Concrete Floor Flatness Measurements

This free concrete calculator estimates the amount of concrete necessary for a project and can account for different shapes and amounts of concrete.

Concrete floor flatness measurements.

Common tolerances were 1 8 inch or 1 4 inch in 10 feet. F numbers were developed in the 1980s to provide a systematic quantitative way to indicate the flatness and levelness of a concrete floor. Flatness is a measure of how bumpy the floor s finished surface is. Floor flatness ff and floor levelness fl are measurements by which architects can hold concrete placement contractors accountable and provide a quality control level during the initial placement of concrete slabs.

Concrete floor slab flatness and levelness traditionally allowable tolerances of concrete floor slabs were determined by checking the slab surface with a 10 foot straightedge. The more bumps there are the lower the ff number will be and the more difficult it will be for a polished concrete floor to have a uniform appearance. The higher the f number the flatter or more level the floor. There is a difference between the two.

Our latest testing machines produces results of mandatory tests like soil ground compaction concrete air content concrete strength floor flatness and levelness results right away on job site. When explaining this to my customers i often use a pool table as an example. The ff floor flatness measurement reads the bumps highs and lows in the slab and higher numbers are better. The fallacy of the straightedge method was the location of the measurement.

Think of these bumps and high areas like the knuckles on your hand. This saves lot of time of customer to start the operations on newly constructed floor. Exact flatness in concrete floors is critical to efficient facility functioning maximum floor tolerance maintaining operations and successful architectural design. Down to minute measurements 1 16th of an inch floors that are not exceptionally flat cause major disruptions to existing facilities or halt construction of new ones.

To quantify floor flatness using f numbers you begin by measuring the elevation differences d between points on the floor that are 1 foot apart along a straight line. The specifications will also dictate when and where measurements should be taken this is often accomplished by referencing astm e1155 the standard test method for determining f f floor flatness and f l floor levelness numbers. Depending on where the measurement was made the slab may pass or fail the specified. In general measurements should be taken once the concrete is ready to accept foot traffic but astm e1155.

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