Jamaica Property Improved By Building Upper Timber Floors And Floor Finishing

Jamaica Property Improved By Building Upper Timber Floors And Floor Finishing

Most Jamaica property and home owners ask what is needed for building upper timber floors and also some finishing? The important material that is needed for building upper timber floors and also guiding you on the classification of floor finishing.

When building upper timber floors, there are factors to take into consideration as these floors should be of strong load bearing materials to withstand weight. The upper floors can be made from materials such as timber, structural steel and reinforced concrete.

The upper timber floors is built of bridging joist spanning between walls or partitions and bearing usually on wall plates or other members to distribute the load.

The structural steel floors are used when spans exceed five meters. Large crossbeams are used to support normal floor joists. The beams are normally of rolled steel sections. Joists may bear directly on the tops of crossbeams or may be supported at the sides by metal hangers. This is a very popular concept when designers are working on Jamaica property and other buildings and developments.

The upper reinforced concrete floors may be in-situ, precast or pre-stressed. The distinction between in-situ, precast and pre-stressed concrete are as follows:

• In-situ components are those for which all constituent concrete materials have been brought to the site, mixed and placed in formwork erected in the position the concrete will finally occupy in the completed structure.

• Precast components are those for which all constituent concrete materials are cast in a formwork or mold, in a position other than that which it will finally occupy in the completed structure and which, after removal from the formwork or mold and maturing, requires to be placed and fixed into position.

• Pre-stressing is the process of imparting to a structural member a compressive stress in those zones which under working loads, would normally be subjected to tensile stress. It is, in fact, a process of pre-compressing by means of which the tensile stresses produced by the applied load are counteracted by the compressive stresses set up before the application of the load.

There are two systems of Pre-stressing:

a) Pre-tensioning

b) Post-tensioning

In-situ reinforced concrete upper floor

The simplest form of the upper floor is the solid in-situ cast reinforced concrete floor normally used when the slab act as a membrane supported on column with or without beams or where it provides a good degree of lateral rigidity to the structure.

Precast Floor Systems

There are two types, the precast beam and the precast rib and filler floors

Precast beam floors consist simply of a number of beams placed side-by-side and spanning between supports. The cross-section varies, some are ‘I’ beams or channel beams forming an open soffit, and others are ‘T’ beams or hollow beams giving a closed soffit. All produce more or less a hollow floor with reduced dead weight.

Precast rib and filler floors consist of inverted precast ‘T’ beams spanning between main beam supports carrying hollow blocks to fill the spaces between the ‘T’ beams.

Factors to consider when selecting a precast floor system for Jamaican Homes

Before any system of precast concrete flooring can be considered in detail the following factors must be taken into account:

1. Maximum span

2. Nature of support

3. Weight of units

4. Thickness of units

5. Thermal insulation properties

6. Fire resistance of units

7. Speed of construction

8. Amount of temporary support required

The advantages of Precast Concrete Floors over In-situ Concrete Floors

Advantages

• Speed and simplicity of erection

• Load can be immediately applied

• Formwork and its supports are greatly reduced

• Improvement in quality

• Less on-site labor

• Less site obstruction

Disadvantages

• Continuity and rigidity of structure attained in in-situ cast structures are more difficult to achieve

• Require cranes to lift and place the units

Floor finishes

The characteristics of a good floor finish is it should be level, be durable, not readily absorb water or other liquids, be capable of being easily cleaned and have a good appearance.

Floor Finish Classification

Floor finish in common use may be classified as: joint less, tile, wood, solid and resilient. Jamaica property is easily improved and because of the existing climate this is perfect for your vacation home.

Joint less flooring includes cement, carpet in rolls, linoleum, mastic asphalt and terrazzo.

Tile flooring includes cement, terrazzo, ceramic, vinyl, rubber, carpet and marble tiles.

Wood flooring includes tongued & grooved (T&G) strip flooring and wood blocks.

Solid flooring includes cement, terrazzo and cement tiles, ceramic and marble.

Resilient flooring includes carpet in rolls, carpet tiles, mastic asphalt, vinyl, rubber, cork and wood. Flooring is possibly one of the most outstanding features buyers notice when viewing Jamaica real estate.