replacing solid floor/matching up levels & sorting out d

[goosebump]

Hello,
Firstly, apologies for the long post, but a bit of background will help!

Our (old) house has five rooms on the ground floor, each with a different floor construction. The whole lot needs bringing to one level and the damp spots sorting out. We are seeking a sensible middle road, whereby we dont have to remove everything. Current arangement is:

Front room 1: quarry tiles on ash. Uneven.
Front room 2: chipboard laid on slate rubble. Uneven.
Backroom 1: screed laid on thin plastic above slate rubble. More or less level.
Backroom 2: screed laid on rubble. More or less level, same height as backroom 1.
Backroom 3 (1970s extension): dpm, slab and screed. Level, but higher than all the rest.

Our plan was to dig out the front two rooms and install new floors, then somehow damproof the back two rooms and run a screed over everything to get it all level. Floor finish will be slate tiles and/or wood.

BUT

We have removed the quarry tiles and ash from the front room and hit upon a layer of stones, most larger than a half brick, about 8" below original floor height. I assume the floor in the other front room will have a similar layer of rocks.

We really really dont want to have to shift the rocks unless absolutely necessary. I know new floors need a good 12" of base, slab, insulation, screed etc. Can we skimp on the "standard" floor set up? If so, where/how? We can afford to lose some room height, but not loads as we want to fit a wooden floor on top.

Any comments or advice much appreciated!

 

[goosebump]

No one? Do i really have to keep on digging?

 

[flooringman]

To start with your last point, if you want to put down a wood floor you are going to need better sub floors than you have. Ash, rubble etc. just won't do so you need to put a concrete slab in all rooms, together with a dpm.
These will need to be allowed to dry out approx. one month per inch or one mm. per day and then checked before you put any wood flooring down.

As to the depth of floor - well I'm not a builder so it may be better to post on another forum but hope this helps.

 

[goosebump]

Thanks flooring man. The floor finishes have yet to be settled on - may yet lay slate tiles in the backrooms (utility and kitchen).

However, if those backrooms have a level concrete floor at present, assuming we get a dpm in and screed on top, would it then be ok to lay a wooden floor?