Bitumen paint under slate floor?

[Block642]

Hi

We have an old Cornish cottage that was built around 1860. The dining room is one of the older parts of the house and it currently has a concrete floor.

The floor always feels damp and the rug that we have put down has ended up mouldy underneath.

We can now afford to put slate floor tiles down, but just wondered if we needed to do something else underneath such as paint the concrete with bitumen paint to stop the damp coming up through?

Any suggestions gratefully received!

 

[Richard C]

Don’t use bitumen, the slate tiles & little else will stick to it, use a waterproof Self Levelling Compound & tile over that; follow the instructions for laying the SLC.

Tiling isn’t rocket science but there are still many things that can catch you out. I would advise you read the Tiling Sticky & Tiling Forum Archive posts before doing any work or buying materials, it could prevent you making disastrous & potentially expensive mistakes. It’s important to use only quality trade tilling materials of the correct type for your tiles & tile base; cheapo own brand & DIY stuff is mostly crap. If you need further guidance post the tiling forum.

 

[Block642]

Thanks for your help. I have laid a slate floor previously so I'm happy with that. I will look for a SLC.

Cheers