Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
twice. A juniper wall also has the advantage of being maintenance free, but one major
disadvantage is that the wall is relatively flammable, and sparks from a bonfire or chim-
ney can ignite it.
Wooden floors
Wooden floors give good warmth and sound insulation. They are relatively soft,
warm, physically comfortable and do not become electrostatically charged if not
treated with varnish. In addition, they are hard-wearing and relatively resistant
to chemicals, but they need to be kept dry. Maintenance requirements are mod-
erate.
It is difficult to specify the period in which the wooden floor first appeared. In
the country, rammed earth or clay floors were common as late as the Middle
Ages, but in the towns, stronger, drier floors were needed. As well as stone or
tiled floors, wooden floors were quick to spread during this period. In buildings
with several storeys there was no alternative. Boards, planks and cleft tree trunks
were used next to each other, usually on a system of joists or directly onto the
earth.
Wooden floors are usually made of high quality spruce, pine, oak, beech, ash,
elm, maple or birch. Aspen is less hard wearing, but is well suited for bedrooms,
for example. Aspen floors are soft and warm and have also been used in cow-
sheds and stables where they tolerate damp better than spruce and pine and do
not splinter.
A floor has to be treated after laying. This can be done with green soap, var-
nish, lye or different oils (see recipes for surface treatments in the chapter on
'Paint, varnish, stain and wax'). Wooden floors are hard-wearing and durable,
but should be thick enough to allow sanding several times. Timber to be used for
floors is artificially dried, unlike other solid timber products, involving an
increased use of primary energy which is initially relatively small. With the bat-
ten floor system, the timber can be laid after being dried outside to about 16-17
per cent. This can also be done for ordinary floorboarding by letting the boards
lie together unfixed for half a year, when they are fitted together again and fixed
permanently.
Floors that are treated with lye, soap or linseed oil are warm and anti-static
and good moisture-regulators. Varnished floors are cold and vapour-proof, but
their shiny surface makes them easier to maintain. This is, however, only a short
term solution as the layer of varnish will slowly but surely split, especially
where there is heavy traffic, then the floor needs re-sanding and varnishing.
Oiled floors are renewed by just repeating the treatment on the worn parts of the
floor.
Nailed and screwed wooden floors can, in theory, be re-used. In practice it
depends upon how the boards have been fixed. Pure timber floors which have
