Some Concrete Advice: What You Need to Know About Concrete Slab Types

Almost 6 million commercial buildings are built each year. Of the 6 million buildings, every single one uses concrete of some type in their construction. But, the popularity of concrete has begun to surge in residential construction as well.

A concrete slab is the foundation of construction for a variety of different types of buildings. It's a large rectangle of poured concrete that offers a flat surface to build from.

One-way slabs on beams are continuous pours cast in situ method so that the form will be fixed on the reinforcements themselves. Once the concrete is attached to the reinforcement fresh concrete is poured on top to secure the slab.

This one is a floor slab that's supported by additional ribs, also known as joists. The ribs are supported by girders resting on the columns of the build.

This is a reinforced concrete slab that has square gridding with deep sides. When viewed from above it looks like a waffle because of all the square pockets.

Flat plates are one or two-way slabs supported directly by the walls or columns of a build. They use simple frameworks and are easy to build.

This is a reinforced slab also supported directly by columns or caps and doesn't use beams for additional support. These work well with column capitals and are easy to construct.

These are similar to the one-way slab but they need an additional framework. Two-way slabs have supports on all sides of the slab.

This is a precast slab that gets cores run through it. This declines the weight of the slab and increases its structural efficiency. It also allows for wiring and other materials to be put through the cores.

This slab is built using hardy bricks so there will be significantly less poured concrete once finished. This lowers the slab's self-weight and gives the slab a thicker pour.

Bubble deck slabs use a combination of poured concrete and plastic reinforced bubbles to replace the ineffective concrete in the center of the slab.

These slabs are typically built from a reinforced concrete cast placed on top of profiled steel decking.

We hope this has taught you more about the different concrete slab types.