Timber floors

Architects' Journal|

Architects' Journal Timber in Construction Floor structures. AJ 17.7.91

Engineered Wood Association|

Noise-rated systems
This booklet gives basic information on the types, measurement and control of noise, the results of acoustical tests on various plywood construction systems, and a report on field construction versus laboratory tests.

Residential and commercial
This guide is designed as a handy reference manual for panel specifiers and users in both residential and commercial/industrial construction. It contains up-to-date information on panel grades, including APA Performance Rated Panels, specification practices, floor, wall and roof systems, diaphragms and shear walls, fire-rated systems and methods of finishing.

APA rated Sturd-I-Floor. Performance-rated floor panel
This document concerns APA Rated Sturd-I-Floor, which is a single-layer wooden floor panel engineered and manufactured to meet the specific performance requirements of a floor deck, including strength, stiffness, dimensional stability and performance under concentrated static and impact loads.

Association for Specialist Fire Protection|

Fire protection of timber floors
Details the principles and main factors influencing fire resistance performance of timber floors.

Aurum Press Limited|

Georgian house | Part 15 - Floors. (16 of 25)
Document History - This document is part of a larger document, the Georgian House, which has been split into parts for ease of use.
Designed to instruct in the techniques of Georgian building. Covers types of Georgian houses such as British and American, with examples of styles. Also covers building techniques in brick and stonework, render, weatherboarding, windows, roofs, ironwork, mouldings, floors and stairs, internal decoration, soft furnishings and lighting.

British Board of Agrement|

Information Sheet 12 Chipboard flooring in dwellings - survey of behaviour in use

BRE|

Defect Action Sheet 31 Suspended timber floors: chipboard flooring - specification

Defect Action Sheet 32 Suspended timber floors: chipboard flooring - storage and installation

Defect Action Sheet 45 Intermediate timber floors in converted dwellings - sound insulation

Defect Action Sheet 73 Suspended timber ground floor: remedying dampness due to inadequate ventilation

Defect Action Sheet 74 Suspended timber ground floor: repairing rotted joists

Defect Action Sheet 99 Suspended timber floors: notching and drilling of joists
Document History - Replaces- BRE Defect Action Sheet 47

Defect Action Sheet 103 Wood floors: reducing risk of recurrent dry rot

Digest 208 Increasing the fire resistance of existing timber floors
Where there is an alteration, extension or material change of use of a building, the period of fire resistance of existing timber floors may need to be increased. This digest explains how periods of up to one hour may be achieved. It discusses the addition of protection to the underside of the ceiling, over the floor boarding and between the joists, and the problems of improving fire resistance when the joists are exposed to view from below.

Digest 364 Design of timber floors to prevent decay
Document History - Replaces - BRE Digest 18
Timber is an organic material which, under damp conditions, may be at risk of decay by wood rotting fungi. Different timber species have different ° of natural resistance to fungal decay but the softwood species most commonly used in modern building construction all have a low natural resistance to decay. It is important, therefore, that the moisture content in service remains below the critical threshold for decay. To be immune from attack, the moisture content of timber must be maintained below about 22 per cent. Occasional, brief periods of superficial wetting, due say to condensation, are unlikely to allow initiation of decay. This threshold value applies to decay by the dry rot fungus Serpula lacrymans as well as the wet rot types of decay which result from attack by a number of other fungi.

Good Building Guide 28 Part 3 Domestic floors: assessing them for replacement or repair - timber floors and decks
This guide tells you how to inspect the condition of timber floors and decks and how to assess them for repair or replacement. It deals with the most common forms of deterioration and includes checklists to help you inspect a floor. It is mostly about domestic floors but some recommendations apply also to other types of building. This guide is of interest to designers, building surveyors and builders.

Good Building Guide 28 Part 5 Domestic floors: repairing or replacing floors and flooring - wood blocks and suspended timber
The Building Research Establishment receives many enquiries about repairs to floors and floorings. This guide describes some of the common ones. It is concerned mainly with domestic buildings but some recommendations are equally applicable to other types of building. This guide is of interest to designers, building surveyors and builders.

Information Paper 5/81 Field measurements of the sound insulation of timber-joist party floors

Technical Note 12 Flooring and joinery in new buildings: how to minimise dimensional changes

British Standards Institution|

BS 1297:1987 Specification for tongued and grooved softwood flooring
Document History - Supersedes BS 1297:1970
Range of species, characteristics, manufacturing and moisture content requirements.

BS 5268-4.2:1990 Structural use of timber. Fire resistance of timber structures. Recommendations for calculating fire resistance of timber stud walls and joisted floor constructions
Document History - Confirmed April 2002
Extends the code given in Section 4.1 of BS 5268 to include composite timber elements.

BS 5268-7.1:1989 Structural use of timber. Recommendations for the calculation basis for span tables. Domestic floor joists
Document History - Confirmed April 2002
Permissible clear spans for simply supported joists of solid timber at maximum spacing of 610 mm. Only uniform loading is considered.

BS 8103-3:1996 Structural design of low-rise buildings. Code of practice for timber floors and roofs for housing
This part of BS 8103 gives recommendations for the sizes of timber elements, fixings, and their connections with masonry walls etc. It applies to detached, semi-detached, terraced houses and flats of not more than three storeys above ground, intended for domestic occupation.

BS 8201:1987 Code of practice for flooring of timber, timber products and wood based panel products
Recommendations for laying wood board and strip, block, mosaic, overlay and parquet, and wood based panel products.

Council of Forest Industries|

Canadian COFI Exterior plywood for heavy-duty floors
This publication provides details on COFI exterior plywood for heavy-duty floors.

Timber suspended ground floors
This publication provides details on timber suspended ground floors.

COFI timber compartment floor guide
This publication provides details on COFI timber compartment floor guide.

Defence Estates|

Historic Buildings Factsheet T 2.02 Structure - timber floors
Document History - This set was formerly known as - Design and maintenance guides for historic buildings.
Considers calculating floor loadings, repairs of members under different stresses, and resin repairs.

Housing Association Property Mutual Ltd|

Technical Note 11 Particleboard floor decking
Premature failures in particleboard decking have prompted changes to the HAPM insured lives for flooring in damp locations. This note alerts members to the potential risks and explains how costly failures can be avoided in practice.

National House Building Council|

Standards Extra 26 NHBC Technical newsletter - April 2003
Includes articles on building near trees, concrete and its reinforcement, underfloor heating systems, changes to Part E of the building regulations and floor joist support.

Nordic Timber Council|

Domestic floor joists load sharing systems
Contains load/span tables for joists of Swedish and Finnish Redwood and Whitewood.

Non-domestic floor joists load sharing systems
Contains load/span tables for joists of Swedish and Finnish Redwood and Whitewood.

Joists for permanent storage load sharing systems
Contains load/span tables for joists of Swedish and Finnish Redwood and Whitewood.

Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings|

Information Sheet 10 Patching old floorboards
This information sheet suggests a number of ways in which old boards may be patched or repaired. It is written with butt-edged boards in mind and the advice given will not necessarily be suitable for tongued and grooved boards.

Technical Pamphlet 2 Strengthening timber floors
This pamphlet suggests ways in which faulty beams can be made capable of performing their proper function with the minimum of disturbance and leaving practically no trace of the work that has been done.

TRADA Technology|

Timber decking manual
This book provides best practice design and practical guidance to ensure that the desired longevity and performance is achieved in practice. Issues covered include; choosing and planning a deck, statutory requirements and standards, performance requirements, structural and detail design and specification, material selection and treatments, construction on site and maintenance guidance.

Building regulations 1991: approved document: timber intermediate floors for dwellings (excluding compartment floors). Reprint (including 1996 Amendment)
This guidance covers; structure; fire spread; conservation of fuel and power; sound insulation to floors of WC compartments; and installing services.

Timber frame construction. 3rd edition | Part 6 - Intermediate floors. (7 of 14)
Document History - This document is part of a larger document, Timber Frame Construction, which has been split into parts for ease of use.
This book covers all aspects of timber frame construction from foundations, ground floors and walls through to roofs, cladding and services. The book also gives details about materials data and supervisors checklists.

Timber frame construction. 3rd edition | Part 7 - Party floors. (8 of 14)
Document History - This document is part of a larger document, Timber Frame Construction, which has been split into parts for ease of use.
This book covers all aspects of timber frame construction from foundations, ground floors and walls through to roofs, cladding and services. The book also gives details about materials data and supervisors checklists.

Design Aid 3 Span tables for floor joists to BS 5268: Part 2: 1984
The aim of this publication is to provide information on span tables for floor joists to BS 5268: Part 2: 1984.

Design Aid 6 Joist span tables for domestic floors and roofs to BS 5268
This publication contains span tables for joists of timber in strength classes SC3, SC4 and SC5 introduced in BS 5268: Part 2: 1984.

Timber Engineering Guidance Document GD 6 Vibration in timber floors
Addresses the design of timber floors under the vibration aspects of serviceability Limit State design in DD ENV 1995-1.1, Eurocode 5. Explains the basis of the dynamic methods presented and draws upon research findings.

Technology Report 3/99 Timber floors: improvements through process re-engineering
Document History - Alternative series title Research Report 3/99
This publication is divided into the following sections; the need for process re-engineering of structural timber floors; application of process re-engineering principles to timber floors; technical benefits; cost benefits; current best practice and; technical validation of floor performance.

Technology Report 1/2000 Acoustic performance of party floors and walls in timber framed buildings
Document History - Alternative series title Research Report 1/2000
This report includes detail designs, specification and test results for 11 floors which met an enhanced target level and 6 floors which met enhanced + level.

Technology Report 2/2001 Sealing timber floors: a best practice guide
Guide to floor preparation and the selection, application and maintenance of floor lacquers. Covers types of seals, specifications, common faults and their prevention, preventative methods and refurbishment.

Technology Report 2/2002 Sealing timber floors: a specification guide
Provides objective guidance to consumers on the choice of commercially available seals for timber floors, based on comparative performance studies of thirty commercially available seal products.

Wood Information Sheet 1/36 Timber joist and deck floors - avoiding movement
Timber floors are easy to install, light in weight and have the advantage of utilising a material which is environmentally friendly, both in terms of a renewable resource and using little energy in its production or use. This WI Sheet gives guidance specifically intended to minimise problems of movement and noise in timber floors in masonry or timber frame buildings. The guidance relates principally to dwellings although much is applicable to floors in other building types, e. g. timber compartment floors in flats.

Wood Information Sheet 1/41 Strutting in timber floors (2005 revision)
Document History - Replaces - WIS 1/41 (1998)
Summarizes the findings of recent research and offers guidance on the provision of strutting in domestic and non-domestic floors.

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