Floor Applications

The performance of a floor is matter of opinion.  The “feel” that satisfies one individual may not satisfy another.  Many factors affect the perceived performance of a floor. They include:

The joist depth - The stiffness of a floor can be markedly improved by increasing joist depth.  For example, a 25% increase in joist depth will double the floor stiffness.

The joist spacing - The stiffness of a floor increases in proportion to reductions in joist spacing.

Continuous or simple spans - Allowing joists to span over internal load-bearing walls instead of breaking them at these points can increase floor stiffness by up to 240%.

The decking / flooring material - Thicker decking slightly improves floor performance – 22mm chipboard increases floor stiffness by approximately 2% compared to 18mm chipboard and means less ‘local’  deflection under foot.

The fixing of decking material to the joist - Gluing the floor deck to the joists significantly improves floor stiffness, by as much as 70%.

The ceiling material below the joist - Directly applied ceiling boards can improve floor performance by up to 3%.

Level bearings - Unlevel bearings can mean joists feel "springy" under foot near bearing positions.

The location of walls and furniture - The position and size of dead loads on floors can either dampen or exaggerate the dynamic response of floors under foot. 

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