Victorian floor remedial work

[Lee x F]

Hi all
Currently renovating a Victorian terrace house.
It has had a DPM laid in the past with a concrete slab and asphalt topper, but the section at the bottom of the stairs was never done. I am presuming this due to a lack of access. All the wood has completely rotted out so it has all been removed and I am left with the original York stone slabs. Both wall are external as this is end of terrace.

is it sufficient to DPM and concrete over? Or do I need to check what is hiding below the stone?

any suggestions as this is a bit beyond my knowledge.

 

[Lee x F]

Anyone?

 

[Mr Chibs]

There is a bit of work whichever floor you put back in.

you could do suspended wooden joist floor, or solid concrete.

With concrete, you would be better removing all the old stuff, and start again. But you should really put some insulation in there too, as uninsulated concrete floors are cold as anything. You’d also need to put a dpm layer in, to keep the damp at bay.

What height have you to work with from ground level to top of floor level?

 

[Mr Chibs]

Sorry just re-read, how large is this bit?

 

[Lee x F]

I have just annotated the pic, there were originally 3 joists, perhaps 2x8's marked in red, with floorboards at 90 degrees and the end of the joists covered with a 7 inch skirting and a bullnose step to form the turn (first step) onto the staircase.

The whole area is only 3' x 3' max. the old construction was just laid on the york stone so has rotted from the ground up and literally was able to pull it out by hand (almost)

once patched up I was considering attaching hangers to the wall to hold the joist off the floor in the opposite direction than they were and sit the other ends on to the concrete slab you can see peeking out from under the stairs to the top of the picture.

 

[^woody^]

In principle, you can lay a DPM and new slab over the existing as long as it's sound - firm and relatively smooth.

Any DPM should be tucked into the wall DPC to avoid moisture creeping around the new DPM.

If you replace in timber and there is no ventilation, then there is risk of rot. However treated timber may last many years

 

[catlad]

I would probably start with a block of insulation like kingspan/celotex glued to the floor (expanding foam) and then fit my timber floor on top.

 

[noseall]

is it sufficient to DPM and concrete over? Or do I need to check what is hiding below the stone?

Could be a well? Access to a cellar?

 

[Deleted member 292770]

replace like for like. treated timber frame most of which would be suspended off the stone. Anything in contact with the floor lay on a dpc. laying timber on insulation is a complete waste of time and money.

 

[catlad]

Lol.