Hi, just wondered if anyone could give me some information/help. I have a 1901 end terraced house which has a concrete floor throughout which is slightly below street level. Unsure of DPC. Last year I had laid a new vinyl flooring in the kitchen and utility (i may just add that previously the utility had bare concrete and the kitchen had a very old torn and tatty vinyl which just covered the middle of the room). As the colder weather came I noticed this new vinyl was rucking slightly in the middle of the rooms, on lifting this I found the floor to be quite damp. Could it be that the vinyl isn't allowing the concrete to breathe? And if this is the case is there any sort of floor covering I could use which will do this?
Damp concrete floor
- Thread starter Danoil
- Start date
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It sounds very much as if the concrete floor was laid without a vapour barrier, unfortunately....maybe one option is to cover it with waterproof floor tiles and waterproof grout to keep the moisture down?
John
John
That really wouldn't surprise me with this place as its been a catalogue of errors from the start. One step forward three back...
Did you mean that tiling the floor would be better as they are waterproof or that a specific type of waterproof tile would be required? And yes I am probably being thick here,
Did you mean that tiling the floor would be better as they are waterproof or that a specific type of waterproof tile would be required? And yes I am probably being thick here,
I'm dealing with a similar issue here Dan - its a garage that has been converted into a bedroom. I'm sure there wasn't any vapour barrier laid (house built in 1959).
Although the concrete isn't visibly damp, the carpet does tend to smell musty, do there's a dehumidifier running continuously.
So, with my (probably flawed) logic, my possibilities are to dig out the existing concrete, put in a vapour barrier and then concrete again - which won't happen - or to floor tile the area, with something impervious, maybe some type of slate. With that plus a grout used in swimming pools for example I should be able to keep the damp down.
I'd then use rugs for decoration.
Maybe there's some sort of liquid membrane that could be brushed on - I've yet to consider this.
Thankfully there isn't any rising damp in the walls - so there must be a DPC in there.
John
Although the concrete isn't visibly damp, the carpet does tend to smell musty, do there's a dehumidifier running continuously.
So, with my (probably flawed) logic, my possibilities are to dig out the existing concrete, put in a vapour barrier and then concrete again - which won't happen - or to floor tile the area, with something impervious, maybe some type of slate. With that plus a grout used in swimming pools for example I should be able to keep the damp down.
I'd then use rugs for decoration.
Maybe there's some sort of liquid membrane that could be brushed on - I've yet to consider this.
Thankfully there isn't any rising damp in the walls - so there must be a DPC in there.
John
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any pre 1965 house didn't need a dpm by building regs so chances are very high neither of you have them, slate isn't impervious it's actually one of the most porous tiles you can buy plus the adhesives are all cementuous apart from epoxy's which you don't want to touch. ANY floorcovering requires you to have a working dpm whether a sheet set under the concrete or asphalt over the surface although asphalt is quite soft and will prevent you fitting tile or wood onto it. The best way to fix is as you predicted to replace the full concrete base with a working dpm and either allowing it to dry naturally prior to flooring being fitted (takes roughly 12 months) or waiting a minimum of 30 days then applying a paintable surface membrane which actually makes your concrete stronger this is due to it taking longer to dry out increasing it's compressive strength but preventing moisture ingress above said membrane, you then need to prime it and self levelling compound over with a suitable product preferably water based as they are generally much stronger than latex's and allow you to fit any floorcovering you wish. The only way you can check this and you MUST is using a hygrometer similar to this http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TRAMEX-WO...114?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item2c6a87b6f2 to find the dampest area then placing one of these over ithttp://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tramex-Hygrohood-/190565311208?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item2c5e93e2e8 it will give you a reading in RH% the only test recognised by british standards it must be below 75% for any flooring except wood which needs to be below 65%. Sorry for the bad news I am a flooring installer of over 15 years and regularily attend new training courses but there isn't a quick fix as yet sadly would make my job easier.
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Copy and paste again
yep seems one size fits all
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