Replacing floors

[Pixelskin]

Hi there,

I live in an old Victorian house in Hawthorn that was built in about 1910. PArt of our kitchen floor collapsed a while back so I took up the floor and found that the joists were just sitting on a stack of bricks on top of dirt. They aren't even mortared in.

The rest of the house is also pretty bad. It isn't possible to get under the house and I assume that all the floor joists and bearers are just sitting on stacks of bricks in the dirt. Our neighbour had her floors done a while back and that is exactly how hers were done.

I'm thinking about doing one of the rooms in the house as a test. I want to completely rip up the floor and the sub-floor and replace it. I'll be carpetting over the top, so I was thinking of just replacing the joists, bearers and laying particle board down.

I'm just looking for some advice on whether it is a good idea to try this myself. It doesn't sound that hard...am I missing something?


Thanks in avance

[craigb]

I guess it depends on how much building work you've done before.

I'm sure that there a lot of pitfalls to fall into for the unwary.

If you're are totally inexperienced then I'd suggest getting one room done by a pro and offering to offsider for him.

That way you should keep the costs down and you'll learn how to do it properly as well.

Just my $0.02

Craig

[MarkV]

Mate this is pretty serious stuff. The house is ultimately sitting on this base and will take quite a bit of care to hold it all up while the piers and subfloor is replaced. Might I suggest that you get some stump Guys in to give you a quote on restumping and any other thoughts that they may have. They dig trenches in to rebuild/replace the piers but it will be exxy. Maybe all the bearers and joists may not need replacing. Sounds pretty serious though if the floor has collapsed. I would get some pro's in and get some idea of the scope of the problem.

[wombat47]

I'm guessing your house in Hawthorn is brick?

The suggestion to get a professional in to do one floor sounds good. BUT, do not, under any circumstances, be talked into laying a concrete floor. Within months you would have rising damp in the walls.

It is also advisable to add additional air vents to your sub floor area. If it's a semi, increase them front and back and consider installing a fan. There are a couple made specifically for sub floor ventilation and they cost only a couple of cents a day to operate.

[Pixelskin]

Thanks for the suggestions!

Yes the house is solid brick. From the looks of the kitchen floor, the floors and sub-flooring don't carry any of the wight of the house per se.

It seems like the walls etc are like a shell and the floor basically sits inside, basically resting on the ground. I probably sound totally ignorant here!!!

My neighbour had a slab pured in her hallway - she also had a damp course put in. It feels so nice and solid!

[jackiew]

had a solid brick house ( 1914 ) in uk ... damp proof course was a layer of slate between two courses of the bricks.

you are probably correct that the floor doesn't support anything. I'm still a bit bemused when I watch houses being build and they lay the floor and then erect the walls on top of the floor ... seems very odd to me! If the internal walls are also brick then it is very unlikely that they will be sitting on top of the floor, the floor will be build around them.

I've known people in uk rip out the entire floor and replace it ( woodworm usually the cause).

Previous owner of my uk house had put in concrete floors in some of the rooms .. if you pulled away the skirting boards you could see the edges of the plastic damp proof course. There was no problem with damp in these rooms.

If you do a search on google.co.uk you should find plenty of information on the ins and outs of replacing the floors with this type of construction including discussion of the damp issue. I've got a number of books brought out from the uk which would cover this sort of stuff so PM me if you don't get far with google and I'll see what I can dig up.

[journeyman Mick]

[QUOTE=jackiew]had a solid brick house ( 1914 ) in uk ... damp proof course was a layer of slate between two courses of the bricks.

You had a solid brick house in 1914? :confused:
You're positively ancient!

Mick (the spring chicken)

[wombat47]

I'm not sure if there is any difference between building practice between the UK and Australia so can't comment on UK.

In Australia brick houses of this era were built on either a brick or stone rubble foundation, with a slate, later a lead, damp course (which, over many years, often breaks down - rising damp).

The floor joists, one room at a time, were laid on the foundations on "step" type protrusions. The design of the building allowed for sub floor ventilation and drying through air flow at room perimeter (the skirting boards were fitted with a small gap between them and the floor) and, to some extent, through the floor boards themselves.

We have contributed to under floor problems by the use of wall to wall carpet, rubber underlay and closing off the gap at the bottom of the skirting board, without adding additional subfloor ventilation to compensate. By blocking the air flow, we have confined dampness to the under floor area.

I know that it is common practice to rip out wooden floors, lay plastic sheeting and pour concrete. You end up with a nice, solid dry floor. But you are still going to get damp underneath the plastic and the brick walls will act like sponges. And, unless you drop the concrete floor to below the level of the damp course, you are providing a direct route for damp between the sides of the slab and the wall.

I suggest you ask for a quote for the floor replacement from someone who specialises in old houses (you don't have to accept it) and talk to him about the ins and outs of flooring.

[jackiew]

[QUOTE=journeyman Mick
You had a solid brick house in 1914? :confused:
You're positively ancient!

Mick (the spring chicken)[/QUOTE]



:D the house was born in 1914 ... not me :D

jackie (1962 )