Leveling a concrete floor with a 6" drop.....

[zorlac]

Hi all,

I am intending to lay some Parquet flooring in 2 adjoined rooms. The first room is a concrete base with DPM and a 6" drop at the half way point.

The next room is floorboards, accessed via 2 arches from the low part of the other room and is also 6" above the low part.

So basically the area with a 6" drop needs to be brought up and then the 2 rooms levelled the same.

I know that Parquet requires a very level surface, so I was intending to level it afterwards and try to get the two rooms as near as identical.


I was wondering whether to joist and board the low part, whether to fill it with concrete or what?

Any ideas on the best way to go about this to get the best result with the parquet laying?


Thanks very much in advance!

 

[dextrous]

I'd go with timber with ply floating floor.

Easier to get the joists exactly right (you can use 4" or 5" joists with mortar blobs beneath for additional support), plus you don't have to wait for several weeks for any new concrete to set, and that's before using any compund to level it perfect.

I'd also go for covering the whole area of the two rooms with 8-12mm ply to get an absolutely smooth surface to work to.

 

[zorlac]

Yeah I was thinking it would probably be a quicker job, but I was wondering how to get the joists and boards perfectly level with the concrete.

Are you saying i can use the mortar blobs under the joists to get the level better? Never thought of doing that!

I probably will do the whole lot in ply afterwards, then go with a leveller over the whole lot, the part I'm doing comes from 3 different extensions so I'm not looking forward to getting it bang on....

Plus if theres an inch difference between one room and the Hallway the wife might let me do taht too!

 

[dextrous]

Prop the joists up with offcuts until you're satisfied with your heights, then "blob" mortar (3 sharp 1 builders 1 cement) under it To hold it down if your worried about it bouncing about after the mortar has set, put some screws in where you're going to drop mortar to give it something to grip onto. Before putting the plywood board over it, shove some insulation between the joists - every little helps!

The final piece of thin ply over the whole surface will make it smooth, and if there are any undulations in the existing timber floor, you can muck about with a bit of sloppy floor tile adhesive as you screw it into place. Get yourself a long straight edge - either a plasterers feather edge or a long spirit level to help get it flat.