floor may be topped with a 25 mm thick cement and sand
screed Screed has three meanings in building construction: # A flat board (screed board, floating screed) or a purpose-made aluminium tool used to smooth and to "true" materials like concrete, stucco and plaster after they have been placed on a surface ...
trowelled to a smooth finish. The usual mix is 1:3 and a colouring agent may be added to the mix to obtain a more attractive finish. The mix should be as dry as possible and the sand should be coarsely graded and clean to avoid shrinkage and cracking which might occur with a wet mix. The floor finish is carefully cured after laying. Granolithic: Granolithic is composed of cement and fine aggregate mortar, the aggregate being granite chippings, which will give the hard wearing quality of the finish. It will be laid with screed, trowelled or floated to an even and fine finish. Granolithic paving will be suitable in areas which are to receive hard wear although its appearance would not normally be suitable for internal domestic work.
PVC tiles 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 colo ...
: Polyvinyl chloride tiles -These are another commonly used floor finish. After the floor has been laid with screed, these tiles are fixed with adhesive. They are attractive, smooth and cool, and damage can be repaired very easily as they are made in small square size, usually 150 mm to 225 mm. Though due to poor workmanship and dust this type of floor finish fails through lifting. Terrazo: Terrazo consists of a coloured element binder or matrix and
marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...
chips mixed to specified proportions. The finish is hardwearing, attractive and resistant to chemical attack.
Ebonite Ebonite is a brand name for a material generically known as hard rubber, and is obtained via vulcanizing natural rubber for prolonged periods. Ebonite may contain from 25% to 80% sulfur and linseed oil. Its name comes from its intended use as an ...
strips divide the terrazo into bays to avoid shrinkage and expansion.


References


Further reading

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External links


Wooden FlooringBamboo FlooringVinyl Plank Flooring
Construction Floors {{architecture-stub