Concrete Flooring Classifications

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Table of Concrete Flooring Classifications

This list of floor uses and service conditions will help to determine the “class” of concrete floor needed.

	CLASS	ANTICIPATED TYPE OF TRAFFIC	USE	SPECIAL CONDITIONS	FINAL FINISH
SINGLE COURSE	1	Exposed surface — foot traffic	Offices, churches, commercial, institutional, multi-unit residential Decorative	Uniform finish, non-slip aggregate in specific areas, curing Colored mineral aggregate, color pigment or exposed aggregate, stamped or inlaid patterns, artistic joint layout, curing	Normal steel-troweled finish, non-slip finish where required As required
	2	Covered surface — foot traffic	Offices, churches, commercial, multi-unit residential, institutional with floor coveringDecorative	Flat and level slabs suitable for applied coverings, curing. Coordinate joints with applied coverings	Light steel-troweled finish
	4	Exposed or covered surface — foot and light vehicular traffic	Institutional and commercial	Level and flat slab suitable for applied coverings, non-slip aggregate for specific areas, curing. Coordinate joints with applied coverings	Normal steel-troweled finish
	5	Exposed surface — industrial vehicular traffic, that is, pneumatic wheels and moderately soft solid wheels	Industrial floors for manufacturing, processing and warehousing	Good uniform subgrade, joint layout, abrasion resistance, curing	Hard steel-troweled finish
	6	Exposed surface — heavy duty industrial vehicular traffic, that is, hard wheels and heavy wheel loads	Industrial floors subject to heavy traffic; may be subject to impact loads	Good uniform subgrade, joint layout, load transfer, abrasion resistance, curing	Special metallic or mineral aggregate surface hardener; repeated hard steel-troweling
TWO COURSE	3	Exposed or covered surface — foot traffic	Unbonded or bonded topping over base slab for commercial or non-industrial buildings where construction type or schedule dictates	Base Slab — good uniform level surface tolerance, curing Unbonded topping — bondbreaker on base slab, minimum thickness 3 in. (76 mm), reinforced, curing Bonded topping — properly sized aggregate, 3/4 in. (19 mm) minimum thickness curing	Base slab — troweled finish under unbonded topping; clean, textured surface under bonded topping — for exposed surface, normal steel-troweled finish. For covered surface, light steel-troweled finish
	7	Exposed surface — heavy duty industrial vehicular traffic, that is, hard wheels and heavy wheel loads	Bonded two-course floors subject to heavy traffic and impact	Base Slab — good uniform subgrade, reinforcement, joint layout, level surface, curing Topping — composed of well graded all-mineral or all-metallic aggregate. Minimum thickness 3/4 in. (19 mm). Mineral or metallic aggregate surface hardener applied to high strength plain topping to toughen, curing	Clean, textured base slab surface suitable for subsequent bonded topping. Special power floats for topping are optional, hard steel-troweled finish
	8	Same as in Class 4, 5, 6	Unbonded toppings — on new or existing floors or where construction sequence or schedule dictates	Bond breaker on base slab, minimum thickness 4 in. (102 mm) abrasion resistance, curing	Same as in Class 4, 5, 6
SINGLE COURSE OR TOPPING	9	Exposed surface — superflat or critical surface tolerance required. Special materials-handling vehicles or robotics requiring specific tolerances	Narrow-aisle, high-bay warehouses; television studios, ice rinks, or gymnasiums.	Varying concrete quality requirements, curing Special application procedures and attention to detail are recommended when shake-on hardeners are used.	Strictly follow finishing techniques

Class 8 floors are special cases for service conditions that fall underclasses 4, 5 and 6.

Note: Much investigation should go into the service conditions intended. No type of facility always falls into a single class of floor. Classes may vary depending on the service conditions particular to a given operation. Floor class may vary even in the same facility, as service conditions vary from one
part of a facility to the next.

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