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Floors
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 sometimes referred to as storeys. 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 * Glas ... [...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. Sprung floors have been used in dance halls and performance venues since the 19th century, and are also used in gymnastics, cheerleading, and other athletic activities that require a cushioned surface. The construction of sprung floors can vary, but they generally consist of a performance surface layer on top of a sprung sub-floor with shock-absorbing materials. Sprung floors provide benefits such as injury reduction, enhanced performance, and appropriate traction for users. One of the earliest on-record sprung-floor ballrooms is Papanti's for dance lessons in Boston, built in 1837. There was also one in the New Zea ... [...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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nightingale Floor
' are floors that make a squeaking 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 Nail (fastener), nails rub against a jacket or clamp, causing chirping noises. It is unclear if the design was initially 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 no one 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 ... [...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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Storey
A storey (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth 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, CAN) and ''stories'' (US). The terms ''floor'', ''level'', or ''deck'' are used in similar ways as storey (e.g., "the 16th ''floor''"). However, when referring to an entire building, it is more usual to use storey or story (e.g., "a 16-''storey'' building"). The floor at ground or street level is called the ''ground floor'' (i.e. it needs no number); the floor below ground is called ''basement'', and the floor above ground is called "first" in many regions. However, in some regions, like the US, ''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 exclud ... [...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. Modern forms of terrazzo include polished concrete. 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) ... [...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 buffing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ceramic Tile
Tiles are usually thin, square or rectangular coverings manufactured from hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, baked clay, or even glass. They are generally fixed in place in an array to cover roofs, floors, walls, edges, or other objects such as tabletops. Alternatively, tile can sometimes refer to similar units made from lightweight materials such as perlite, wood, and mineral wool, typically used for wall and ceiling applications. In another sense, a tile is a construction tile or similar object, such as rectangular counters used in playing games (see tile-based game). The word is derived from the French word ''tuile'', which is, in turn, from the Latin word ''tegula'', meaning a roof tile composed of fired clay. Tiles are often used to form wall and floor coverings, and can range from simple square tiles to complex or mosaics. Tiles are most often made of ceramic, typically glazed for internal uses and unglazed for roofing, but other materials are also c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Linoleum
Linoleum is a floor covering made from materials such as solidified linseed oil (linoxyn), Pine Resin, pine resin, ground Cork (material), cork dust, sawdust, and mineral fillers such as calcium carbonate, most commonly on a Hessian fabric, hessian or canvas backing. Pigments are often added to the materials to create the desired color finish. Commercially, the material has been largely replaced by sheet vinyl flooring, although in the UK and Australia this is often still referred to as "lino". The finest linoleum floors, known as "inlaid", are extremely durable, and are made by joining and inlaying solid pieces of linoleum. Cheaper patterned linoleum comes in different grades or gauges, and is printed with thinner layers which are more prone to wear and tear. High-quality linoleum is flexible and thus can be used in buildings where a more rigid material (such as Tile#Floor tiles, ceramic tile) would crack. Technology Linoleum in essence consists of two components, a polymer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Solid Ground Floor
A solid ground floor 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 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 but will be necessary for other rooms where wood blocks and other similar finishes are required. Finishes Cement screed The concrete floor may be topped with a 25 mm thick cement and sand screed 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 ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Floor Medallions
A floor medallion is generally a centerpiece of flooring design that can be made with various flooring materials, including natural stone, wood, metal, tile, glass or a variety of other materials suitable for flooring. The pattern can be created using various methods such as mosaic, intarsia, and marquetry Marquetry (also spelled as marqueterie; from the French ''marqueter'', to variegate) is the art and craft of applying pieces of wood veneer, veneer to a structure to form decorative patterns or designs. The technique may be applied to case furn .... With a mosaic, small pieces of flooring material are put together to develop a pattern. This can be done in a direct, indirect, or double indirect method. In the direct method small pieces are set directly into a bonding substrate like cement. Using an indirect method the pieces would be placed face down against paper or other material with a temporary adhesive. After the design is completed face down the entire section would b ... [...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 a glass basketball court. Their glass floor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
