Concrete floor under floor boards

[Gingy_87]

I have never seen this before 1924 house, the living room is the only room in the house with wood floor boards but underneath is concrete as the joists are sat in the concrete with black asphalt/tar on top on the concrete. is this normal.

 

[jamest]

It's not normal, but it's not surprising. Looks as if there was originally a suspended floor and someone decided to fill the void with concrete without first removing the joists. I had something similar in my previous house except that most of the joists had been removed - just a couple left in and they had almost rotted away.

It is common to find boards or parquet laid over the top of concrete and fixed down using a bituminous 'glue'. This has the effect of not only sticking the boards down, but keeping damp out of the boards as well (though how effectively depends on how continuous the bitumin later is). Your boards don't look rotten or riddled with worm, so it might be working. I'd worry about those joists though and be getting them out because they're sure to rot if they haven't started to already.

 

[Gingy_87]

It's not normal, but it's not surprising. Looks as if there was originally a suspended floor and someone decided to fill the void with concrete without first removing the joists. I had something similar in my previous house except that most of the joists had been removed - just a couple left in and they had almost rotted away.

It is common to find boards or parquet laid over the top of concrete and fixed down using a bituminous 'glue'. This has the effect of not only sticking the boards down, but keeping damp out of the boards as well (though how effectively depends on how continuous the bitumin later is). Your boards don't look rotten or riddled with worm, so it might be working. I'd worry about those joists though and be getting them out because they're sure to rot if they haven't started to already.

i do know that next door have the same and to me most of the floor boards have never been taken up, the joist are soild still