Advice for Basement Flooring

[harryson]

We have a Victorian terraced property with a fully excavated cellar (part of the original house) with 3 full height rooms. Currently they are used for storage and my workshop and are dusty but very dry. The floors are earth and I would like to put something down to begin the process of turning the rooms into more useable space. Concrete or limecrete? then on top a heated floor element and wood? Grateful for all advice offered, intending to do most of the work myself but we are talking about a long term project!

 

[MdB]

Simple solution: Flagstones + lime mortar between.

Heated solution: Might require building control input. Would require a good layer of insulation underneath. For a wet underfloor you are talking approx 270mm thickness for concrete and approx 400mm for limecrete. Electric underfloor would be thinner I would have thought. Digging this amount out may cause difficulties such as undermining your foundations... I have heard that wood on underfloor isn't the best solution.

Whatever solution you go for, I think I would put a slope on the floor leading to a sump with a pump in it. Dry for the last 10 years doesn't mean dry next week....