I’m the very grateful owner of a Grade II listed building. It’s a hodge podge of a house, a single story bungalow, originally built in 1800 but has been extended and changed over the years.
I’m (very) slowly restoring it being as sympathetic as I can to original materials whilst trying to combat damp which has been introduced with some poor building choices over the years. The current room I am tackling is a former bathroom which I am in the process of converting into a bedroom having moved the bathroom elsewhere in the property.
Just wanted to do a sense check regarding the flooring before I continue because this will be an expensive mistake to fix later.
The floor I am guessing was originally suspended as there are air bricks present outside but was filled in some time ago with a concrete slab.
So far, I have:
On rerouting the central heating pipes, I found that the slab has no DPM, the middle of the slab however is bone dry. However, the pipes which ran around the room were badly corroded with probable pinhole leaks throughout and a large amount of debris was between and behind the pipework which I have now removed. Below are pictures of before and after the pipes were removed
The floor is badly unlevel so will need levelling so my thinking at this stage is to
The final floor covering will be either engineered parquet or natural stone. Haven't got round to that decision yet
Any advice greatly appreciated
I’m (very) slowly restoring it being as sympathetic as I can to original materials whilst trying to combat damp which has been introduced with some poor building choices over the years. The current room I am tackling is a former bathroom which I am in the process of converting into a bedroom having moved the bathroom elsewhere in the property.
Just wanted to do a sense check regarding the flooring before I continue because this will be an expensive mistake to fix later.
The floor I am guessing was originally suspended as there are air bricks present outside but was filled in some time ago with a concrete slab.
So far, I have:
- Excavated a trench around the exterior of the room to below the level of the air bricks. Eventually I will be installing an aco drain at least 150mm below interior floor level and lowering the patio seen in the photo below to be flush with this new drain
- Removed all the bathroom furniture, filled the holes for the pipework and drainage
- Rerouted the central heating pipes in ducting under the concrete slab
- I will also be removing the exterior masonry paint and repointing with Lime mortar
On rerouting the central heating pipes, I found that the slab has no DPM, the middle of the slab however is bone dry. However, the pipes which ran around the room were badly corroded with probable pinhole leaks throughout and a large amount of debris was between and behind the pipework which I have now removed. Below are pictures of before and after the pipes were removed
The floor is badly unlevel so will need levelling so my thinking at this stage is to
- See if the perimeter of the floor has dried out when I return to the property in one week’s time
- (this is my big hope with the exterior levels lowered, the pipework and debris removed and the holes in the walls filled)
- Hack off the plaster to 1 inch above the level of the finished floor
- Install perimeter insulation
- Use a fibre reinforced levelling compound to level the floor
- Crack on with sorting out the walls
The final floor covering will be either engineered parquet or natural stone. Haven't got round to that decision yet
Any advice greatly appreciated