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- 12 Dec 2016
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Hello everybody, I have just purchased my first house and have come across a possible issue with my subfloor/foundation, which I hope can be resolved.
We have had the walls knocked back to brick, a damp proof course and wall membrane installed and just recently, plastered throughout.
Next, I planned on working on the floors, which is currently covered with original timber planks. I planned to make the floor flat throughout my downstairs, by boarding and creating a subfloor, which my laminate flooring would then be fitted on top of.
Problems started to arise when I found that several of the original planks in my back room looked rotten. I decided to replace them and continue with my plan. To my shock once I had removed the first plank, I revealed a layer of condensed black ash, which the planks were laying on top of. I have found that this black ash substance is over a foot deep and encompasses the whole of my back room, some 16 meters squared. My house is open plan and it does not extend to my front room, kitchen, which is concrete, or my hall.
After inviting a builder to survey the situation, I have been told that my only option is to big all this compact dust/ash out and to lay a concrete floor. He informed me that he believed this construction method to be outdated and a danger to the integrity of my house; furthermore it no longer meets building regulations.
Could somebody clarify this? I first thought well, I’ll need to put a membrane down to stop any damp coming back through to my new planks and boards, then replace and install new planks and continue to create my sub floor, but his comments and reaction makes me think I am just going to have to shell out the 6 grand it is going to cost for a concrete floor installation. Plus, I have been reading online that if not done properly the ash can react with the concrete and cause cracking.
Please could anybody with experience with this type of flooring substance offer me advise as to which rout I should go down? – Any help would be much appreciated.
I have attached some images to give people a better perspective.
Kind regards,
Aidan Courtney
We have had the walls knocked back to brick, a damp proof course and wall membrane installed and just recently, plastered throughout.
Next, I planned on working on the floors, which is currently covered with original timber planks. I planned to make the floor flat throughout my downstairs, by boarding and creating a subfloor, which my laminate flooring would then be fitted on top of.
Problems started to arise when I found that several of the original planks in my back room looked rotten. I decided to replace them and continue with my plan. To my shock once I had removed the first plank, I revealed a layer of condensed black ash, which the planks were laying on top of. I have found that this black ash substance is over a foot deep and encompasses the whole of my back room, some 16 meters squared. My house is open plan and it does not extend to my front room, kitchen, which is concrete, or my hall.
After inviting a builder to survey the situation, I have been told that my only option is to big all this compact dust/ash out and to lay a concrete floor. He informed me that he believed this construction method to be outdated and a danger to the integrity of my house; furthermore it no longer meets building regulations.
Could somebody clarify this? I first thought well, I’ll need to put a membrane down to stop any damp coming back through to my new planks and boards, then replace and install new planks and continue to create my sub floor, but his comments and reaction makes me think I am just going to have to shell out the 6 grand it is going to cost for a concrete floor installation. Plus, I have been reading online that if not done properly the ash can react with the concrete and cause cracking.
Please could anybody with experience with this type of flooring substance offer me advise as to which rout I should go down? – Any help would be much appreciated.
I have attached some images to give people a better perspective.
Kind regards,
Aidan Courtney