What are Floors | Basement, Ground And Upper

The purpose of each floor is to provide a level surface including supporting the occupant, furniture, etc.

Types of floors

1. Basement floor
2. Ground floor
3. Upper floor

Basement floor

• This construction of the floor beneath the ground surface is called the basement floor.
• Basement ceiling elevation shall not be less than 7 feet higher than the finished floor.
• Some smoke alarms shall be installed in the basement.
• Full basement stairs shall become a light source to illuminate all treads also landings. Lights shall be completed by a switch located at the top also bottom of the stairs.
• If appending a bedroom also the house is equipped beside a gas-fired appliance, some carbon monoxide alarm shall be installed in the basement.

Ground floor

• The floor resting directly on the ground surface is known as the Ground floor.

Upper floor

• These types of floors are quite common in a location where a stone slab is easily available in a span of 1 to 3 meters and widths 30 to 60 cm.
• Where stone slabs are not available precast concrete slabs can be used.
• The slabs are placed at the lower flange of rolled steel joists.
• The spacing of steel joists depends upon the length of the available stone slab.
• The joist has a clear span equal to the width of the room.
• Some Space between the height of the slab and the top of the steel joist RSJ is filled including lime concrete. 

Jack arch floors

• Jack arch is an arch of either brick or concrete, supported on the lower flange of mild steel joists R.S.J.
• The joists are spaced 1 to 1.5 m centre to centre and are supported at their ends either on the walls or on longitudinal girders.
• Each rise of the arch is retained equal to 1/12th of the span.
• The bottom of the floor is not a plane; this is the only disadvantage of this floor.

Brick Jack Arch Flooring

• Before starting the work, the RSJ should be properly secured in position.
• Only first-class bricks should be used.
• Successive rings should be properly interlocked.
• Key bricks should be properly and tightly secured in rich mortar.
• If the lime mortar is used, RSJ should be encased in cement mortar.
• Top concrete including flooring should not be laid saving the brickwork is correctly cured.

• Cement concrete Jack Arch Flooring is made of 1:2:4 cement concrete, supported on the lower flanges of M.S. joists.
• The development of concrete jack arches is comparatively simple. The centring consists of a 3 mm thick mild steel plate, bent to the shape of an arch and having pair of holes at the ends, spaced at 75 cm c/c.
• The centring plate is supported on the lower flange of joists through a pair of 12 mm, dia. Rods.
• The ends of the rods pass through symmetrical holes of the centring plate and finally rest on the lower flange of R.S.J.
• To check the deflection of the centring plate, a wooden packing block is tightly inserted between the M.S. plate and Rod.

• Floors of modern buildings stand invariably made from reinforced cement concrete R.C.C. because of some inherent advantages of that type of construction.
• Concrete is powerful in compression but is weak in tension. Though, it is suitably reinforced with the help of steel bars which take the complete bending tension.
• Due to this, the overall thickness of R.C.C. floors is comparatively small, thereby reducing the self-weight of the floor itself.
• R.C.C. floors are also comparatively fireproof and damp proof, The method of construction is also easy except that centring is required.
• Those floors backside also be practised on large spans, also, therefore, and suitable for big size rooms, halls, etc.