Flooring Issues

[andyh1983]

I am currently in the process of gutting a 1930's semi and putting it back together again. I have decided to go for solid wooden flooring in the hallway, but the sub-floor is solid with what appears to be a vinyl tile stuck down with bitumen (old shop which was converted back into residential in 1970's)

A number of the tiles have already lifted, leaving the bitumen exposed. I did intend on laying a flexible self levelling compound straight over this and then using a dpm 3mm underlay (on a roll) and then the flooring on top, however after reading a few other posts on here i'm not convinced that is the way to go.

Any advice on this would be most helpful!

Thanks in advance.

Andy

 

[WoodYouLike]

For one thing I would not opt for Solid boards in a hallway - too much risk of higher humidity etc. Go for a decent wood-engineered board.

You can level the floor, if you use a leveling compound that can tackle bitumen residue. The install a combi underlayment (containing a DPM) and install your wooden floor

 

[nira49]

Hi Andy,

What colour/ size are the tiles in your house? Are they deep or quite thin?

We have just lifted living room tiles in our 1950's house as these were cracking, with the intention of laying on 50mm polystyrene insulation and a hard floor. Our tiles were 9"x9"x1mm thick and dark coloured (brown/black/grey may also have beige streaks) - be careful as these contain a very high level of asbestos ~70% or more! If removing, use disposable overalls, masks, and find out about your local asbestos disposal sites from your local council. Lots of info online on how to remove & precautions. http://inspectapedia.com/sickhouse/Asbestos_Floor_Removal.htm

Another note of caution is that after removing we realised that the tiles were laid directly on sand! So we now need to tackle the floor level, DPM (it is likely that the bitumen adhesive was the DPM), which has held up our project while we figure out how to level this out.

So about levelling, I wonder whether you are better off removing only what is necessary/cracking and levelling the gaps between the tiles with a levelling compound such as Ardex NA, F.ball green bag or the like? If you have a sandy base like ours, you may need to verify with manufacturers if these will stick. On the other hand, a 1mm or so difference may as well be resolved by good underlay

Good luck!

 

[dazlight]

They tiles don't have a very high level of asbestos in them. If they did you wouldn't be allowed to remove them.

 

[nira49]

Thanks Dazlight, may have had incorrect info off the internet
I know that some types of vinyl asbestos flooring had very high levels of asbestos, but relieved to hear that the 9x9 tiles are at the low end

 

[dazlight]

In most old vinyl tiles its a very small amount. You should still wet the floor open windows an try to take them up in one piece and double bag them.
Did a asbestos course in feb an it was worrying what has asbestos in.
Every artex on most ceilings.

 

[nira49]

Indeed! Found out about Artex after a week of sanding down popcorn ceilings and walls a couple of years ago (dry sanding, and with basic paper masks! ) - ah well!

 

[nira49]

Call any professional or expert because it is better solution.

We've had a similar subfloor issue and it has been very difficult to find a knowledgeable builder or engineer on the issue, any pointers on where to look?