Ground Floor vs 1st Floor - Construction Material

[ArranP]

Traditional construction material for floor in Thailand has been a concrete slab.

 

I am considering to use lighter material for the 1st floor...   smart board floor plank ( 25mm ) with laminate wood flooring ( 8mm ) laid on top.  I see it would be necessary to use the laminate ( with a foam layer underneath ) to insulate noise. 

 

 

The smart board floor plank, is available at a cheaper cost with colour on one-side only, these can be laid facing downward to form the ceiling from the ground floor, then the foam layer, then the laminate wood ontop as the floor for the 1st floor.  I can see this would be alot less heavy than the traditional pre-fab concrete slabs, wet concrete and tiles, but I am not sure about the stability and noise.  Today I found myself jumping up and down at Amason to see how much their floor shakes ...  ha ha ..

 

 I would welcome comments from others on this approach

[Kwasaki]

2 hours ago, ArranP said:

I would welcome comments from others on this approach

It's another type of floor if your happy with it go with it.

[sezze]

The stability is in the steel . The smart board does not provide any stability . It does provide you of a floor , but if you want highly stable , use strong steel ( bigger ) . Smartboard is also not too crazy about water . It doesnt rot , but it does suck it in . When its full with water , it certainly gets weaker . Try it with a small piece of smartboard , you can break it easily when its full with water . If you keep those things in mind , it is a very usefull material .

[MikeN]

^ smart board is made of fibre cement, how is it going to "suck water in" ?

[Susco]

16 minutes ago, MikeN said:

^ smart board is made of fibre cement, how is it going to "suck water in" ?

It's not made of fibre cement only, it's a particle board, and I can confirm they must suck water.

 

I have used smart board for some cover outside, and they all broke after a couple of years.

 

For a loft floor I used the same smart board, and there is no issue

[rumak]

changes in temperature can cause smartboard to expand/contract and crack . usually where screwed in.

 

then you are screwed 

[sezze]

4 hours ago, MikeN said:

^ smart board is made of fibre cement, how is it going to "suck water in" ?

Check the above comments , and i agree/witnessed same with them 100% .

 

Fibre cement = cement + fibre . Fibre can be all kinds of things , from cellulose to asbestos and anything else . They are like small "wires" , a bit like creating reinforced concrete ( but without stones ) . These wires bring the water in the board beyond the surface only ( capillary force ) . Since nowadays asbestos is not used in those smartboards , most times its cellulose . Cellulose is basically the structure where plants/trees get their strength from .