What is a suspended ground floor?

What is a suspended ground floor?

A suspended floor is a ground floor with a void underneath the structure. Supports underneath the floor are permanent and include sleeper walls or timber props placed at regular intervals. Unlike standard ground floor construction, suspended floors are not sitting directly on the ground.

What is used in the construction of suspended timber ground floors?

joists
Suspended timber floors, which are typically found in older houses, are normally made from timber floorboards which are then attached to joists just above the foundations of a house. This creates a small gap and allows ventilation and air movement to prevent damp forming in the timber joists.

What are the advantages of using suspended timber floor?

Why Use Suspended Timber Floor

• It has simply the best construction way for sloping sites, low-lying areas or sites with bad climatically conditions.
• It is more cost effective in residential areas.
• It gives easy installation of under floor ducted heating systems.

Are suspended floors good?

Suspended concrete floor systems are also suitable when your intention is to use a floor tile, as there is no movement and will therefore prevent any cracking. These types of floors are a lot more expensive, but the benefits for the future are greater as there will be little or no maintenance required.

Why do some houses have suspended floors?

Suspended concrete flooring systems were originally developed as a means of overcoming ground problems such as unstable sloping sites, where it made sense to bridge deep gaps rather than fill them. Today, nearly all new houses employ beam and block construction for their ground floors.

How do you ventilate a suspended timber floor?

Suspended timber floors should be well ventilated to reduce the risk of timber rot and musty smells. Ideally, there should be vents in the walls on either side of the floor to encourage cross-ventilation and minimise dead areas beneath the floor (Figure 1).

Is it worth insulating a suspended floor?

Insulating a suspended timber floor can eliminate floor draughts and reduce heat loss through the fabric of the floor at the same time. From a thermal comfort perspective, it does appear that feet are particularly sensitive to colder temperatures, so addressing floor draughts can help improve comfort levels.

Does suspended floor insulation cause damp?

One of the things you should see around the outside of a house which has suspended timber floors are sub-floor air-bricks. Other reasons for sub-floor condensation occurring can be leaking plumbing pipes within the sub-floor void which can lead to excess water and humidity within the sub-floor void.

Do suspended floors need ventilation?

What allows ventilation under a suspended floor?

Ventilation in suspended timber floors can be achieved by installing vents below the joist level in opposite walls of the building and if possible on all sides of the building (see figure 1). These vents must be enclosed to prevent air getting into the cavity of block wall construction.

What is a suspended timber floorboard?

Click to View. Suspended Timber Ground Floors consist of the finished timber floorboards being attached to floor joists, which are suspended above the subfloor of the foundation. These floor joists are raised above the subfloor on small supporting walls called tassel walls (or sleeper walls).

What is timber ground flooring?

Suspended Timber Ground Floors consist of the finished timber floorboards being attached to floor joists, which are suspended above the subfloor of the foundation. These floor joists are raised above the subfloor on small supporting walls called tassel walls (or sleeper walls).

How many suspended timber ground floor constructions are insulated?

There are approximately 10 million suspended timber ground floor constructions in the UK and millions more globally. However, it is unknown how many of these floors are insulated and their performance has not been widely investigated.

Suspended timber floors need to have spaces underneath ventilated via air ‘bricks’ through the outer walls and gaps in any internal walls so that the air can move across the building underneath the floors to prevent the build up of moisture in the timber which could lead to fungal attack.