Flooring is the foundation of multi-story buildings and one of the most important elements of building structures. They are horizontal load-bearing structures that divide the building into floors, provide spatial rigidity, and ensure thermal and sound insulation of the premises.

Flooring performs both load-bearing and enclosing functions, and consists of a load-bearing part that transmits loads to walls or separate supports, and an enclosing part that includes floors and ceilings.

For more information, see our section on overlap  structures.

Flooring can be classified according to several different criteria.

Depending on the location in the building

Interfloor flooring divides the building into floors.

Attic flooring separates the attic floor from the rest of the building.

Sub-basement, basement flooring separates basement and ground floor spaces from residential/operational spaces in the building.

According to the construction technology

Pre-fabricated flooring consists of several elements: beams and fillers.

Monolithic flooring are solid structures that can be simple and lightweight, depending on their purpose and the materials used.

Pre-fabricated monolithic flooring.

Depending on the structural solution

Beam overlapping. The main load-bearing element is a beam, on which filling elements such as decking, battens, etc. are laid.

Slab overlapping consists of load-bearing slabs and decking, supported by vertical load-bearing supports of the building or by rafters and beams.

Beamless overlapping consists of a plate connected to a vertical load-bearing capital.

Depending on the material of the main load-bearing elements

Reinforced concrete overlapping - reinforced concrete slabs.

Aerated concrete - beams, slabs.

Wooden - beams.

Steel - beams, permanent formwork.

By shape

Flat overlapping - widely used.

Arched, vaulted, gabled - usually found in stone houses.

Depending on the purpose of individual rooms and corresponding physical and technical characteristics

Insulated overlapping - above or below a cold room or over an open space.

Uninsulated overlapping - interfloor, above heated or insulated rooms.

Waterproof overlapping - for rooms with high humidity or, conversely, for isolating rooms from external moisture.

Fire-resistant overlapping.

Airtight overlapping - for rooms of special purpose, laboratories, production facilities, etc.

Sound-insulating overlapping.


Regardless of the location of the overlapping in the building, its structural solution should be economically and technologically justified.