Building Walls

Building walls support roofs and ceilings, and divide space within buildings to enable multiple rooms to be created and of course walls provide security against intrusion and weather. Such walls have three or more separate components. In today's construction, a building's wall must have the structural elements (such as a stud wall), insulation, and finish elements, or surface (such as plasterboard or panelling). In addition, the wall will contain various types of electrical wiring or plumbing. Most newly constructed houses have concealed wiring and plumbing making the finish have a higher visual appeal. Electrical outlets are mounted via plug sockets in the walls rooms in the United Kingdom, often two to eight plug sockets will suffice a normal sized room. Building walls can also become works of art, such as when murals are painted on them.

Retaining walls are a special type of wall to strengthen an external building or part of a building, which serves to provide a barrier to the movement of earth, stone or water. The ground surface or water on one side of a retaining wall will be noticeably higher than on the other side. A dike is one type of retaining wall, as is a levee.

Building Floors

A ground-level floor can be soil, or be built on a 'slab', such as a concrete slab. Floors above may be built on beams or joists or use structures like hollow core slabs.

Ground-level slab floors are prepared for pouring by grading the base material so that it is flat, and then a layer of sand and gravel must be spread across it. A grid of steel rebar is added to reinforce the concrete, which should be done especially if it will be used to support part of the building.

Floors in woodframe homes are usually constructed with joists that are centered no more than 16 inches or 40 centimeters apart, according to most building codes.[citation needed] Heavy floors, such as those made of stone, are more closely-spaced. If the span between load-bearing walls is too long for joists to safely support, then a heavy crossbeam (thick or laminated wood, or a metal I-beam or H-beam) may have to be run used. A 'subfloor' of plywood or waferboard is then laid over the joists.

Building Utilities

Utilities should be run through the floor, by drilling small holes to go across joists. Where the floor is above a cellar, basement or crawlspace, they may instead be run under the joists, making the installation less expensive.

Now gaining popularity in the United Kingdom ducts for air conditioning (central heating and cooling) cannot cross joists or beams, thus they are typically at or near the plenum, or come directly from underneath (or from an attic). The floor of one level typically also holds the ceiling of the level below (if any).

Pipes for plumbing and sewerage, as well as for underfloor heating, are laid directly in slab floors, which is also sometimes the case for some other utilities. Maintenance of these systems can be very expensive however, requiring the opening of concrete or other fixed structures. Electrically heated floors are also available, and both kinds of systems can also be used in wood floors as well.

Building Problems

Wood floors, particularly older ones, tend to 'squeak' in certain places. This is caused by the wood rubbing against other wood, usually at a joint of the subfloor. By firmly securing the pieces to each other with screws or nails will remove this annoying problem.

Wood floors also tend to pass sound, particularly heavy footsteps and low bass frequencies. Concrete floors are usually so solid they do not have this problem, but are also much more expensive to construct, and much heavier, resulting in further requirements regarding the structure of the building. Sound proofing is available to limit the noise pollution found in buildings across the UK and as more and more house are built the need for sound proofing will increase.

Floor plan

Planning floor space is important as users can maximise their use of the building. Floor plans often form the basis of emergency maps to enable users to exit large buildings effeciently.

Floor numbering

In buildings of many levels it is necessary to number the floors to enable users to find their desired level. Basement is often found underground and ground floor is always used to describe the level that is accessible from the street.

Floor construction:

Construction of flooring in the United Kingdom is often made from the following materials:

• Glass floor
• Floating floor
• Raised floor
• Sprung floor

Floor materials:

Different needs for users of buildings means that a myriad of materials can be used to cover flooring. Materials that are used to cover floors in the UK can be seen below

• Floor covering
• Flooring
• Bamboo floor
• Carpet
• Concrete
• Cork (material)
• Earthen floor
• Linoleum
• Marble
• Mosaic
• Parquetry
• Rubber
• Terrazzo
• Tile including slate, ceramic and stone tiles
• Vinyl Marley is a vinyl sheet product
• Vinyl composition tile

Underfloor heating

The use of underfloor heating as a green building utility is occurring more in Europe than in the United Kingdom. In buildings that endure extreme temperatures underfloor heating is an excellent way to warm rooms and has high efficiency. Saving energy and money the floor heats the entire space where the piping or cabling is found. Warm air rises throughout the room to heat the building from the ground upwards.