Filling in a suspended ground floor with concrete.

kingcon28

Hi Everyone, 
Looking for a bit of advice here. I am in the process of buying a home that needs some renovation. 

The house was built in the 1950s, End of terrace, and has been unoccupied for approx 5 years. The house is remarkably free from damp. 

The house as 4 rooms; kitchen, sitting room and two bedrooms. The hall ways and sitting room are solid concrete floors while the other 3 rooms have suspended timber flooring. 

Our builder has suggested to fill in the 3 suspended floors with concrete and insulation etc. However a friend of mine has said I would be mad to fill them in considering the house has no damp issues. The external walls would be drylined on the inside. 

I am worried that filling in the floors would cause serious damp issues on the walls as the moisture would have nowhere to go. The heat loss through the floors if we were not to fill them in would be a concern, as would the chance of rats/mice etc.

Any advice would be appreciated. 

Thanks,
Kingcon

Metric Tensor

If you want to fill them you need to get a professional to look at them and specify how to fill them correctly in order to keep out dampness and protect any remaining timber elements from rot. Don't just blindly fill them based on the builder saying it's a good idea.

If decide to keep them they can be insulated and made air-tight but it's a job that requires finesse and expertise - again get a professional to look at them and provide a spec.

The above also applies to the dry-lining - if the house has suspended timber floors it could have all manner of other elements that may or may not be damaged by the altered air movement and condensation issues that dry-lining might cause.

None of it is "undoable" - it just needs to be done correctly and specified by someone who understands the issues.

Boardnashea

We have just completed this in 2 rooms and hall of a similar aged house. Costing about €3K. Very happy with the result and looking forward to laying floors shortly.

Calahonda52

Boardnashea wrote: »

We have just completed this in 2 rooms and hall of a similar aged house. Costing about €3K. Very happy with the result and looking forward to laying floors shortly.

You are not long enough down range to make that assertion: the risks are longterm/slow burners

kingcon28

Boardnashea wrote: »

We have just completed this in 2 rooms and hall of a similar aged house. Costing about €3K. Very happy with the result and looking forward to laying floors shortly.

Thanks Boardnashea. Did you have any concerns regarding damp?

Boardnashea

Calahonda52 wrote: »

You are not long enough down range to make that assertion: the risks are longterm/slow burners

What are the "down range" risks I should be aware of? And what assertion did I make?

Boardnashea

kingcon28 wrote: »

Thanks Boardnashea. Did you have any concerns regarding damp?

Not really. We are very good at ventilation and full DPC went down under insulation.