The Modern Home
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Floors
CONCRETE versus TIMBER.
IF the present dismal state of the country's pocket has the effect of inducing our architects and builders to modernize their methods of floor-construction in private houses, the crisis will not have been wholly bad. The days of the timber floor should be numbered. From almost every practical point of view it is far inferior to concrete, and, while the latter can easily be made of British materials, only a fraction of the timber used for flooring in this country is grown within the Empire. If P: house is to be built in the old-fashioned way, with the sir gte difference that the floors are to be of concrete instead of timber, it is true that the cost of these will be froni about one-third higher (except on the ground floor, where concrete may be slightly cheaper) ; but to adopt such a hybrid method of construction is to neglect making the fullest uses of the material and to ignore possibilities of economy in other directions—economies which, together, can bring the total cost of the house well below that of similar accommodation provided by older methods.
The first requirement of a floor is that it shall be stable, and that is just what wood, as used for floor-boards, can never be. It is impossible to dry or season timber to such condition that it will not expand or contract with the changing temperature and humidity of the air about it. Furthermore, if the dangers and expense of dry-rot are to be prevented, a free circulation of air must be maintained beneath every floor. As a rule this is effected by providing " air-bricks," which allow the outside nil to pass through the walls and ventilate the spaces between ceilings and floors. When a strong wind is blowing, consider- able pressure may be exerted beneath a floor—even to the extent of causing a light carpet to lift perceptibly at times. It is almost certain that contraction will have caused the appearance of cracks between the boards (unless tongue-and- groove, which are more expensive and have their own draw- backs, were used); and through these some of the accumul- ated dust and dirt will be blown. Care is necessary to see that the air-bricks do not get choked by leaves or creepers.
Consider, too, the possibilities of fire. It would be quite hard to design a fire-lighter of wood more efficient than the average timber floor. Once the flames have run up the cur- tains and licked against the plaster of the ceiling fOr a moment or two, they encounter a wide grid of laths, on top of which are the joists and then the boards. The means adopted for ventilating between ceiling and floor will ensure a strong draught—in short, nothing is wanting to help the fire to spread as rapidly as possible. To the credit side of the con- crete floor can be placed the amount usually spent on fire insurance. The amount of heat generated by the most inflammable curtains or furniture will be almost without effect on such a barrier. The fire will be confined to the one room.
Ceiling cracks are of the commonest occurrence beneath a timber floor, not only because of its resilience but because it will often move slightly in relation to the walls in a way which is impossible with concrete. It is true that these can be avoided by the use of ceiling-boards instead of plaster, but if a plain surface is required it is extremely difficult to hide the joins perfectly, and it is doubtful whether many such boards are as sound-proof as plaster. A concrete floor has neither of these troubles and, in addition, ties the walls of a house to- gether in a way that timber does not attempt—a point which. can lead to economy in construction. The assertion that con- crete is cold to the tread may be disregarded, provided that some suitable covering, which need be no more than carpet and underfelt, is used : on the contrary, the fact that it is completely draught-proof adds greatly to comfort—as does the absence of creaking boards. If greater resilience is wanted, sheets of special composition board can take the place of the felt and will be found to give a most luxurious " tread " at small cost.
That, in brief, is the case for the concrete floor, and it would be difficult for anyone unacquainted with the force of habit in this country to understand why its use is not almost universal. FLOOR COVERINGS.
It is well for us to demand of our architects that they give us hygienic floors of concrete, but for most of us the demand must be hypothetical only : we are concerned more closely with what to do with the floors we have got. One rarely picks up any " home magazine " without meeting instructions as
to the best way to make old floor presentable. It is de- pressing to think of the number of enthusiastic, newly married householders who must have gone obediently down on their knees, pulled out myriads of tacks, stopped the holes, planed up the splintery boards, stripped off the old stain and -applied new—in the vain hope of achieving somethingIike. Veautifolt floor. It cannot be done, of course. The old pine boards arc too soft and battered, the gaps between them too wide, the. nail-holes too large and jagged. The only thing to do is to hide as much as possible of them beneath a covering of some sort. This does not mean that they need not be levelled : On the contrary, any ridge or unevenness will quickly cause sums of wear to appear on the carpet or linoleum above it—thougb this can be minimized by an underlayer of felt or thick paper.
I have seen a very satisfactory result obtained at a com- paratively low cost by gluing and pinning eight-inch planks: of teak, one eighth of an inch thick, across the old floor. Only teak or oak could be trusted for such a purpose, and, even with these, a rug should be used as a shield against the direct heat of the fire. If new floor-boards are being laid on joists; it is possible to use hardwood strips in their stead at a cost which is little more than that saved on carpet. British Columbia pine is about the cheapest : then beech, pitchpine, maple, and the various oaks. Parquet or wood-block floors are sufficiently well-known to need no comment, but I should like to draw. attention to the merits of beech for the latter. It is a very hard, close-grained wood which looks well—and is only about three-quarters the price of the ubiquitous oak. A point with wood-blocks, as with parquet of course, is that they, should off no account be washed with water, lest the blocks expand and force themselves off the floor. If wax polish will not get them clean enough, one of the special cleaning liquids should be used—failing which, the surface should be planed or scraped. and re-polished.
There is no doubt that one of the pleasantest surfaces for halls, passages, bathrooms and similar places is rubber. It is delightful to the tread, easily cleaned and, in the ordinary house, practically everlasting. The price may be no more than las. 6d. a square, including laying. It is made in almost every colour and in a range of marble effects (though why anyone should want a rubber floor to look like marble it is difficult to say). It is easy to lay and, if a plain colour is used, needs cementing down along the edges only, There are two kinds : that which is vulcanized in the roll, and that vulcanized in the flat under heavy pressure. -The-latter-is- more expensive, harder and smoother in surface. It is conse- quently longer wearing and a trifle easier,to keep clean. On the other hand, the cheaper type is softer and warmerto the tread arid, in any' case, -wears for so long that anything further is barely worth considering. I do not know whether the old bogey of rubber " drawing the feet " still persists, but it certainly should not apply to rubber flooring : anything more pleasant and hygienic could hardly be imagined. It is emphatically the flooring of the future. It would be still further improved by the introduction of some method wherebi it could be laid in a plastic state and swept up against the skirting, like the various jointless composition floorings which are so useful for kitchens, sculleries and lavatories. A word of warning is much needed here : with all air-tight floor coverings --rubber, linoleum or composition—the greatest care should be taken to ensure perfect ventilation under the floor-boards; or dry-rot will be a certain result—failing the advent of the
concrete floor. - . . _ G. M. Ilountrnaiw.
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