Floor makeup, questions?

[TheSpid]

Excuse if I'm mot making sense - not well and my words are misbehaving - so, hubby has taken up a quarry tile in the living room - about an inch of concrete, then another inch of mixed concrete and gravel, then about 4 more inches of just gravel before hitting soil. The living room is approached up two steps from the hallway - when looking into the hole made by taking up the quarry tile you can see a horizontal wood beam of the hallway wall and the tile below it that makes up the skirting board in the hallway.

SO my questions are - a) is this a normal floor make up for a 1970s install? b) it seems odd that we can see the back of the hallway wall, but then again maybe not? c) we want to pop in a limecrete floor (with flags on it - having taken on board what every one has said about wood) can any one foresee easily any obvious problems with this. We would need to dig down around another 3 inches I think? (to include the flags). Also, if we didn't go limecrete, and just took up the tiles and concrete is it possible to lay straight onto the gravel, it is bone dry (with lime mortar)? Or do new building regs mean that's not an option?

Also another one - would it have been usual to have the hearth higher than the floor? Or would the flags have continued into the hearth?

Many thanks for being gentle with a poorly bear.

 

[Kearn]

Interesting.... Can't really comment as to what was 'normal' in the 60/70s, but some of the concrete floors laid in various stages they I recently dug up left a lot to be desired... Some of the original 400 year old brick pavers had been criminally smashed when taken up and used as ballast to hold down the plastic sheet under the concrete

On the floor I dug up I laid limecrete on top of recycled formed glass, a bit belt and braces as like you, our soil even a foot or two down, was bone dry, unsurprising as we are sensiblly located at the top of the hill. There will be insulating qualities I'm sure of this method compared to directly on the gravel, but whether you'd notice is a different matter. Also, you could run a wet UFH system also which I think you may have said you were considering.

In principle, bedding in lime onto a solid compacted base shouldn't become an issue, it's how it once was done, in fact often without the lime. You may be more susceptible to moisture coming through the floor, but sensible choice of furnishing is the case either way to allow the floor to breath and not condense.

The plus side is a hell of a lot of spared effort to shift tons of soil by hand to dig out the suggested depth (do not underestimate the volume!!) before expending a load more effort getting the limecrete mixed and laid in one shot ideally. We had a very long day between two of us! Not to mention the £1000s saved on materials.

I may be wrong, but I wasn't aware building regs came into play here.

Regarding the hearth, originally flags/pavers would've run straight into the fireplace (I presume there is nothing salvageable in the hearth or clues to whether you had slabs/pavers originally?). However, here you will have more of a challenge, if you are fitting a stove, and having a HETAS approved fitter they have rules to abide by, regardless how daft some may seem, such as a raised trip hazard to delineate fireplace from room?!!? If your burner can be sited far enough away from both beam and room combustible materials, then you may get away with it not being raised. Somebody kindly shared some useful links when I was restoring our fireplace, I'll post a link to the thread for you in a minute...

 

[Kearn]

https://www.periodproperty.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=15970

The links are at the bottom of page 2....

 

[TheSpid]

Many thanks Kearn, We are going to raise a tile near the outer wall too to see whether that is also dry, as this one was further into the room and near an internal wall. But as I can't help at the moment and there are other more important jobs to get on with, as family are descending tomorrow and we have a very thick layer of dust everywhere, so it won't be today.
CXV} Though why that cant be the edge of the inglenook is beyond me but needs must. The fireplace is 'at the moment' covered with a layer of concrete that raises it up. I am tempted to leave it - if all the other walls, and floor are breathable (but will probably do it properly)

 

[Kearn]

Have a read of the regs and check the measurements against the likely sized stove you'd have. Looks like your bressumer is more than high enough. And I believe, but don't quote me, the forward measurement was to combustible material - with floorboards that normally means protruding a daft hearth into the room, but I would assume that flags would be fine. Although there may also be something about a visual distinction too(?) - for debate, but a fire guard or similar 'might' suffice to show the edge of the fireplace.

That dust. It is a worse houseguest than relatives at Christmas and it will unfortunately still be there long after they've left...!! After our first fireplace opening, I foolishly thought after a few days I'd fully cleaned up, only to release it's so fine it just lingers in the air for weeks before finally settling on everything you've put back in the room!!!

 

[Kearn]

The other thing you will be able to identify, is the original floor level for the room as it's obviously been messed with, which could allow you to gain a few inches back. I'd hazard a guess those steps may no longer be required. Obvious caution needs to be taken when digging down around the perimeter so as not to disturb the shallow foundations. Rule of thumb is come away at 45deg from the wall.

There will hopefully be some traces of the hearth (or iterations over of it time) under that concrete slab in the fireplace. If it was me I wouldn't be able to resist... But that's why I start more jobs in this place than I finish

 

[TheSpid]

We were thinking, in throwaway speaking as you think kind of way, about whether the house would all be one level initially. I suppose the fireplace is the way the find out. The house is built on a bit of a left to right slope. But the far end of the room would be the place to see. Hubby isn't sure. It would mean a lot more excavating. About another 6 inches at least to get to the same level as the hallway and then the depth the lime Crete etc would need if we put that in. Like you say a lot of stuff to come out.

I would prefer along through run of flags without a stepped hearth but it's not going to kill me if we don't get that.

So many decisions to make at the moment. It's very overwhelming.

 

[Kearn]

Indeed, once you start pulling that threat you realise most of the house is attached to it in some way

Trying to do something so major while living there is pretty horrible and at the time you just want it finished, but give it a few weeks once work is complete and you forget quickly! Regardless of whether it took a few extra weeks.

Best not to rush. And you'll likely find the house changes your plans once you start based on what you find!!

 

[Cubist]

So many decisions to make at the moment. It's very overwhelming.

As many of the members of this forum will know that first contact with a needy period house can be overwhelming and daunting. We quickly learn that there is only one way to eat the elephant - and thats in small bites.

 

[TheSpid]

So many decisions to make at the moment. It's very overwhelming.

As many of the members of this forum will know that first contact with a needy period house can be overwhelming and daunting. We quickly learn that there is only one way to eat the elephant - and thats in small bites.

That is the reasoning we are coming to - one room at a time - it may cost us more, make more mess, we may even end up doing some stuff twice but it's all we have head space for.