Flooring exists to give a building a hard, level, and attractive surface for living and working. Ground floors rest directly on the soil, while the floors of every storey above are called upper floors. Apart from the finished surface, floors must provide good damp resistance, which is why the ground is prepared before any finish goes down. The natural options range from the types of cork flooring described in our installation overview to stone, clay, and timber, and the choice usually comes down to cost, traffic, and moisture.
A standard ground-floor build-up starts with the ground surface rammed well, with a layer of red earth or sand placed and compacted over it. Broken bricks and stones are provided up to 150 mm below floor finish level and rammed while the surface is kept moist to get good compaction. A 1:4:8 concrete base course of 100 to 150 mm thickness is then laid, and over this bed the floor finish is applied. Upper floors follow the same logic with a structural slab or joists in place of the ground bed.
What Is Flooring?
The purpose of flooring is to get a good hard, level, and beautiful surface for living. Ground floors and upper floors differ only in their supporting structure, and both need a finish that resists abrasion, cleans easily, and suits the room’s use. The distinction between flooring and false flooring matters when services run beneath the finished surface, because a raised or floating floor must still transfer loads to the structure below without squeaking or deflecting.
Ground Floor Construction
Ground floors are built directly on prepared soil. The sequence is compaction, a sand or red earth blinding layer, a hardcore layer of broken brick or stone, and a concrete base course before the finish. Damp resistance is handled by the base course and, where required, a damp-proof membrane below the slab.
Upper Floor Construction
Upper floors are supported by beams, slabs, or timber joists, so the finish has no ground contact. The main requirements are flatness, impact sound control, and enough stiffness that the finish does not crack at panel joints.
The Eleven Flooring Families
Different types of flooring are used in practice, and most textbooks list eleven families: mud and moorum, brick, flag-stone, cement-concrete, terrazzo, mosaic, marble, tiles, timber, rubber, and PVC. A broader catalog of the types of flooring for your home lists fifteen options including some not covered here, but the eleven families below cover the overwhelming majority of residential and commercial installations.
How the Families Group
The families group into three bands. Traditional low-cost floors use local materials. Cement-based and stone floors trade labor for durability. Timber and resilient floors add comfort and acoustic performance at a higher material cost.
- Low cost: mud and moorum, brick, flag-stone
- Durable and hard: cement-concrete, terrazzo, mosaic, marble, tiles
- Comfort and resilience: timber, rubber, PVC
| Family | Base | Best Use | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mud and moorum | Compacted earth | Village homes | Lowest |
| Brick | Sand or lean concrete | Godowns, factories | Low |
| Flag-stone | Mortar on concrete | Verandas, paths | Low to medium |
| Cement-concrete | Lean concrete bed | Residential, industrial | Medium |
| Terrazzo | Concrete base | Lobbies, corridors | Medium |
| Marble | Mortar on concrete | Entrances, living areas | High |
| Tiles | Mortar or adhesive | Kitchens, bathrooms | Medium |
| Timber | Joists or screed | Bedrooms, halls | High |
| Rubber and PVC | Levelled screed | Clinics, schools | Medium |
Traditional and Low-Cost Floorings
Traditional floors suit low-cost housing, especially in villages, and they use materials that are available locally. The flooring types in this group share one trait: the quality of the result depends on compaction and joint finishing rather than on expensive materials.
Mud and Moorum Flooring
Mud and moorum floors are used in low-cost homes, particularly in villages. On the hard coating of earth, a filling of mud or moorum layer is provided. The floor requires a thin wash of cow dung at least once a week to keep the surface sealed and clean. The finish is cheap, but it needs regular maintenance and does not resist standing water.
Brick Flooring
Brick flooring is another cheap floor construction, commonly used in godowns and factories. Bricks are laid flat or on edge, and bricks of very good quality should be used. The brick layer is provided on a sand bed or onto a lean concrete bed of 1:8:16. In both cases, joints are rendered flush and finished with cement mortar.
Joint Finishing for Brick Floors
Joint quality decides the life of a brick floor. Flush joints finished with cement mortar resist abrasion and stop moisture working into the bed, while raked or hollow joints trap dirt and let water reach the sand bed below.
Flag-Stone Flooring
Flag-stone floors use laminated sandstones or slates 20 mm to 40 mm thick, in slabs of 300 mm by 300 mm, 450 mm by 450 mm, or rectangles of 450 mm by 600 mm. The stone slabs are laid on 20 to 25 mm thick mortar spread over a concrete bed, and the joints must be finished with rich mortar. The result is a hard, level surface that suits verandas, courtyards, and light-traffic interiors.
Timber Flooring: Formats and Fastening
Timber floors are prized for warmth, acoustic comfort, and appearance. They are laid on joists, battens, or a levelled screed, and the planks are fixed with nails, screws, or adhesive. The choice between a hand nailer vs pneumatic flooring nailer changes installation speed and fastener holding: a pneumatic tool drives the same fastener in a fraction of the time and seats it consistently, while a hand nailer remains useful for repairs and small areas.
Solid Strip and Engineered Plank
Solid hardwood strips are milled from a single piece of timber and can be sanded and refinished several times. Engineered planks build a hardwood veneer over a plywood core, which resists movement in humid rooms and allows floating installation. Board width and thickness affect both the look and the stability of the finished floor.
Fastening and Nail-Down Method
Nail-down installation fixes the planks through the tongue at an angle, so each row hides the fasteners of the row before it. The subfloor must be dry and flat, and the first row is typically face-nailed where the skirting will cover the heads.
- Acclimatize the boards in the room for at least 48 hours
- Check subfloor flatness to within 3 mm over 2 m
- Lay the first row straight and face-nail it
- Stagger end joints by at least 150 mm between rows
- Leave a 10 mm expansion gap at the walls
- Power-nail subsequent rows through the tongue
Hardwood Species and Finish Options
The types of hardwood flooring range from solid strips to engineered planks, and the species choice sets the color, hardness, and price. Oak is the most common species because it accepts stains evenly, while maple and hickory are harder and show less wear in busy rooms.
Species Comparison
- Oak: stable, stain-friendly, mid-range price
- Maple: hard, light color, shows dents less
- Hickory: hardest domestic option, bold grain
- Walnut: dark, softer, premium appearance
Finishes and Maintenance
Site-applied finishes include oil, wax, and polyurethane, each with different repairability. Factory finishes are cured under controlled conditions and need only cleaning. A routine of dry mopping and occasional deep cleaning keeps the surface free of grit that acts like sandpaper.
Cement-Based, Stone, Tile, and Resilient Floors
The remaining families cover the hard-wearing and moisture-resistant part of the market. Cement-concrete flooring is a modestly cheap and durable floor and is commonly used in residential, commercial, and industrial buildings. It consists of two courses: the base course and the wearing coat.
Cement-Concrete Flooring
The base course is laid within well-compacted soil at a thickness of 75 mm to 100 mm. It consists of a lean cement concrete mix of 1:4:8 or lime concrete containing 40 percent of 1:2 lime mortar and 60 percent of coarse aggregate of 40 mm size. After the base course hardens, a wearing coat of 40 mm is laid in panels of 1 m by 1 m, 2 m by 2 m, or 1 m by 2 m.
Laying the Wearing Coat Panels
Alternate panels are laid with 1:2:4 concrete using wooden, asbestos, or glass strip separators of 1.5 mm to 2.0 mm thickness. A slurry wash is given before laying the wearing coat panels to get a good bond between base course and wearing coat. After 3 to 4 days, the alternate panels are laid. The tops are finished by tamping with wooden floats and tapping with trowels until cement slurry appears, then cured for 7 to 14 days. For appearance, a red-oxide finishing coat is often provided.
Terrazzo and Mosaic
Terrazzo is a finishing coat applied over concrete flooring for a pleasing appearance. The terrazzo finish consists of 75 to 80 percent surface marble chips embedded in cement mortar, ground and polished flat after setting. Mosaic floors use smaller chips or fragments set in a mortar bed to form patterns, and both finishes suit lobbies, corridors, and public areas.
Marble and Tiles
Marble floors use polished stone slabs laid on a mortar bed, giving a premium finish for entrances and living rooms. Tile floors use ceramic or porcelain units fixed with mortar or adhesive, which makes them the standard choice for kitchens and bathrooms where water resistance matters. Grout color and joint width change the final look as much as the tile itself.
Rubber and PVC
Rubber flooring is cast in sheets or tiles that absorb impact and reduce noise, which suits clinics, schools, and gyms. PVC flooring is supplied as sheets, tiles, or planks with a printed wear layer, and it is waterproof, easy to clean, and cheap to install. Where a seamless, chemical-resistant surface is needed, industrial floors frequently use epoxy resin systems that seal the surface against chemicals and heavy traffic.
Choosing a floor means weighing first cost, maintenance, traffic, and moisture. The wood flooring options in our material review span solid hardwood, engineered, parquet, and bamboo, and each of the eleven families in this article has a place where it outperforms the rest. Match the finish to the room, prepare the base properly, and the floor will outlast the paint on the walls.