Concrete slab floors come in many forms and can be used to provide great thermal comfort and lifestyle advantages. slabs can be on-ground, suspended, or a mix of both. they can be insulated, both underneath and on the edges. conventional concrete has high embodied energy.. A concrete slab is a common structural element of modern buildings. horizontal slabs of steel reinforced concrete , typically between 4 and 20 inches (100 and 500 millimeters) thick, are most often used to construct floors and ceilings, while thinner slabs are also used for exterior paving.. Plain concrete slabs have served as the flooring material for basements, garages, patios, and utility areas for many years, but concrete is now also a viable material in modern homes, where it can be found in polished, etched, or stained form on the floors of any room in the house..
The subsequent installation of the concrete slab and screed or other flooring material is carried out in a manner similar to that for an un–insulated floor. the concrete slab and screed should be allowed to dry out prior to the installation of the floor finish.. The concrete slab should be four-inches thick at least; it needs to be thicker if heavy equipment will rest on it. building codes offer requirements for the concrete mix, which vary by region. the standards are expressed in terms of "compressive strength," which boils down to the amount of water used in the mix.. Chapter 4 floor construction woodframe floor systems and concrete slab-on-grade floors are discussed in this chapter. although cold-formed steel framing for floor systems also is permitted by the irc, it is not covered here; rather, the reader is referred to the aisi standard for cold-formed steel framing.
