Raising a Concrete Floor

claredotcom

Hi
Apologies if there's something similar on this board, but I couldn't find a match.
We have a 1970s bunglaow which is pretty solid and well built, however the porch and garage were added afterwards and although the floors throughout are concrete, the porch and garage are at ground level (almost) rather than ~6" above like the rest of the house.

1) the porch is always cold and the little step up into the house is annoying
2) we are converting the garage to a studio space and again - annoying step up into main part of the house - also we're replacing the ancient wooden garage doors with a patio door to allow in lots of light.

Therefore our plan (and at the advice of the BER inspector who came out) is to raise the floor level to that of the house and get some insulation under there. We want the floors to be laminated. It will mean a slightly higher step on the outside but at the moment its literally about an inch and you trip on it because you don't see it.

Being on a very tight budget and relatively handy, we want to carry out the work ourselves, but would like some advice on the process.

Obviously at the 'doorways' of each area we need to ensure that they are weather proof and damp proof...

Can someone advise on the best materials to ensure the correct vapour barrier, insulation etc and a little guidance on dealing with where inside meets outside.

Many thanks!
Clare.

ICCM

http://www.ehow.com/how_5157618_build-raised-wood-floor.html