I am currently prepping my house for a complete renovation. The floors upstairs are concrete, approx 2in thick, over a timber lath (not sure if this is the correct terminology!). Beneath this are the joists and the plasterboard ground floor ceiling, both of which (where visible) appear to be in good nick. The concrete is cracked in numerous places and I want to remove the concrete and, if needed, get someone to hang new floor joists & flooring.
I want to make our budget stretch as far as possible and am looking to do the donkey work (stripping out kitchen, bathrooms, existing wiring, pipework, skirting etc.) myself, rather than pay for labour.
My question is; am i going to endanger myself and or the structural integrity of the house by taking up the concrete. I assume the concrete is no more structural than any other type of flooring?
As an aside, I will be fitting internal insulation onto solid brick walls (currently skimmed and painted) as part of the renovation. All the walls have high damp readings. Does the existing plaster always need to be removed prior to fitting insulation or does it depend on which system of insulation is being installed afterwards?
Thanks in advance
I want to make our budget stretch as far as possible and am looking to do the donkey work (stripping out kitchen, bathrooms, existing wiring, pipework, skirting etc.) myself, rather than pay for labour.
My question is; am i going to endanger myself and or the structural integrity of the house by taking up the concrete. I assume the concrete is no more structural than any other type of flooring?
As an aside, I will be fitting internal insulation onto solid brick walls (currently skimmed and painted) as part of the renovation. All the walls have high damp readings. Does the existing plaster always need to be removed prior to fitting insulation or does it depend on which system of insulation is being installed afterwards?
Thanks in advance
