Replacement Flooring Advice Please

[gothiceye]

As part of the ongoing project to 'unmodernise' our early 1700 terrace house, we are looking to replace the living room and kitchen carpet/vinyl with either wood, tiles or stone slabs.

Which would be most age appropriate? We need something that will be hardwearing and easy to clean (the front door opens directly from the street into the living room and it is a straight run through the kitchen to the back door - also we have a woodburner). The depth is also a bit of an issue, as the current base is concrete, and the front door is not too much higher than the rest of the floor. This will also need levelling to some extent as although we can live with the slight slope, there are some annoying little lumps and bumps to sort.

Also, could you tell me whether a concrete floor is supposed to have cracks and holes in (we took up the corner of the carpet near where the old part of the house joins the more modern extension, and there appears to be a hole just on the join of the threshold, that you can feel a little breeze through. Not sure if this is normal or not, or what should we do?

The area which joins the two areas also seems to have a small 'cobble like' texture - could this be an example of the original flooring? It feels like it is made of concrete, but doesn't seem to reflect the pattern of the underlay....

Thanks for your help!

 

[Anne]

Most age appropriate for 1700's would be stone slabs. It is possible that you could have part of a floor under your concrete. It's not impossible to remove the concrete floor which would be the best option if you can. You could then bed your slabs in lime and that would solve your floor level issues.

Your concrete is not supposed to have cracks in it however whether or not they are an issue depends on how many you have. The hole you found is probably from movement and should just be a matter of filling it but first you need to decide how to deal with the floor.

 

[gothiceye]

Thanks - I guess we'll have to wait and see how many cracks there are when we brave ripping up the carpet (and the nasty gripperrods, which have been helpfully glued down...)

Removing the concrete would probably be the best option, but financially and logistically its not really something that we can look at doing at the moment (see my other post regarding the bathroom needing to be redone to fix a leak and reveal a hidden fireplace)!

This is possibly something that could be done in a couple of years (would the 'heritage grant' - not sure if thats the right name - help with this at all?)

I have seen some nice stone slabs on the web, about 12mm thick, and am hoping to get some samples in the next few days...any recommendations on levelling the lumps and bumps in the floor? (Hopefully not involving sandpaper - have been sanding down plenty of floors recently!)

 

[Penners]

could you tell me whether a concrete floor is supposed to have cracks and holes

I don't think there's anything in the building regs requiring this. :wink:

 

[Moo]

I appreciate what you say about having more than enough to do at the moment, but you can be assured that removing a layer of concrete from what may turn out to be an original floor is one of the most satisfying activities known to man (or, in this case, woman).

 

[Penners]

removing a layer of concrete from what may turn out to be an original floor is one of the most satisfying activities known to man (or, in this case, woman).

Woman aren't meant for removing concrete. They're for knitting, cooking and making doilies.

Dons tin hat and heads rapidly for any convenient trench.

 

[gothiceye]

...and sanding floors, and removing gripperrods, and the odd spot of demolition (see other posts!)

 

[Moo]

Does it count as suitably feminine if one unpicks it daintily with a hammer and chisel rather than swinging a sledgehammer?

 

[gothiceye]

I'm sure sledgehammers can be swung daintily... although I don't think there's anything girly about plasterboard saws (or the language used when removing gripperrods for that matter :lol:

 

[Moo]

I'm sure sledgehammers can be swung daintily...

Assuming one is capable of lifting one of the dratted things, of course.

 

[Moo]

... and the odd spot of demolition (see other posts!)

It doesn't sound quite so brutal if one calls it 'unpicking' (even if a crowbar has been brought into play).

 

[Penners]

Does it count as suitably feminine if one unpicks it daintily with a hammer and chisel rather than swinging a sledgehammer?

Sorry - anything larger than a crochet hook, and you're veering dangerously towards butch.