Longley Concrete have provided quality beam and block flooring for decades. Here, Longley run through the basics and benefits of beam and block.
What is beam and block flooring?
Beam and block flooring is the go-to flooring of choice for housebuilders.
Made from a combination of prestressed beams and concrete infill blocks, the floor is finished with a 3:1 sharp sand to cement mix to seal the joints.
Relatively low cost and easy to produce, beam and block floors are quick to install and provide an immediate working platform to continue building up the walls of the property.
Designs can include accessories to accompany the floor system, such as coursing blocks and air bricks.
Can beam and block floors be used in upper floors?
While beam and block flooring is frequently used at ground floor level, it can also be used at upper floor level and is being used more commonly in new build houses as a replacement for timber floors.
A plasterboard ceiling can easily be installed beneath a beam and block floor, using metal clips, timber battens and plasterboard; this inevitably increases the fire resistance. The floor when constructed with a plasterboard ceiling provides, in general, up to one hour’s fire resistance.
A beam and block upper floor is not suitable when used in a timber frame construction due to its inherent weight, however the damping qualities of concrete gives beam and block floors good noise reduction qualities.
Benefits of beam and block
There are many reasons why a beam and block floor makes an excellent choice – it is quick to install by unskilled tradespeople, provides an immediate working platform, has good thermal mass and better sound performance when compared to a timber floor. Additionally, a beam and block floor is vermin and rot proof as well as fire and moisture resistant.
Insulating a beam and block floor
There are a number of alternatives to using the more traditional concrete blocks, to provide increased insulation in a suspended concrete floor. Expanded polystyrene (EPS) blocks can be used in place of concrete blocks to insulate ground floors. Longley’s Top Sheet system insulates the floor and is completed with a structural concrete topping reinforced with either polypropylene fibres or steel mesh, laid over a top sheet of EPS insulation.
Gdeck insulated flooring is a combination of prestressed concrete beams with deep EPS infill blocks and engineered structural rails which negate the need for a top layer of insulation.
Both achieve low U-values and are KIWA BDA approved. Insulated flooring is an excellent choice for a new build homeowner, looking to save money on energy bills.
Cost effectiveness of a beam and block floor
The price of a beam and block floor will vary, however a beam and block floor is a cost effective choice for a self-builder and remains the most common type of flooring installed by major housebuilders. As insulated floors bring about significant savings on future energy bills they too are becoming increasing popular.