ABSTRACT
Timber floors are among the m ost popular flooring sy stem in m any countries, especially in residential houses. Numerous variants and layouts exist, from simple floor beam s (joists) with timber boards (flooring) on top, to m ore complex systems which in reality must be regarded as composite floors. Traditionally timber floors are designed using beams (joists) with sufficient size and spacing to carry the loads, while the flooring on top has only a secondary load distribution effect, basically transferring the loads on to the beam s in the transverse direction. To improve the comfort performance with respect to vibrations and sound insulation, also m ass (like clay or crushed rock) has been added in between the joists. Furtherm ore, it has becom e quite usual to also have a second top lay er with desired finish. The latter top lay er is usually separated from the beam flooring by som e soft interm ediate material in order to improve especially heel drop or footfall performance.
