A basic understanding of elevated flooring

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‘Form follows function’ is the mantra that architects learn from the very first day of their journey in the world of building design. This phrase means that the form of any building or its component is made just to suffice the function it is supposed to perform. Flooring is no different. The concept of flooring was introduced to make the building bases walkable especially barefoot or with socks on.

Elevated Flooring

The concept of elevated flooring primarily rose in those countries which often reach subzero temperatures to increase heat insulation. This concept also gave rise to the feature of heated flooring, which was invented by the ancient Koreans and later introduced to the whole world. In today’s date, elevated flooring is used to suffice various other functions like cabling, audio insulation, shock absorption, and much more. Many manufacturers like http://www.ambientbp.com/ provide such customized flooring solutions.

Subflooring: The foundation to elevated flooring

The term elevated flooring indicates the fact that it would need structural support to maintain its form and thereby deliver the function. The structural component that supports the elevated flooring is called a subfloor. Any flooring is built on joists & beams or prefabricated core slabs that are hollow.

Subfloors are built and attached to the elevated floors by various means to provide ample support. The strength that these subfloors provide can be sensed well at the underfoot when one walks over an elevated flooring. Therefore, to build any kind of elevated flooring, it is imperative to have a strong subfloor system of the building.

Uses of elevated floors

The uses of elevated floors are varied. Some of the major usages include:

  • Heat Insulation: Heat insulation was one of the primary reasons for elevated flooring inception in the ancient world. While it does not allow the direct cold to creep into the rooms, the introduction of heating elements like a wood furnace (ancient) or heating radiators (modern) ensured a warm and cozy room, especially for the cold nights.
  • Air Conditioning: Some modern buildings also use the concept of elevated flooring to introduce cooling ducts into various rooms. This is done primarily to decrease the HVAC load as people are nearer to the floor than that to the ceiling. However, this form of air conditioning proves to be cumbersome for the return air ducts since it is a bit lighter and tends to rise. 
  • Increasing acoustic viability: One of the major types of elevated flooring is floating floors. As the name suggests they are not connected completely to the subfloors and provide a hollow space. This hollow space provides a great way of sound insulation. It is widely used in auditoriums and sound recording areas to reduce resonance.
  • Cable space: Any major server rooms need a heavy-duty space for cables and their arrangements. Elevated floorings provide a great way to arrange for these cable spaces quite effectively. Modern IT Buildings often have defined specifications, especially for the elevated flooring when the design is being finalized.

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