suspended wooden floor -> concrete floor Help, advice, information, answers and tips on all types of flooring from laminate and carpet to timber and vinyl

[vinnpatel]

Help needed,
I am thinking of replacing my suspended ground floor with a concrete floor. My house is a terrace house.
Is this possible?
If so what do I need to do such as
- does it need planning permission?
- what do I need to check for so that the work is done to a good standard
- what about electricity and water supply to the house?
- any best practises to follow?

Also I have some of the radiator pipes running under the floor boards. What is the best thing to do about them? I am going to replace my boiler and radiators - perhaps I can get them done with this in mind.

Many thanks

[chris_on_tour2002]

why do you want to do this? sounds like an awful lot of unnecessary work. you need to get in a builder or structural engineer to look at it and talk you through. not a simple job and not going to be cheap. and may not even be possible. there may be a good reason for having a suspended floor, ie high water table, check it out with someone locally.

[vinnpatel]

Chris_on_tour2002,
Many thanks for the feedback.
I didn't know so much was involved. The reason for a concrete floor is that (I know it sounds silly) I got some mice probs and they come in through the floor. I keep plugging the holes and its ok for a while and they find another way to chew through. I founds expanding foam to fill holes where they chewed through works best since they don't chew through that to get in the house. But I am tired of plugging new holes and I thought to concrete the floor to permanently fix the problem.
Thanks anyway for your help.

[chris_on_tour2002]

i think you'd be better off getting the pest controllers in, way cheaper and much more straightforward. i really dont think that filling your underfloor void with concrete is the way to tackle your pest problem. if that's your only reason for doing it, then it really isn't worth the effort. and there is no guarantees that it will keep your furry little nemeses out anyway.

[donttrythisathome]

planning permission is not required but it would only need to comply with building regulations. high water levels would not be a problem as the slab would need to be laid with a 1200 gauge dpm. Suspeneded timber floor are more energy efficent when insulated properly than a concrete slab tho a slab will act as a heat store. I presonally would stay with the suspened timber and then place 200mm of insulation between joists and with the money you'll save get someone in to sort out the mice.

[johner]

we are doing something similar but for a different reason, our primary reason is to lay underfloor heating. You'll need to get building regs approval first if you plan to replace more than 25% of the existing floor in a room, which you are! We are taking down the chimney breast which will be used as part hard core for the concrete slab. On top of that will be the DPM, then the concrete, the insulation, poly film, underfloor piping, then the screed.

Not only will it prevent mice/rats (albeit expensive), but should help with preventing heat loss but also adding soundproofing if noise is a problem from the neighbour...

If you have the money go for it!

John
ps. I am NOT an expert, just a man with vision.

[moss3sheets]

Actually I am looking at doing a very similar project, however the reason is basically to reduce the flooring level. Am looking to extend out to side of building, however because of planning issues there will be a height restriction for the extension. To try and compensate for this will be "burrowing down' a couple of feet, and as would like all level to be equal on the finished project, will have to do the same internally. Does anyone have any opinions though on this point? As it is, there exists about 15 inches of void below existing timber flooring. However by the time the hardcore, insulation, dpm etc goes down, the finished level will rise significantly. So...looks like might have to bit of extra internal digging....does anyone think this would be problematic? [ p.s its an old edwardian building with shallow foundations]/

Thanks for any advice.