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Ground supported floors

Ground-supported concrete floors are used in many types of building, ranging from simple houses through to schools, factories, and very large warehouses. As the floor type name implies, any loads imposed on the concrete floor are carried directly and fairly uniformly by the ground under the floor.

For ground-supported floors to be an acceptable form of structural element, the ground supporting the floor must be of such type and characteristic that the floor slab will not settle excessively or fail from bending or shear under the load imposed.

Ground-supported floors can be constructed in various ways, for example, in strips or in large areas, by hand or by mechanised laying. The floors may be unreinforced or reinforced with steel, or by various types of fibres.

The construction technique and detailing used for such floors must provide a concrete surface which has the required flatness, levelness, durability and other characteristics suitable for the building’s use.

Acknowledgement: The Concrete Society

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TR34 Concrete industrial ground floors
a guide to design and construction - 4th Edition

Concrete industrial ground floors – user expectations