installing solid floor?

[nobody]

Hi,

I'm thinking about converting one of our floors from being a suspended timber floor to a solid floor and I have a couple of questions.

The room in question is at the corner of the house and has external ground level above the internal floor level on both sides. To the back of the room it ajoins a room with a solid (earth) floor covered with a thin layer of concrete. The dividing wall foundations (lumps of stone) come up to floor level.
The final side of the room is a stone wall on the other side is a room with suspended floor and having ground level about 2 feet lower.

The room currently has timber joists and timber floor, but there is a lot of rot. When we moved in there were no air bricks into the sub floor cavity. I've installed some but because of the layout I cannot get good ventilation under the floor.

So, (well done for reading this far), I'm thinking of making this a semi-solid floor. I was thinking a layer of geotex on the soil, a layer of hardcore, blinding, another layer of geotex to protect a dpm from the hardcore. Then above that insulation.

On top of the insulation a standard chipboard floor with 4" joists and oak floorboards on top. The 4" gap providing space for pipes/cables.

What do you think of this approach?

 

[masona]

On top of the insulation a standard chipboard floor with 4" joists and oak floorboards on top. The 4" gap providing space for pipes/cables.

Use plywood instead of chipboard flooring, chipboard floor tend to creak/clicking noise

 

[nobody]

Thanks.

Good point.

And its nice to know I'm not suggesting anything too outlandish. I mentioned this to a builder I know and he was insistent that I needed either a huge cavity or no cavity.

 

[noseall]

I would be wary about a 4" unvented space in the floor.

Cut it down to 2", lay your pipe runs then fill the rest with 50mm cavity batts.