Building panels

A surface element configured to be assembled together with one or more similar surface elements to form a plurality of joined surface elements:

• the surface element being a floor panel comprising a decorative upper surface, an opposed lower surface and at least four edges disposed between the upper and lower surfaces;
• the four edges comprising a first edge and a second edge defining a first pair of opposite sides, and a third edge and a fourth edge defining a second pair of opposite sides;
• wherein the first edge of the surface element comprises a first male joining member and the second edge comprises a first female joining member;
• the first male joining member comprising a distally extending tongue and the first female joining member comprising a groove bordered by an upper lip and a lower lip, said lower lip forming a lower cheek extending in distal direction further than said upper lip;
• the first male joining member and the first female joining member configured such that two of such surface elements can be coupled and vertically as well as horizontally locked at their respective first and second edges;
• the vertical locking being realized in that the tongue fits in the groove, said tongue and groove providing a positive vertical locking, said tongue extending with a distal length underneath the upper lip, said length configured such that joining of the tongue and groove by only a plane-parallel vertical lowering of one panel in respect to the other is not possible and as such an explicit lateral insertion of the tongue into the groove is required for joining;
• the horizontal locking being realized by an upwardly directed lip at said lower cheek and a lower side groove at the edge comprising the tongue, a highest point of said upward directed lip defining a first horizontal level;
• wherein the third edge of the surface element comprises a second male joining member and the fourth edge comprises a second female joining member;
• said second male joining member and second female joining member of the surface element configured such that two of such surface elements at their respective third edge and fourth edge can be interconnected by a downward motion of the third edge of one of said two surface elements with respect to the fourth edge of the other of said two surface elements, to thereby result in a vertical as well as horizontal locking;
• said second male joining member configured as an upper cheek protruding at said third edge and provided with a downward directed portion;
• said second female joining member configured as a lower cheek protruding at said fourth edge and provided with an upward directed portion, a highest point of the upward directed portion located in a second horizontal level;
• said second male joining member comprising a male cheek surface at a lower side of said upper cheek and said second female joining member comprising a female cheek surface at an upper side of said lower cheek, the male and female cheek surfaces configured to interact with one another so that two joined adjacent floor elements can become locked to each other in a horizontal direction;
• said third and fourth edges each comprising one or more locking surfaces for locking the third edge and a fourth edge of two of such coupled surface elements against vertical separation;
• said second level being located higher than said first level;
• and
• said lower cheek of the second edge configured in one piece of a core material of the floor panel.