IPS flooring, or Indian patent stone flooring, is a primary type of flooring with good durability. It is commonly used for all floors, with a concrete mix of 1:1.5:3 for IPS flooring specifications (cement, sand and stone aggregates). The nature of use and ranges determines concrete flooring thickness from 25 mm to 50 mm. It is laid over a concrete base (1:4:8) that is approximately 3 to 4 inches thick plain cement concrete (PCC).
You can choose the thickness of the IPS flooring based on your needs; for a residential floor, 75 mm is sufficient, whereas, for an industrial floor, 150 mm is recommended.
Source: Pinterest
IPS flooring: Strips
Glass/PVC/Aluminium strips must be provided to separate the panels, as specified in the Schedule of Quantities. In addition, the slope must be maintained in accordance with the drawing.
IPS flooring glass strip
Glass strips for IPS flooring can be 45 to 70 mm wide or less, depending on the specifications, but they must be 4 mm thick. Glass strips must be cut from sheet glass with a specified width and length of 1.2 m, depending on the size of the panels. These should not be bent or have sharp angular edges. The strips must be firmly fixed in the required pattern and at the required level and slope corresponding to the finished slope of the floor or the plane of the vertical surface with cement concrete 1:2:4 at regular intervals before taking up the flooring or dado after thoroughly cleaning the base and removing any overburden or plaster / concrete droppings as per the BOQ or tender specifications.
IPS flooring PVC strip
PVC strips for IPS flooring must be cut from a PVC sheet with a specified width and length of 1.2 m, depending on the size of the panels. These should not be bent or have sharp angular edges. The strips must be firmly fixed in the required pattern and at the required level and slope corresponding to the finished slope of the floor or the plane of the vertical surface with cement concrete 1:2:4 at regular intervals before taking up the flooring or dado after thoroughly cleaning the base and removing any overburden or plaster / concrete droppings as per the BOQ or tender specifications. This will be cured until the flooring/dado is installed.
Source: Pinterest
IPS flooring: What is the procedure for installing IPS flooring?
- Make a reference level on the wall first, then use a water level tube to transfer this marking to all locations where the flooring will be installed.
- Make sure there are no air bubbles present in the water and that it matches the water level while keeping both ends together. The reference mark should be transferred across the flooring area and permanently marked with a line marker.
- The flooring thickness level will be marked, and dummy level dots will be placed every 1 or 2 metres to ensure the required slope of the flooring.
- Follow the proper installation of these dummy concrete dots to minimise shrinkage cracks. Concrete in the specified mix should be poured into panels. The panel size should not exceed 3 square metres for indoor flooring and 2 square metres for outdoor flooring.
- Glass, aluminium, or brass strips are fixed in cement mortar with their tops at the proper slope level and allowed to harden for at least 36 hours.
- A straight edge should be used to level the surface once the concrete has been poured, and the surface should then be finished with a wooden float or trowel.
- The final troweling must be done before the concrete has hardened, and enough pressure should be applied to make a firm impression on the concrete surface.
- There should be no marks on the finished surface, and no cement slurry should be spread on the surface.
- If a glossy or smooth IPS flooring surface is desired, neat cement punning 2 to 3 mm thick is applied to the IPS concrete surface and allowed to soak in. The surface is finished three to four times with a metal trowel to give it a glossy appearance.
- For the curing of IPS concrete flooring, pond or wet Hessian clothing is spread over the surface for 15 days.
- A vacuum dewatered machine should be used for large jobs to provide a smoother and better-finished surface. This prevents concrete surface cracks and improves IPS concrete surface abrasion resistance.
- Polyurethane fibres are added to concrete in minimal amounts to prevent surface cracks. This concrete is also known as Ferro cement concrete.
- Concrete flooring is cast in panels to avoid shrinkage cracks and to serve as an expansion joint. As a result, Tremix flooring is recommended, especially for large areas such as platform surfaces, pavements, and industrial flooring.
FAQs
IPS Flooring is an abbreviation for Indian Patent Stone. The basic type of flooring wears well with it. All types of flooring contain IPS.
A liquid crystal layer is placed between two glass surfaces in IPS. The liquid crystal molecules are aligned in predetermined directions parallel to those surfaces (in-plane). What is the purpose of IPS Flooring?
What exactly is IPS material?