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8.3 Floor finishes

MATERIALS STANDARDS

8.3 - M1	Materials standards
8.3 - M2	Screeding materials
8.3 - M3	Ceramic, concrete, terrazzo and similar tile finishes
8.3 - M4	Asphalt finishes
8.3 - M5	Flexible sheet and tile finishes
8.3 - M6	Wood finishes
8.3 - M7	Sound insulation
8.3 - M8	Thermal insulation
8.3 - M9	Structural floor decking

8.3 - M1

All materials shall:
(a) meet the Technical Requirements
(b) take account of the design

Materials that comply with the design and the guidance below will be acceptable for floor finishes.

Materials for floor finishes shall comply with all relevant standards, including those listed below. Where no standard exists, Technical Requirement R3 applies (see Chapter 1.1 'Introduction to the Standards and Technical Requirements').

References to British Standards and Codes of Practice include those made under the Construction Products Directive (89/106/EEC) and, in particular, appropriate European Technical Specifications approved by a European Committee for Standardisation (CEN).

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SCREEDING MATERIALS

8.3 - M2

Materials selected for screeding shall be adequate for the location and intended use

Relevant standards include:

BS 8204

In-situ floorings

The following standards include references to concrete and screed as sub-base:

BS 8201	Code of Practice for flooring of timber, timber products and wood-based panel products
BS 8203	Code of Practice for installation of sheet and tile flooring
BS 5385	Wall and floor tiling.

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CERAMIC, CONCRETE, TERRAZZO AND SIMILAR TILE FINISHES

8.3 - M3

Materials for tile flooring shall be adequate for the location and intended use

BS 5385 Wall and floor tiling contains references to materials for ceramic, concrete and similar floor tiles.

Items to be taken into account include:

(a) ceramic tiles

Relevant standards include:

BS 5385 Part 3	Code of Practice for the design and installation of ceramic floor tiles and mosaics
BS EN 14411	Ceramic tiles. Definitions, classification, characteristics and marking.

(b) terrazzo tiles

Relevant standards include:

BS EN 13748:Parts 1 and 2	Terrazzo tiles
BS 8204	Screeds, bases and in situ floorings. Concrete bases and cement sand levelling screeds to receive floorings.

ASPHALT FINISHES

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8.3 - M4

Materials for asphalt flooring shall be adequate for the location and intended use

Relevant standards include:

BS 6925

Specification for mastic asphalt for building and civil engineering (limestone aggregate).

FLEXIBLE SHEET AND TILE FINISHES

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8.3 - M5

Materials for flexible sheet and tile flooring shall be adequate for the location and intended use

Relevant standards include:

BS EN 649	Resilient floor coverings. Homogenous and heterogenous polyvinyl chloride floor coverings.
BS EN 654	Resilient floor coverings. Semi-flexible polyvinyl chloride tiles.
BS EN 650	Resilient floor coverings. Polyvinyl chloride floor coverings on jute backing or on polyester felt backing or on polyester felt with polyvinyl chloride backing.
BS EN 651	Resilient floor coverings. Polyvinyl chloride floor coverings with foam layer.
BS EN 12104	Resilient floor coverings. Cork floor tiles.

The following standard contains further specification details for flexible sheet and tile flooring:

BS 8203

Code of Practice for installation of resilient floor coverings.

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WOOD FINISHES

8.3 - M6

Materials for wood flooring shall be adequate for the location and intended use

ALL WOOD AND WOOD-BASED MATERIALS

Relevant standards include:

BS 8201

Code of Practice for flooring of timber, timber products and wood-based panel products.

DIRECTLY APPLIED FINISHES

(wood blocks, parquet, wood mosaic, etc)

Relevant standards include:

BS 1187	Specification for wood blocks for floors
BS 4050	Specification for mosaic parquet panels.

INDIRECTLY APPLIED FINISHES

(softwood and hardwood boarding, wood-based panel products, etc)

Relevant standards include:

BS 1202	Specification for nails
BS 1210	Specification for wood screws
BS 1297	Specification for tongued and grooved softwood flooring
BS EN 312 Part 2:	Specification for wood chipboard Particleboard
BS EN 300 Part 3:	Specification for oriented strand Particleboard board (OSB)
BS EN 636	Plywood.

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SOUND INSULATION

8.3 - M7

Sound insulation materials shall provide adequate insulation standards in their intended location

Information concerning materials and constructions that will generally be acceptable is given in statutory regulations.

Proprietary products should have been assessed in accordance with Technical Requirement R3.

Sound insulation materials include:

flexible material
mineral fibre quilt insulation
board material (for use under screeds)
pre-compressed expanded polystyrene - impact sound duty (ISD) grade
proprietary materials which have been assessed in accordance with Technical Requirement R3.

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THERMAL INSULATION

8.3 - M8

Thermal insulation materials shall provide adequate insulation standards in their intended location

Floor insulation materials should include the following:

Material	BS	Grade or description
EPS (expanded polystyrene)	EN 13163	70
PUR (rigid polyurethane)		for use under screeds
PIR (rigid polyisocyanurate)	4841
Fibre building board	1142 Part 3	insulating board (softboard)
Proprietary materials assessed in accordance with Technical Requirement R3	-	-

Insulation materials for use below screeds should:

have adequate compressive strength to support wet construction screeds and floor loads
be compatible with any dpm, where appropriate.

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STRUCTURAL FLOOR DECKING

8.3 - M9

Structural floor decking materials shall be suitable for their purpose and location

Decking materials should be selected in accordance with the relevant parts of Chapter 6.4 'Timber and concrete upper floors' (Design and Materials).

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