Floor definition

Approved document C, Site preparation and resistance to contaminants and moisture, suggests that a ‘floor’ can be defined as the: 'Lower horizontal surface of any space in a building including finishes that are laid as part of the permanent construction.'

A floor typically provides:

• Structural support for the contents of the room, its occupants, and the weight of the floor itself.
• Resistance to the passage of moisture, heat and sound.
• A surface finish which may contribute to the look, feel and acoustics of a space.
• Sometimes it may also form an integral part of the primary structure of the building.
• It may also include elements of building services, such as wiring, pipework, ducting, drainage, lighting, ventilation and so on.

The surface finish of a floor is generally referred to as flooring. For more information see: Flooring.

Types of floor include; floating floor, separating floor, sprung floor, raised floor, and so on. For more information, see Types of floor. For more information see: Types of floor.

[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings

• Basement v cellar.
• Beam and block.
• Concrete floor.
• Cork flooring.
• Deck.
• Decking.
• Domestic floors: Part 1: Construction, insulation and damp proofing.
• Floating floor.
• Floor void.
• Flooring.
• Flooring defects.
• Glass bottle floor foundation.
• Plenum.
• Raised floor.
• Resilient flooring.
• Rubber flooring.
• Screed.
• Separating floor.
• Sprung floor.
• Storey.
• Types of floor.

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