Quarry Tiles in 1850 cottage - Damp proofing

[david.k]

First time of posting but could anyone help??????
We have lifted the carpet in the lounge which had marks on it (damp) and found that we have Vinyl tiles underneath. I have taken these up and found Quarry tiles 9x9 one and a quarter inch thick. Tiles are sound and well secured but joints need attention. Also the surface of the tiles are in bad condition due to bitumen from the vinyl tiles above. What can I put back into these joints??

Is there anyway of using a liquid damp proofer on top of these tiles to take underlay and carpet???

The ground level is higher outside the house so I have dug this out but how should I replace this?? (membrane and stones etc )

Thanks

David.k

 

[LadyArowana]

Hello and welcome. Other people will be better able to answer your question, just giving your post a boost back to the top of the board.

 

[Zebra]

Others more knowledgeable will be along soon, but if I may add a thought or two - using a liquid damp proofer on top of the tiles to take underlay and carpet will only trap damp in the floor again, as did the bitumen layer, whereas perhaps what the floor needs is to breathe. Could you leave the quarry tiles exposed to dry out and then have them as your final floor with a bit of care and attention? Or if you don't wish to, then could you cover them something breathable rather than a foam underlay?
Can you post a picture of the floor? If you go to "upload attachment" underneath where you write your post, you can upload photos from there but make sure you resize them first otherwise they will be too big.
When you say you have dug out the higher ground outside but wish to replace it, can you not leave the ground level at its new height? Does the house have solid walls? How old is it? If damp is penetrating through solid walls due to ground being higher outside, then by far the most effective thing is to leave the walls uncovered and able to dry to the outside - I know, I've tried! An alternative, though less effective, is to have a French drain against the outer wall, with a drain pipe in the bottom and backfilled with a free-draining material. There are huge long threads on here on French drains which you could search for, so I won't go into the detail here.

 

[dalivar]

Hi there,
we found exactly the same recently, old quarry tiles beneath asphalt and modern laminate. Luckily the asphalt was on top of some sort of membrane (- very itchy on the skin like loft insulation) so the tiles were left mostly undamaged. We have lived with them exposed for a few weeks now and they are not noticably damp at all and I think they look beautiful. We won't be covering them with anything more than a cosy rug. Also, the room is warm now, my family wondered whether having a stone/tile floor would make it cold - but its actually made it warmer. And, its warmer to walk on with bare feet than the ceramic tiles on concrete in the kitchen, much nicer!