Floors

(1) Suspended Floor: A system of joists covered with floor boarding or chipboard supported by small "sleeper" walls on the solum at ground floor level. The cavity between floor boarding and solum should be ventilated by air bricks set into external walls to avoid formation of stagnant pockets of damp air, conducive to growth of rot. Suspended floors may be concrete beam or reinforced concrete - particularly in flats.

(2) Solid Floor: Usually formed and incorporating a damp-proof membrane with surfacing of cement screed.