Patent ID: 8250824

Claim:
A floor member for installation on a floor base without bonding or adhering the floor member to the floor base, the floor member comprising a first floor member portion of closed periphery with a top surface for walking upon and top peripheral side edges, and a second floor member portion of closed periphery with bottom peripheral side edges offset from the top peripheral side edges of said first floor member portion, said second floor member portion having a bottom portion formed of a water resistant plastic material, the plastic bottom portion of said floor member being formed with moisture dispersal pathways that include channels, defined by spaced elongated sidewall portions, formed in a repeating, side-by-side pattern, and a predetermined plurality of said channels extend from one peripheral side edge of said second floor member portion to another peripheral side edge of said second floor member portion to permit moisture that develops between a floor base and the bottom portion of the floor member, when the floor member is installed on a floor base, without being bonded or adhered to the floor base, to flow in said predetermined plurality of channels toward at least one of the bottom peripheral side edges of the bottom portion for passage beyond the at least one bottom peripheral side edge of the bottom portion, and wherein the spaced, elongated sidewall portions of said channels at the plastic bottom portion of said floor member are provided with spaced discontinuities at predetermined locations in the spaced elongated sidewall portions of said channels, such that said spaced discontinuities in a predetermined plurality of said spaced, elongated, sidewall portions are communicable to establish a plurality pathways for moisture flow in directions that cross the spaced, elongated, sidewall portions in which the discontinuities are located, said pathways for moisture flow extending to at least a second bottom peripheral side edge of said bottom portion to permit passage of moisture beyond said at least second bottom peripheral side edge of said bottom portion.