I've suffered a leak in the house and had to pull up the laminate flooring in kitchen and lounge. In front of the sink, there was a "hatch" that I expected would give access to the floor void, but instead I've found that what I have is chipboard flooring laid onto a DPM (or at least, a sheet of polythene) with approx 20mm battens that have a sheets of polystyrene on top of a concrete floor.
It was a major burst, so there has been a lot of water but the state of the battens suggest to me that it's been wet under there for quite some time. The incoming main doesn't look in great nick so I wonder if it's been steadily wetting the concrete floor. I'm not in a rush to rip up the floor as the kitchen units are on top of it. Does anyone recognise this construction? Is it common? Should I just replace the DPM and board, put some new flooring down and pretend I haven't seen it?
I'm going to pop down tomorrow and core a piece of the living room floor to see if it's the same. It's been purchased to rent out, so I'm keen to keep costs low, but at the same time would rather sort out problems now while it's empty than create a bigger issue further down the road.
Any advice on remedial actions for a floor of this type? Is it likely that the whole floor is like that, or would it be kitchen only? Having lifted the "hatch" I've had another look round the house and there don't seem to be airbricks anywhere, suggesting it will all be concrete?
It was a major burst, so there has been a lot of water but the state of the battens suggest to me that it's been wet under there for quite some time. The incoming main doesn't look in great nick so I wonder if it's been steadily wetting the concrete floor. I'm not in a rush to rip up the floor as the kitchen units are on top of it. Does anyone recognise this construction? Is it common? Should I just replace the DPM and board, put some new flooring down and pretend I haven't seen it?
I'm going to pop down tomorrow and core a piece of the living room floor to see if it's the same. It's been purchased to rent out, so I'm keen to keep costs low, but at the same time would rather sort out problems now while it's empty than create a bigger issue further down the road.
Any advice on remedial actions for a floor of this type? Is it likely that the whole floor is like that, or would it be kitchen only? Having lifted the "hatch" I've had another look round the house and there don't seem to be airbricks anywhere, suggesting it will all be concrete?