Timber-concrete floors arc widely used in the Persian Gulf region beca
use of their resistance to the hot and aggressive environment of the a
rea. Because no shear connector is provided, the timber joists and con
crete slab work independently. In this study, it is suggested that rel
atively inexpensive high-strength nails be used as shear connectors so
that the timber joists and concrete slab resist the loads as a compos
ite section. Experimental investigations have shown that it is possibl
e to attain full composite action through the use of these high-streng
th nails. The proposed composite timber-concrete floor system was subj
ected to static short-term loading, repeated loading, and long-term su
stained loading. It is observed that in terms of strength and servicea
bility the behavior of the proposed system is within the limits set by
standard building code. This behavior is also verified by a finite-el
ement analysis. The experimental and numerical results clearly reveal
that it is possible to achieve a stiffer floor system, longer spans, a
nd a significant reduction in the number of timber joists, while attai
ning the same receptivity to a hot and aggressive environment.