Ground floor options to stop rodents/odour

[Chris1991]

hello
I live in an old Victorian terrace house and my ground floor kitchen has traditional floorboards with a crawl space under them... Since moving in we have heard the odd bit of scratching and rustling under the floor and every so often get a stale smell come through...

Our first plan was thin plywood and vinyl floor put down but we still hear stratching..

My ideal plan would be to rip up the floorboards and pour in concrete/cement but I'm told this could cause damp problems??

We can't see any obvious holes around our house letting rodents in so we assume they have a maze of tunnels under the row of buildings we are attached too.

Any advice or ideas would be greatly received!! Can we simply remove our floorboards and fill the whole crawl space with concrete then have a tiled floor laid??

 

[ree]

The "council" used to send a rat catcher for free to at least establish if you did have pests. Before doing anything else you have to determine that.

Is that the only issue with the kitchen floor?

Given a few variables its well possible to create a solid floor - but is it necessary?

Why not post pics of the kitchen interior and exterior?

 

[Chris1991]

The "council" used to send a rat catcher for free to at least establish if you did have pests. Before doing anything else you have to determine that.

Is that the only issue with the kitchen floor?

Given a few variables its well possible to create a solid floor - but is it necessary?

Why not post pics of the kitchen interior and exterior?

Yes only the kitchen floor, I live in a 3 storey house which has had the rear of the property turned into a holiday house. So my ground floor I have a entrance hall with solid York stone flooring, then the kitchen with floorboards. The rest of our living space is upstairs

We did ask the council who said they no longer provide pest control due to budget cuts but could
Give a number for a pest control company....
When we first moved in I did patch a few holes. 1 under the stairs and there was a hole in the corner of the kitchen in the floorboards.

We really would like solid floors for several reasons. Obviously the rodents. But also the smells/drafts that come up through the floor. Plus it would give the washing machine somewhere to sit without waking the house up when spinning.

 

[bernardgreen]

The "council" used to send a rat catcher for free to at least establish if you did have pests. Before doing anything else you have to determine that.

Bedford council still do that as friend of mine recently had to use them. Up to three visits and lots of advice and information about rats and other pests and how to deal with them. Rats can get through vey small holes. They can ( according to the council rodent operator ) get through holes not much larger than a pen.

Removing all temptation ( rat accesible food ) will reduce the rat's desire to enter your property. My friend had a corn seed bag draught excluder which had been one source of rat food. Food the dogs had not eaten left in the bowls was another

Pouring a mass of concrete onto the ground will not work, the rats will go around it if they aer determined to get into your house.

The weight of the concrete will over time compress the earth underneath and the concrete block will sink relative to the reat of the house. How far it eventually sinks will depend on how soft the ground is.

 

[Chris1991]

The "council" used to send a rat catcher for free to at least establish if you did have pests. Before doing anything else you have to determine that.

Bedford council still do that as friend of mine recently had to use them. Up to three visits and lots of advice and information about rats and other pests and how to deal with them. Rats can get through vey small holes. They can ( according to the council rodent operator ) get through holes not much larger than a pen.

Removing all temptation ( rat accesible food ) will reduce the rat's desire to enter your property. My friend had a corn seed bag draught excluder which had been one source of rat food. Food the dogs had not eaten left in the bowls was another

Pouring a mass of concrete onto the ground will not work, the rats will go around it if they aer determined to get into your house.

The weight of the concrete will over time compress the earth underneath and the concrete block will sink relative to the reat of the house. How far it eventually sinks will depend on how soft the ground is.

Norfolk council website says they no longer offer pest control and we did call them last year and was just told we could get a number for someone..
We have only heard them scratching a handful of times over the last 18 months and have blocked any holes so I think it's just the nature of the house being an old Victorian terrace that makes me think they may have some runs under the house..

A friend did suggest taking up the floorboards, looking and repairing any obvious holes in the foundations. Strengthen the joists with noggins and supports then replacing the floorboards with 18mm plywood, cement boards and self levelling concrete.. Does this sound like a safe idea?

The house was built in 1840 so I don't want to majorly mess about with it as obviously it's still standing 170 years later!

 

[ree]

Neither residential solid floors nor concrete oversites will cause the ground to sink. They actually spread loads - are you saying that poured foundations are pulling the house down?

OP,
Unless your friend is a rat catcher ignore his suggestions, and go get professional advice. I've encountered many semi-derelict properties that had pests, and all were made safe with pro assistance and a few simple remedies. Rats are typically a "community" problem - neighbours and waste etc. and a community solution.

Dont disfigure your old house based on a minor difficulty.

If you have some issues with your floors then post a separate question on here.