Structural Clay Tile Floor 1

[SteveMort]

I conducted an inspection of a building dating to pre-1900. The floor is composed of steel beams supporting terra cotta clay tile. The tile appears to be about 12" thick and spans between the steel beams you'll see in the photo running left to right. The closely spaced members you'll see running up and down the photo are hung from the main steel beams and are for ceiling support only. Can anyone shed some light on this construction method and suggest ways to determine the condition and capacity of this floor system?

 

[SlideRuleEra]

Download "Carnegie Pocket Companion - 1923" from this page of my website:

http://www.slideruleera.net/miscellaneous.html

See pages 262 thru 268.

http://www.SlideRuleEra.net

http://www.VacuumTubeEra.net

 

[concretemasonry]

You will have to closely examine your situation and closely compare it to the flat filler system in the Carnegie book. The book describes a system with the fillers projecting below the bottom of the beams. You fillers may be above the bottom of the beams. There several things to be concerned with:

1. The thickness and condition of the concrete over the tops of the beams and the tops of the floor fillers. Verify the amount of reinforcement in both directions.

2. The actual configuration and orientation of the fillers. In some systems, the cores run parallel to the beams and the sides of the units are taperd to permit a wedge of concrete between the beam and the side of the filler. This allows the concrete along the fillers to be contiguous and poured with with the slab concrete. In this case, the filler is merely a "stay-in-place" form for the composite beam concrtete system.

A modified version of this system is still used in construction in Europe. It is especially common in eastern Europe for residential construction. Currently, the beams are prestressed concrete, although some steel is used. The fillers are ceramic tile, concrete block or even made from shredded or shaved wood and concrete by a concrete block manufacturing machine. Some AAC is also used, but the cost of energy makes it quite expensive without any benefit, just as the ceramic fillers are. The bottom of this system is flush and is plastered. Heating lines are installed in the topping. It is also used for sloping roof construction.

It is fascinating how fast a 4 man crew can build a floor with little or no heavy equipment.

Dick