new floor of hot bitumen - necessary and would it work ?

[abinath]

Hi
1919 house which has never had the floor dug up and replaced by concrete with a dpc. Its got quarry tiles on top.
Just a very slight sign of damp coming through the edges of the quarry tiles in a few places. Not enough to make the previous owners do anything about it for the last 94 years.
I am not sure I need to do anything.
My builder had said that it would not be possible to pour in a hot bitumen floor because the heat would splinter the quarry tiles and stop the bitumen floor from forming properly.
He now says that his contractor has said that they can pour in hot bitumen. They would apply a fibreglass mat to the tiles to stop them getting damaged.
Does anyone have any experience of this ?
Does anyone have any experience of 'living with' a very small amount of moisture rising around a few floor tiles ?
My builder also says that the quarry tiles could not be removed and new ones laid because the substrate will be loose. How so - the existing tiles are smooth and secure and have obviously been so for yonks !

Thanks

 

[Nige F]

Hi
1919 house Does anyone have any experience of 'living with' a very small amount of moisture rising around a few floor tiles ?


Thanks

Late 19th Century house with bricks straight on the dirt covered with "rush mat " never did me any harm as a nipper Iron range in the back room - no heating or bathroom - outside WC . OK I got arthritis later in life , but that was a genetic anomaly and being a Plumber ( on my knees all the time )

 

[theprinceofdarkness]

if you instal a fitted kitchen, the damp will cause the backs of the units to go mouldy. I would not touch "hot" bitumen for this application (or for any other for that matter). There are other chemical fixes (or even SBR). As the damp is appearing at the edges of the tiled floor, it would be obvious that the damp is actually coming up via the walls - or you would have damp patches in the centre of the tiled area. Speak to your neighbours and see what they have done and their results!
Frank

 

[onecog]

if you instal a fitted kitchen, the damp will cause the backs of the units to go mouldy. I would not touch "hot" bitumen for this application (or for any other for that matter). There are other chemical fixes (or even SBR). As the damp is appearing at the edges of the tiled floor, it would be obvious that the damp is actually coming up via the walls - or you would have damp patches in the centre of the tiled area. Speak to your neighbours and see what they have done and their results!
Frank

Am i going loopy ?