solid floor damp proofing/sealing

[roysplace]

hi all
working on my brother s house (1920s cottage) getting it ready so he can move in , and want to seal /paint the solid bitumin floor to protect against any potential damp , i have noticed around the edges of the floor there is a very small gap where the floor meet s the surrounding wall s in part s this has just been filled with old rubble/plaster and does feel damp/cold to touch , so should i rake this out and leave the gap s open for ventalation or rake out and seal with bitumin to the walls ? and what s best to cover/seal the floor s with ,we intend on fitting a laminate floor once finished
cheers for any help

 

[Blagard]

I think it is quite possible you have an Asphalt floor almost touching the brickwork. So I will continue on that assumption. If you have some debris in a small gap at the edges, there is no reason why you can't clean it out and leave it. After all, you will also have a gap all around with your laminate floor. The gap for the laminate floor will be covered by your skirting boards or some other trim.

An asphalt floor can take the laminate underlay and laminate without any further preparation.

For your information, asphalt floors have been used as one way of dampproofing a solid floor in some old houses where the floor has no DPM but is otherwise sound.

If its not an asphalt floor but a thin layer of Bitumen painted over a floor then I'm sorry my answer would not be right. To check, can you see how thick the black stuff is?

 

[roysplace]

ok thanks for that could be an asphalt floor i ll check over the weekend and see how thick it is
cheers