Hi folks, quick question. Currently downstairs we have concrete floors with a damp proof membrane, polystyrene blocks on top of the DMP and chipboard on top of that.
The house is approx 20 years old ex-housing association. The heating appears to have been the last thing to be installed as there's loads of instances of bad boxwork for pipes, pipes sticking out of places they shouldn't etc. One such instance is with the radiators which are plumbed in with pipework literally nailed onto the skirting boards.
As the house is somewhat compact, and we have four children, I'm a little loathe to start tearing the whole floor up (I did that with the kitchen - nightmare lol)........
........what I'd like to ask is whether anyone can think of any reason why I can't simply cut 1 - 1.5" channels into the chipboard around the skirting, to allow the pipes to be sunk into the floor. Laminate is currently laid, and the plan would be to simply relay the laminate and overlap the channel slightly by 0.5 - 1.0", thus covering the channel, but leaving enough room for the laminate to expand.
Does this sound reasonable, or is there any reason you can think not to do it?