Floor-Anatomy ...
floor-structure is the skeleton, and the floor finish is the skin on the skeleton of the floor
Oh brother anatomy -- no worries, I am not going to bore you with physically disecting the floor.
We just want to peek into the makeup of the floor, no load calculations and stress analysis here either -- this is just to present to you pictorially what is going on behind the scenes.
Floors of Your energy efficient Home /
Building Should
- be structurally sound
- be cost-effective
- provide good insulation
- provide healthy conditions
- allow minimum air-infiltration
- be resistant to natural hazards
- be functional
- be good looking according to your taste of course
- ...
There are a number of options for designing the floor systems out there today that will meet the preceding requirements. Let us look at a brief summary of the various materials, configurations and characteristics of such floors.
Major Materials |
Typical Configurations |
Key Characteristics |
Concrete |
In-Situ Concrete |
Field Built |
Wood |
Precast Concrete |
Shop Built |
Steel |
Wood joists |
Combo: Shop & Field |
Plastics |
Steel joists |
Panelized |
Straw Bale |
Wood Frame / Truss |
Tilt-Up |
Adobe |
Steel Frame / Truss |
Laminate Construction |
Autoclaved Concrete |
Light Gage Steel |
Structurally Adhesed |
Grancrete |
ICF (Insulating Concrete Form) |
Pressed |
... |
SIP (Structural Insulated Panel) |
Engineered Lumber |
... |
... |
Stressed Skin Construction |
... |
... |
... |
... |
... |
... |
It behoves all of us to use energy wisely. And with the enormous increase in energy prices, it also makes economic sense. More energy efficient wall systems such as
- wood-deck floor over wood joists
- wood deck floor over engineered wood joists
- wood deck floor over wood floor truss joists
- wood deck floor over light gage steel joists
- wood deck over open web steel joists
- concrete slab deck over light gage steel joists
- concrete slab deck over open web steel joists
- concrete slab over metal deck over light gage steel joists
- concrete slab over metal deck over open web steel joists
- insulated concrete deck
- precast prestressed concrete components
- Hollow Core conrete deck
- ....
- ....
which have a number of variants with unique characteristics and features. The options that provide more energy eficient solutions are gaining in popularity over the traditional plain vanilla wood-deck floor over wood joists.
At Energy Efficient Building Network, we can help you with the floor design-build requirements of your energy efficient building project.
beginning of Floor-Anatomy
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For further information or help with your energy efficient dream home / building project, or its parts, such as ...
- Energy Efficient Floor Structure
- Floor Finish
- Design of Floor Deck
- Design of Floor Joists
- Design of Floor Beams
- Design of Floor Finish
- ....
- ....
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- ....
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