Carpet ripped up, bitumen, asphalt (asbestos) subflooring?

[JennyLaslo]

Hello,

I am in a really confused state dealing with illness in my house since September of last year and would like some advice on how to proceed please.

Hidden water damage had been neglected much longer than it should because of taking care of my father here who eventually died in June 2024. I fixed leaks in both the roof and the toilet that leaked through to the kitchen. I tried to deal with any other sources of damp by fixing brick pointing on my house.
Still feeling respiratory symptoms and sensitivity in my chest and neck.
2 weeks ago, I rip up the wooden flooring in the water damaged kitchen to find the original 1984 installed carpet covered in blackness that I am suspecting is mould and the source of my problems.
I have the carpet removed and taken away to find this underneath:

Orangey looking sticky glue and a black floor generally identified as "asphalt" by anyone taking a look.
Since this has been upped my reactive symptoms have been at their worst and most consistent in my throat tightness and chest and neck sensitivities with some wheezing. I've most of the time kept the door open in an attempt to vent.

I am wondering what to do about the following 2 options:
1/ have the black subflooring and the glue on top tested for asbestos then have it quickly removed to let the area vent once more as it almost certainly is one or the main source of my problems
2/Pay the £1.3k quoted to me (open for air quality testers in the UK you can suggest) to have the whole house air quality tested to get to the bottom of a nearly year long debilitating mystery.

Are there any other options or suggestions you can kindly give?
Thank you all

 

[crazydaze]

Self levelling screed coat over that floor with Ardit NA or F-Ball 1200, then apply a liquid DPM either Ardit or F-Ball F77 and then finish with a final screed coat of Ardit NA or F-Ball 1200.

That will encapsulate the floor and permanently stop any moisture coming through as long as you don't break through the DPM in future.

 

[JennyLaslo]

What do you propose is happening to me? Mould or Voc or otherwise? I'm still getting ill when wearing a p100 mask. What do you suspect it is making me sick if not mould, or perhaps faulty equipment?
I'm concerned that if I seal it, there will still be issues. Is this fairly cheap and efficient?

 

[JennyLaslo]

Is there any suspected ID on that flooring other than asphalt (bitumen black mastic etc) and the type of glue used?
Does it seem plausible that long term water damage (2 years+) would be causing persistent symptoms beyond mould?
I'm confused as to what is causing respiratory symptoms since the carpet was removed
Also, are there asbestos concerns with screeding over this?
Thanks

 

[crazydaze]

To deal with what you have exposed, my advice is solid and will encapsulate the floor indefinitely.

Your health issues, you’d need to speak to a professional, but if you have damp etc then my advice as to how to treat the sub floor you have exposed still stands.

 

[JennyLaslo]

Thanks for that. Would this method seal in VOCs and the like if there is some off gassing effect or just seal damp issues? I'm concerned that this isn't mould that's causing reactions from this material because a p100 mask is not working.

 

[crazydaze]

This method will encapsualate the subfloor with an epoxy DPM, sandwiched between to layers of Self Levelling Screed, all the products are suitable in hospital environments, I would advise perhaps asking the same questions of the product manufacturers: Arditex and F-Ball's customer service advice teams through their websites.

 

[endecotp]

Are there any other options or suggestions you can kindly give?

Visit your doctor.

 

[JennyLaslo]

Thanks for replies. Unfortunately doctors haven't been helpful in identifying any cause or issues despite repeated attempts. New doctors I'm thinking

 

[JennyLaslo]

Any ID on the floor from just the picture or the options of what it most likely is? It feels plastic leathery. Is it something I should be asbestos concerned about before going ahead with this sealing?

 

[dazlight]

It’s asphalt. Dave has said the solution.

 

[accelerator]

It would be a good idea to stay somewhere else for a week or two to see if your symptoms improve. If they do, at least you then know it's something in your house causing it, as it might not be.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

That floor is asphalt. If you have fixed all the sources of damp ingress, and it has thoroughly dried out, with no further, hidden damage, then the house would seem to be - not the cause of your health issues.

 

[endecotp]

New doctors I'm thinking

Maybe, but please don’t try to find them here on DIYnot.

 

[JennyLaslo]

Yes. I've left the house for a week. The symptoms have disappeared. Beyond the respiratory issues, this also includes muscular aches disappearing. It would seem to suggest prolonged exposure from mould from what I can gather.
The symptoms since the carpet was removed have certainly been more concentrated in this room (kitchen). That has been well tested now beyond any considerations that it is purely psychological.
I'm looking to replace the flooring and start from scratch as the problem has gone on too long, and then proceeds to become worse even after removing the problematic carpet weeks later.
A damp proofer that checked for moisture in September and then another more recently showed a significant amount of moisture, inches below this subflooring. Originally in September the advice was to let it dry. If I recall, the depth of the moisture detected may have been significantly deeper than the subflooring.