Screeding on top of bitumen

[andym78]

Hi I am soon to be starting on a new kitchen in my house and I'm after some advice regards the floor. The floor is a concrete sub base with a 20-25mm bitumen screed on top of that. The floor is not very level so I was hoping to use some self level on top of it so I can lay a wood floor. Is there a primer I can use and which would be the best self levelling compound to use.
Also is some areas in the kitchen the screed has come away near the edges. Would using a liquid dpm and then building it back up with mortar to the same level be the way forward with this.

 

[fmck]

If its a bitumen screed and you want to level it and fill in holes would hot bitumen poured over not be the answer?

Not sure as not used it before like this but seems plausible.

 

[coolevilangel]

Hi I am soon to be starting on a new kitchen in my house and I'm after some advice regards the floor. The floor is a concrete sub base with a 20-25mm bitumen screed on top of that. The floor is not very level so I was hoping to use some self level on top of it so I can lay a wood floor. Is there a primer I can use and which would be the best self levelling compound to use.
Also is some areas in the kitchen the screed has come away near the edges. Would using a liquid dpm and then building it back up with mortar to the same level be the way forward with this.

Is it an engineered click floor or a solid glue down affair?
You cant lay anything on top of that bitumen mate
Your gonna have to scrape the lot up before you can do anything first
Good luck with that
You'll also have to put a dpm on the floor unless youve got moisture readings below 65%

 

[andym78]

Will be a floating click floor. The bitumen runs the entire way through the house so was trying to avoid taking it up at all costs

 

[lymmranger]

If its an older house it should have "marley" tiles on top of the bitumen.

someone has damaged the integrity of your damp course.....

.....now its going to be a ball-ache

Edit - by removing tiles

 

[dazlight]

If its not cracked the bitumen is your dpm. You can clean it then screed it with Ardex NA. But you can't glue wood on that.

 

[flooringman]

If it's 20-25mm thick it is probably asphalt not bitumen.

 

[andym78]

Hi Daz the majority of it seems ok and is still stuck down to the concrete below is just a couple of sections round the edge where its come away about 200mm from the wall.

 

[andym78]

25mm a bit of exagaration on my part having a closer look in most areas its about 10mm stretching to about 20mm in small parts. Its quite hard and brittle in your hands, would this be more likely asphalt?

 

[flooringman]

Yes.

 

[dazlight]

Can you post some pictures. That will help.
Alot of people call it bitumen Ashpalt when it was done in the old days. See it alot in council houses. As long as no cracks in it you will be ok. I when over one a while ago but in wasn't complete so I screeded over it, used a liquid dpm then screed again. Not cheap but it will work.

 

[andym78]

Hi Daz most of the kitchens looks fine where i have took some of the lino up to have a look. On the pictures shows where a section is missing at the chimney breast(old fire maybe). Somebody had already filled it in but put no dpm underneath so it basically came up in my hands.I have chipped any loose pieces away so whats left is solid. There is a small crack near the sink on the other side though about 120mm long cant tell how deep.

Untitled

• andym78
• 17 Mar 2013
• 1

Untitled

• andym78
• 17 Mar 2013
• 1

 

[dazlight]

Hard to say looking at that, I would defo be putting a dpm over it or taking it up mate

 

[lymmranger]

How old is the house?

have you recently moved in?

- the reason I ask is that looks like bitumen over concrete, originally it would have had a vinyl tile as a finished surface the bitumen held the tiles down. There is/was a huge fuss over the tiles containing asbestos (some manufacturers did "add" miniscule amounts.
Result - a huge number of well meaning folks "ripped up" the tiles.
....trouble is that they were critical part of the design and without them your floors are no longer damp proof.

I used to live in a similar property, a previous owner had ripped them out of the hall only. The hall always smelled "musty" and the wall paper peeled off at the skirting boards. However the rooms were fine, so its a bit of a bugbear for me

people regularly discuss this at work (customers and fitters) - there doesn't seem to be a "definitive" fix
proper fix seems to be rip up floor, fit DPM, concrete - expensive and time consuming. (need to move out for a while)
Or - Asphalt - smelly, messy and expensive (need to move out for a while)

"Reality fixes"(affordable!) include suggestions already offered by the likes of "dazlight"

Can I strongly suggest you get as many different local firms/fitters in as you can for (hopefully) expert advice

 

[andym78]

Hi Ranger the house is 1940s/50s. We have been in about a two years now. The vinyl tiles are down in about half of the kitchen and I can remember there being none down when we did the hallway carpet!!

Time and two children are a problem on this job. They are going on holiday for a week anyway so I can get all the works done. Would not have time to rip the floor up and re lay new before they came back.
The levelling compound Daz suggested looks really good, just thinking about a way to build the edges back up. Would a dpm combi underlay under the new flooring solve the problem of the mssing vinyl tiles?