Suggestions for a problem floor?

[DCC]

Hi,

I'm re-doing a kitchen which has an unusual combination of floors (or unusual to me anyway) and I'm wondering what to do for the best. The house has been timber frame extended in the kitchen area and one half of the room is concrete but the extension half is a floating chipboard floor resting on polystyrene sheets over a membrane then concrete. The floating floor is approximately 1cm lower than the concrete and can flex quite a *lot*, especially at the joints between the chipboard sheets - obviously where the floating section meets the concrete the flex is largest.

I'm not set on a final finish for the floor and the floor height can come up if necessary but I'm wondering how to prepare it so that whatever I choose (proper tiles, sticky tiles like Amtico, or whatever) has a chance of lasting.

Thanks for any advice.
Dave

 

[mattysupra]

why was a floating system used to meet up with a concrete subfloor, and left at two diferent heights?

There is not alot you can really do, you need a expansion gap between the two floors that you can not bridge with a solid base. Your floating floor should not really move around much either if installed correct. You will have to raise the the floating floor with plywood or chipboard. The only problem is with fixing it to a floating floor may upset it. When you have got the two heights the same then you will have to fit another floating floor over the top of the two ( jumpax system maybe ) to give yourself one whole floating subfloor ready for your new flooring.

 

[DCC]

I doubt it was different heights when the extension was built, but over the years I'm guessing the polystyrene has compressed a little? Also from what I can tell everything was a cowboy job done on the cheap.

The 'floating' part of the floor seems to be boarded in smallish 3ft by 6ft maybe? (from memory), if I stand on one board it obviously shifts in relation to the one next to it, even though it looks like there is some tongue and groove type thing going on.

Even if the two areas were at exactly the same height the chipboard on polystyrene is alwas going to flex. Any more ideas?

EDIT: Sorry forgot to say thank you for taking time to answer - thats what rushing before dinner will get you

 

[mattysupra]

EDIT: Sorry forgot to say thank you for taking time to answer - thats what rushing before dinner will get you

At least you got dinner! Mine is in the dog! ( and i blame you, because i was busy answering your post while the dog was enjoying his dinner! )

The floating floor really should not be moving around! And i would say that the height difference has always been there!

Google Jumpax and have a look at there system, i belive this is your best option unless you want to go down the correct route and start ripping up your floors and making ONE subfloor made of the same meterials?

 

[DCC]

Mine was delivered to my door in a nice Pizza box - if I get this sorted out and a good looking floor down I'll happily send one round to you too

The Jumpax definitely looks interresting.

The floating part of the floor flexes at the joints very slightly and because of the way they have laid it those joints are at 90 degrees to the concrete edge of the solid floor so the joints at the very edge aren't the most stable. Fortunately its only a small joining area, perhaps 5ft, where the bottom of a window has been cut out to allow the extension to join the main part of the house.

My thought then is to lay good thick ply at right angles to the existing joints in the floating section tie that together (lots of screws) so that the floating part becomes essenctially a single surface which can still move up and down but not at the joints. I guess there will still be some movement at the boundary between the surfaces - I wonder how the Jumpax would cope with that.

It sounds like you suggest not bridging the two surfaces except by something floating over them both - I guess my initial thought would have been to try to tie them together somehow.

 

[mattysupra]

you cant tie a floating floor into a solid floor. But you seem to have the right idea in what to do with raising the base etc and then using the jumpax.