All you need to know about Apartment slabs

The world around us is surrounded by concrete. Buildings, bridges, pavements, and even roads are being made using concrete slabs. Concrete slabs form one of the foundational key ingredients in any construction including the modern apartments. Apartment slabs are in much demand and are often used in designing buildings and apartments.

Apartment slabs

What are apartment slabs?

Slabs with 4-20 inches thickness and reinforced with steel are like huge plates of concrete which are constructed in order to provide a flat surface, usually horizontal. In building various structures like floors, roofs, kitchen platforms, window lintels etc these are used widely. These slabs are supported by adding additional structures like walls, reinforced concrete beams, frequently cast along with the slab, structural beams of steel, columns or even the ground. There are 16 types of flat, conventional, one way, two-way, hardy etc slabs available each of which has its own sets of advantages and disadvantages. They are used in a variety of situations in building development. Apartment slabs are specialized concrete slabs used for making apartment ceilings and floors, countertops and storage spaces.

 

What is concrete?

Concrete is the core content of apartment slabs and is a composite which comprises of a complex mixture made from aggregate, water and cement. Crushed gravel, sand, quartz, lime etc. are added as aggregates for providing additional strength. Concrete is one of the strongest substances that can be easily produced on a wide scale and hence is a key choice when it comes to construction. While making apartment slabs, concrete is poured on a steel frame and that gives a solid, reinforced structure capable of withstanding high Newton of forces as well.

 

How Strong Are Apartment Slabs?

Concrete reinforced with steel is a much stronger and better alternative than only using “concrete” or “steel” alone. While concrete is extremely hard and strong, it does have a drawback. It can bear large forces of compression but relatively, it is weak in dealing with tension. Reinforced steel takes care of this aspect and cancels out the weakness. It is estimated that concrete is strong and stable enough to bear compressive stress of up to 3,000 psi after 28 days of being prepared for the first time. Conventionally, the average apartment slab concrete has strengths of approximately 7,000 psi or less. Concrete which can bear the stress of around 7,000 to 14,500 psi is mutually considered to be high-strength concrete.

 

What Type Of Slab Is Used In Apartment Slabs?

As mentioned earlier, there are 16 types of concrete slabs. Theoretically, most of them can be used for various construction projects related to apartments. However, the most frequent use is that of using flat slabs. A flat slab is a concrete slab that has been reinforced in two-ways. It usually does not contain any beams or girders and the forces are transmitted directly to the supporting columns on the corners. Hence, apartment slabs are flat, plain and strong which makes it highly appealing from an architectural and user point of view.

 

What Are The Pros And Cons Of Flat Slabs?

Pros of using Flat slabs:

1. Flexibility in the layout of the room is much better.
2. Reinforcement can be placed easily in apartment slabs.
3. Installation is easier.
4. Building height can be reduced.
5. Premade meshes are available in various sizes.
6. Auto sprinkler and other systems can be easily installed.

Cons Of Using Flat Slabs:

1. The span and spread of the slab are not very large and medium compared to other types of slabs.
2. Not suitable for brittle partitions due to the risk of the material getting collapsed.
3. The wall thickness is very high which comes with demerits and merits.

   

   Apartment slabs

The light distribution in apartment slabs is better and is safer as well in case there are fire-related hazards. This type of construction is relatively easier and it requires much fewer man-hours and workers. Overall they have become the most preferred choice for building strong and stylish apartments.