We often talk to visitors at exhibitions about the issue of noisy floors, usually the issue of squeaky wooden floors, whilst our systems are often used to provide the fire and acoustic separation in an apartment situation, it is creaks and squeaks in a traditional timber boarded 1^st floor that self-builders are keen to avoid.

No matter how well built a chipboard, plywood or tongue and groove floorboard floor is installed, screwed and glued, it is a system that includes many joints and a medium (the wood) that will have a moisture content and will shrink as it dries out.  All the board systems have a limited spanning capability and therefore if a single joist develops some movement, there will be movement in the boards above leading to noise and that usually means a squeak or creak that is difficult to do anything about, not to mention that soft spot in the floor where the flex occurs.  Just a little annoyance that can take the edge off an otherwise extremely well finished house.

Our floor systems and typically the Lewis Deck for self-build projects, provide floors that end up being jointless for most projects, they also span much further than the joist centres that they are used with and therefore, even if a timber joist could move below, it is unlikely to as the deck will carry the loads to the joist either side and in most cases a number of joists either side.  This gives a very solid feel to the floor and removes the issue of creaky and squeaky wooden floors.

The Lewis Deck, with either a liquid screed or a concrete installed over the top is usually 50mm in depth, this can be reduced to 36mm if required and this suits some refurbishment projects where the extra height can be an issue.  We also have the Max4 system where build-up heights are at an absolute premium and can be installed at just 15mm.  These system thicknesses can also include underfloor heating pipes.