concreting the kitchen floor

[sr72]

hi all,
i was just wondering if somebody would be kind enough to answer me this question? at the moment we have a tiled kitchen floor(tiles on top of 6mm ply) on floorboards.hopefully sometime next year we are going for a kitchen refit.for the floor part i would like to concrete it and lay some new tiles cos at the moment there's too much movement in the floorboards and the tiles are cracking!! left, right and center.is this possible or is it a definite no-no just to add we are thinking of getting a new boiler and relocating it in the loft so i don't think the pipework will be a problem(below the floor etc).if it is feasible how would i get round the joists and what would be the cost? thanks in advance for any replies

 

[masona]

Yes you can have concrete + floor screed instead of floor joists but more work and costly. It would be cheaper and quicker to renew all the floor joists and sleeper walls then exterior plywood on top for your floor tiles.

But having said that the ex-floor joists may only need packing up in some area unless it is rot, then renew part of it. You won't know until you lift the floorboards up.

I prefer wood to concrete being warmer and you can run pipe or wiring underneath it if need be.

If the floorboards wasn't screw down properly then that can give tiles movement.

 

[shaggy]

You don’t say how old the house is but it can be a big mistake to replace the suspended floor with a concrete one. I’ve lived in an old house with 9” brickwork and no dampcourse but there was no problem with rising damp. Neighbours who replaced the ventilated wooden floor with concrete caused themselves a problem. The ventilated wooden floor does a lot for removing any damp that may be in the brickwork. If you replace that with concrete, the damp can only go upwards and a previously dry wall may suddenly have rising damp. This point is not be relevant if you have a modern house with a cavity wall and dampcourse.

 

[sr72]

thanks masona and shaggy for your helpfull advice the house was built in 1975 so its not really old but i think now in the long run that concreting's gonna be too much b**l ache and expense.i think i'm gonna replace one or two floor boards here and there and maybe use thicker plywood to strengthen.concreting's an idea i had in mind cos tiles take to it better and its more toddler proof ,but whe're not starting the kitc till next year so i've got time to think it over.ok once again thanks.