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Subfloor
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 * Glass f ... [...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] |
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] |
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 floating floor is a type of flooring installation method where the individual floorboards or tiles are not directly attached to the sub-floor. Instead, they are laid over a thin underlayment or foam padding, allowing them to "float" above the sub-floor. 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 ... [...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. 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. Frances Gies and Joseph Gies, 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 smaller houses also had earthen floors, made of rammed earth and sealed with raw linseed.Mitsu,Ahn , Developments in History: China Earthen floors were used in ancient Greece, and in many other countries in ancient t ... [...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 E ... [...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] |
Joist
A joist is a horizontal structural member used in Framing (construction), framing to span an open space, often between Beam (structure), beams that subsequently transfer loads to vertical members. When incorporated into a floor framing system, joists serve to provide stiffness to the subfloor sheathing, allowing it to function as a horizontal Diaphragm (structural system), diaphragm. Joists are often doubled or tripled, placed side by side, where conditions warrant, such as where wall partitions require support. Joists are either made of wood, engineered wood, or steel, each of which has unique characteristics. Typically, wood joists have the Cross section (geometry), cross section of a Plank (wood), plank with the longer faces positioned vertically. However, engineered wood joists may have a cross section resembling the Roman capital letter ""; these joists are referred to as I-joist, -joists. Steel joists can take on various shapes, resembling the Roman capital letters "C", "", " ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Masonry
Masonry is the craft of building a structure with brick, stone, or similar material, including mortar plastering which are often laid in, bound, and pasted together by mortar (masonry), mortar. The term ''masonry'' can also refer to the building units (stone, brick, etc.) themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are bricks and building stone, rock (geology), rocks such as marble, granite, and limestone, cast stone, concrete masonry unit, concrete blocks, glass brick, glass blocks, and adobe. Masonry is generally a highly durable form of construction. However, the materials used, the quality of the mortar and workmanship, and the pattern in which the units are assembled can substantially affect the durability of the overall masonry construction. A person who constructs masonry is called a mason or bricklayer. These are both classified as construction worker, construction trades. History Masonry is one of the oldest building crafts in the world. The constructio ... [...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] |
Allergen
An allergen is an otherwise harmless substance that triggers an allergic reaction in sensitive individuals by stimulating an immune response. In technical terms, an allergen is an antigen that is capable of stimulating a type-I hypersensitivity reaction in atopic individuals through immunoglobulin E (IgE) responses. Most humans mount significant immunoglobulin E responses only as a defense against parasitic infections. However, some individuals may respond to many common environmental antigens. This hereditary predisposition is called atopy. In atopic individuals, non-parasitic antigens stimulate inappropriate IgE production, leading to type I hypersensitivity. Sensitivities vary widely from one person (or from one animal) to another. A very broad range of substances can be allergens to sensitive individuals. Examples Allergens can be found in a variety of sources, such as dust mite excretion, pollen, pet dander, or even royal jelly. Food allergies are not as co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hovel
Hovel may refer to: *The brick outer shell of a bottle oven * Hövels is a municipality in the district of Altenkirchen, in Rhineland-Palatinate, in western Germany. See also * Rondavel, literally "round hovel" {{disambig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
