Bu ild ing
Tech niq ues : C2 – Wooden floor with stacked support, stone or terracotta
Coun try :
Greece
P R É S E N TATI O N
G e o g r ap hi c a l In f lu e n c e
D e f i ni ti on
Wooden floor with stacked support, stone
or terracotta
- load bearing struc ture with beams and/or
wooden joists : variable slenderness and
span, acc ording to the ar ea, qualities and
characteristics of the speci es of trees us ed.
- Use of a support (or load dispatching
support ) laid on or between j oists, realised
with boards, floorings of stone or terracotta
elements .
- Possible l aying of a pour ed or har d-pack ed
material, constituting the lay er of the flooring.
- Finishing of the flooring surface; left r ough /
bare or with a cov ering.
E n v i ro n m en t
Li mited to ten c ountries in the MEDA area: Algeria, Cy prus, Egypt, Spain, Franc e, Gr eece, Israel, Morocc o, Portugal, T unisia and Turk ey.
One notes a common us e of this type of floor in all types of environment, exc ept for Cy prus : urban, rur al, plai n, mountain and sea side
Associated Floors:
You find them on a ground floor (when it is located above a c ellar or an empty space), on the various floors of a c onstr uction; they are someti mes
used as roof terrace.
In Greece, the us e of this kind of c ons truction is exc epti onal, it is primarily found it in Chalcidice.
Found in urban and rural environments, this technique is als o adapted to mi xed environments (plain, sea, hills).
Associated Floors:
In Greece, this techniques produces access es to the ground fl oor and the various floors.
I l lu s t r a ti on s
General views : Detail close-up :
This project is financed by the MEDA programme of the European Union. The opinions expressed in the present document do not nec essarily reflect the position of the European Union or of its member States 1/6
C 2 Gr eec e – W ood en fl oor w i t h s t ac k ed s u ppor t , s to ne or t er r ac ott a
C O N S TRU C TI ON PR IN CI P L E
Ma t e r i a l s I l lu s t r a ti on s
Nature and availability (shape in which it is found)
This type of floor mak es up a three part mul ti-layer complex :
• a structural layer, hel d by the beams.
• w
a support layer, c omparable to a sacrifice for m ork.
• a layer of filling, the actual flooring, l eft bare or with a lay er of finishing (terrac otta,
plaster or whitewas h...).
1. A structural layer, hel d by the beams:
ini
The realisation of the various beams takes two deter m ng factors into account, in the MEDA
area; on the one hand the quantity of wood res ources , and on the other hand the nature of the
species available.
The beams generally consist of joists r esting or restrai ned in the masonry of the wall. They
can be held by a pri mary structure made up of mai n beams, avoi ding the us e with
inter mediate posts and ens uring the cr ossing of l arge openings. Materials : Nature and disponi bility
Finally, it should be noted that accor ding to the areas and the types of construc tion, you can
also find trunks, rough (and not squared), used to constitute the beam el ements.
w
2. A layer s upport c omparable to a sacrifice for m ork:
s
The support lay er for m a distributi on s urfac e wher e the wei ght of materials constituting the
flooring will rest. This lay er is carried out acc ording to the av ailable natural res ources and
sufficient quantities of the area. It can include plant / wood el ements (boards), as w ell as
i
m neral elements (stone flooring, c ut or rough, particul arly schist or flat stones) or terracotta
(brick or tiling).
These v arious elements c an also be associated, and make up a visible under face, or a floor
surface.
Indistinc tly, this l ayer support can be left bare, or, according to the area or us e of the building,
protected by a whitewash, or c overed.
3. A layer of filling, making up the actual flooring.
The flooring l ayer consists of mortar (earth, plas ter or li me, mixed with s and or other types of
aggregates) or hard-packed earth.
The finis hing of the flooring v aries acc ording to its us e and nature of c onstr uction. Left rough
or covered with a blank et when it is located in a modest i nterior or under roof, it is c overed
with a blank et after l aying, or a bed of c eramics, or stone flooring in nobler c onstruc tions.
In Franc e:
- the str uctural l ayer is ensured by wooden beams. The barks c an be squared or not, the
wood keeps the s hape of the trunk.
- the layer making up the fl ooring consists of stone floorings, rough or c ut. Accordi ng to the
areas, one us es c alcareous stone, and when hardness allows it, flat stones or schist.
The laying of the various floorings is carried out perpendicul ar to the beams.
This layer can be left bare or covered with a li me s urfac e, ensuring a good wedging of the
stones to withstand a thic kness of mortar on which terra-cotta floor tiles will be l aid, or any
other floor c overing.
Modules, Dimensions, Dose ratio
s
Commonly, the sec tions of beam vary according to the quality of w ooden us ed, and the
slenderness accordi ng to the hei ght of the trees. Di mensi ons v ary in sec tion 18x 22 to 8x15
, .
c m and for s pans from 5,00 to 2,00 m Ther e is a link between the c arrying distanc e and size
of the tr ees used, but also betw een the richness of building resources and the kind of
constructi on.
e
The thickness of the li m or earth mortar floorings v aries acc ording to the distanc es between
beam c enters, on av erage 0,40 c m for a thickness going from 15 to 30 c m.
In Greece, the crossing is carried out by means of squared wooden joists , laid out at regular
inter vals, fr om approximatel y 50 to 80 cm. Then c ome the components of the flooring, whose
thickness is between 25 and 30 c m.
This project is financed by the MEDA programme of the European Union. The opinions expressed in the present document do not nec essarily reflect the position of the European Union or of its member States 2/6
C 2 Gr eec e – W ood en fl oor w i t h s t ac k ed s u ppor t , s to ne or t er r ac ott a
C O N S TRU C TI ON PR IN CI P L E (C O N TI NU E D )
Ty p e o f l a y in g
Type of laying, use of a formwork, formwork supports
If the lay er of distributi on c an not be left bare or is not cov ered with a protection, the
realisation of this ty pe of floor c an be associ ated to a tec hnique of s acrifice for mwork. T he
various el ements rest on the beam (beams and/or joists).
w
This for m ork consists of w ooden elements, stones or terrac otta.
In Greece, no for mwor k and formwork s upports are nec essar y for the realisation of thes e fl oor
constructi on techniques.
To o l s
In addition to the traditional tools of the mason (saw, tr owel, hammer ...) and of the carpenter,
no other tool was reported.
Tr a d e s
Trade, Number of people necessary
In the MEDA area, this tec hni que is gener ally i m plemented by mas ons.
However, in France, in Gr eece, in Israel, i n Morocc o and i n Turkey, a c arpenter s upervised by
the mas on collaborates in the realisation of the work.
The teams vary from two to fiv e people, accordi ng to the difficulty of the work, particularly
during the casti ng of the flooring, w hich requires s peed for a better coherence of the work.
In Greece, masons carr y out this type of wor k, with carpenters under their orders.
The teams ar e made up of at least a mason and a s killed crafts man.
P e r f o r m an c e s
Physical (span...).
The spans go from 2,00 m to 5,00 m. the possibility of increasi ng s pans varies accordi ng to
country, the slenderness and the s hape of the trees used, but also the us e of various
s
constructiv e proc esses . In this spirit, one can lay inter mediate beam or increase the beam
section, but also multiply the inter m ediate points of s tanchions (columns , columns, posts).
In Greece:
The spans var y between 1 and 3 m. the average thickness of a flooring is 28 cm.
Two traditional techniques make it possibl e to increas e s pans :
• floors on arches
• using mai n beams.
Thermal - Acoustic.
Considering the c asting materials used; li me, s and, earth, this type of floor offers good phonic
al
and ther m perfor m ance.
In Greece, this type of floor offers good thermal and ac ous tic aptitudes generated by the
presenc e of a thic k i nter medi ate layer(25 to 30 cm).
Waterproofing, protection against bad weather (top floor)
In Algeria, in Morocco, in T unisia and Turkey , this type of floor is also used as roof terrace.
In this case, a layer of waterproofing is applied on the s urface, made up of clay / white clay or
a plas tery fil m over the whol e surface.
In Greece, this type of floor is onl y used to make the floors of s tandar d levels.
This project is financed by the MEDA programme of the European Union. The opinions expressed in the present document do not nec essarily reflect the position of the European Union or of its member States 3/6
C 2 Gr eec e – W ood en fl oor w i t h s t ac k ed s u ppor t , s to ne or t er r ac ott a
AS P E C T, P ATH O L O G Y
As p e c t
Finishing, associated roofing.
The beams are us ually bare, however throughout the MEDA c ountries, li me was hes are also
used, or projected plaster, or painted dec orations.
The flooring s urfac e can be bare, particularly for roofs, rural or poor i nteriors. T hey c an also
be protec ted by a bl ank et of li me or, i n the c ase of wealthi er buildi ngs, by a laying of terracotta
elements , of stone floorings, s ometi mes even Terrazo, from the l ate19th century.
In Algeria, in Morocco, in T unisia and Turkey , this type of construction can be used for the
realisation of roof terrace.
In Greece, beyond the tec hniques mentioned in the prec eding paragraph, the finishing of this
type of fl oor can also be left bare, cover ed with lime or pl aster milk, or terracotta elements...
The under-face of the floor (particularl y j oisting) can be washed with a whitewas h, or painted
after preparing the foundati on layers.
Ag e i n g p a t ho lo g y
Linked to materials and climatic conditions :
Throughout the c ountries of the MED A area, one notes that the mai n causes of deteriorati on
related to ageing are insec ts, mus hrooms and especially moistur e. One also notices attacks
due to the lack of maintenance, particul arly in the parts expos ed to w ater, and the r oofs, they
lead to a disintegr ation of the li me mortars and cause a rotting of the beams.
In order to av oid this deterioration, one c arries out a w hitewas hing or pl astering of the beam s,
and a c hecking of the roofings, and leak age risks.
In the c ountries usi ng this technique of floor, for the realisati on of roof terrace, you ex pect an
agei ng of the buildi ng under the action of rain and moistur e, when the layer of waterproofing,
generally clay, is not maintained.
In Greece, the main c aus es of deterioration related to materials and cli matic c onditions are:
• the deterioration of wood due to parasites and mus hrooms.
• breaking due to defects i n the wood
• Water damage in the r oofs c ausi ng a rotting of the wood, and a dissolution of the
binders.
Linked to the technique:
Generally, ageing pathologies related to the technique are ass ociated either to an under-sized
ary
pri m structure or to an overload of the flooring, or poor quality of the wood us ed.
In Greece, the main c aus es of deterioration related to the tec hnique are:
• sag caused by under-sized wood, overloads, too significant distances between c enters.
• breaks due to the overloads or under-sized s ections.
• Wearing of the fl oorings, lime in particul ar.
• spacing of the floorings joints, following the buc kling of the joists , under the acti on of the
weight of the flooring.
AS S O C I ATE D W O RK S
O p e n ing s
Generally the ass ociated w orks are hoppers, made to ensure v ertical acc ess, by a pass age
through a staircase or a miller’s ladder.
In Greece, the ass ociated works are :
Staircase hoppers (straight flights often aligned; s taircases with s olid core).
The rafter can be pressed on a partition, which then becomes slightly l oad bearing, or it c an
consist in the suppressi on of joisti ng and the fl ooring between two beams, or between a wall
and a beam.
Staircases : miller’s ladder; with steps built on a mas onr y or wood and masonr y framewor k.
C on n e c t ion fr a m e w o r k - V er t i c al S tr u c tu r e ( w a ll ) :
The connection with the vertical s tructure is carried out by embedding and sealing.
This project is financed by the MEDA programme of the European Union. The opinions expressed in the present document do not nec essarily reflect the position of the European Union or of its member States 4/6
C 2 Gr eec e – W ood en fl oor w i t h s t ac k ed s u ppor t , s to ne or t er r ac ott a
R E AL I Z ATI O N D E S C RI P TI O N
The mas on c an proceed i n two ways:
Assemble the masonries and make nec essary reserv es to install the beam sec tions, then proc eed with the l aying of the beams, aft er havi ng
raised them with hoists and pulleys.
s
This technique requires the stuffing or s ealing of the areas between wall and beam with mortar.
Proceed with the laying of the distribution lay er (stone fl oorings , terrac otta tiles, w ooden board).
Pour a bed of mortar of cl ayey earth and s and, then pr otect it with a bl ank et and/or a floor covering (terracotta or s mall stone tiles).
In Greece :
- Assemble the masonry and make sufficient reser ves to build the beam s ections , then raise and lay the beams.
- Assemble mas onr y, and gradually lay the beams which are then in turn used as scaffolding.
- Stuff or seal the gaps between wall and beams with mortar.
- Proceed with an alternate laying of the wooden elements, nailed or pinned, and of the terracotta or stone tiles.
- Pour a clayey earth throughout the floorings favoring the wedging and settling of the stones , and/or pouring a bed of mortar, then protec ting it
with a blanket and/or a coating in terracotta or small stone tiles .
This project is financed by the MEDA programme of the European Union. The opinions expressed in the present document do not nec essarily reflect the position of the European Union or of its member States 5/6
C 2 Gr eec e – W ood en fl oor w i t h s t ac k ed s u ppor t , s to ne or t er r ac ott a
U S E , E V OL U TI ON AN D TR AN S F O R MATI O N
U se
Types of buildings
This process is commonly used in Algeria, Spain, France, Greece, Israel, Morocco, Tunisia and T urkey whatev er the ty pe of building and social
environment.
In Greece, this fl oor is us ed for the realisati on of large dwelling houses and monastery c ons truction.
Period when the technique first appeared. Period when the technique is in use – still used today or disappeared :
Generally these techniques are regarded as being thous ands of years old.
In Greece, this technique was us ed fr om the 15th till the beginning of the 20 th c entur y.
Reasons why the technique disappeared or has been modified :
These tec hniques al most disappeared today, although the know-how is not forgotten.
Indeed, it is taught and used up to recently, the little by little c eded to concrete techniques, whose c ost, maintenance and reputation compete with
this traditi onal type of framework.
In Greece, this technique disappeared bec aus e of the fl exibility of the wood used as j oists, generating disorders li ke buc kling of the floorings.
This technique was replac ed with reinforced concrete .
E v o l u tio n / Tr a n s f or m a t io n
The materials
Two contempor ary tec hniques are face to fac e; full poured flooring and a fl ooring of beam/mortar ty pe.
In Greece, today, one uses metal beams or cores of s teel fabric, and concrete base plate to make crossings more and more. T he i nter vals are lai d
in mortar with hollow three hol e bric ks or hollow c ement bloc ks .
The technical aspects
The technical as pects are above all that c oncrete is easy to use and resistant.
In Greece, the technic al as pects are above all the robustness of c oncrete.
Evaluation of materials and replacement techniques
The replacement of traditional techniques with c oncrete l eads on the one hand to a l oss of ancestral k now-how but als o to different technic al
characteristics. If the resistance of c oncrete is no l onger to be prov en, it is nonetheless a bad phonic and ther mal ins ulator. Moreov er, the
combinati on of its rigi dity and distortable support s tructur es (walls in traditional masonries) do not c ombine well.
In Greece, nothing was r eported conc erning this poi nt.
This project is financed by the MEDA programme of the European Union. The opinions expressed in the present document do not nec essarily reflect the position of the European Union or of its member States 6/6