1940s bungalow with suspended timber floors throughout, other than kitchen which is concrete in original area and then chipboard in the 1990’s extension. I’m renovating and was thinking about putting suspended timber floor over existing to make service runs easier. Was thinking battens on dpc strips, then shallow joists, insulating once services in, then chipboard before ply for tiles/lino etc. Would this work, or should I consider something different? Thanks
- Thread starter Apasc
- Start date
Cubist
Member
- Messages
- 2,621
- Location
- Shropshire/Herefordshire Border
Are there any indications of damp in the kitchen area? Are there any indications of a DPM under the kitchen floor? What services are you thinking of running under the proposed wooden floor?
Cubist
Member
- Messages
- 2,621
- Location
- Shropshire/Herefordshire Border
I'm always wary of running services underneath wooden floors, particularly the wet ones associated with heating and supply/drainage as there is always the thought 'What happens if.. and How would I fix it...' should the worst occur. Where kitchens are concerned theres the additional consideration regarding where any cabinetry may/must be installed and how might these interfere should there be a future need to access the pipework or cables to make repairs. If it were me, and unless there was just no other option, I would adopt a wall surface mounted approach and run everything above the floor level. That said though, and provided you make allowances for future access, and perhaps use plastic pipework for water services wherever possible and run electrics through suitable conduit, then it would be feasible to hide everything beneath the new wooden floor. Beware though of the hidden trap posed by tongue and groove boards, or any such running under kitchen cabinets, as a moments lack of thought now could lead to the whole floor being ripped up later just to deal with a minor problem.
Stevers
Member
- Messages
- 760
- Location
- Mendip Hills
You just need to plan ahead for how you would access those pipes should you ever need to. Modern floor coverings (ceramic tiles and engineered wood floors in particular) just seem to make this all but impossible without damage to them requiring complete renewal. We have pine floorboards with the relevant ones screwed down for easy access. Over them we have either fitted carpets on underlay, or vinyl over oiled hardboard. Both options have proved capable of being lifted and replaced without damage for repairs and improvements.
We do have visible pipes in the basement with short skirting runs, but that has an original flagstone floor, and no pipes should ever be run under something like that!
We do have visible pipes in the basement with short skirting runs, but that has an original flagstone floor, and no pipes should ever be run under something like that!
They sound like great solutions, thanks. Just out of curiosity, why is the hardboard oiled before vinyl laid?
Your basement has also given me the idea of considering those skirtings that you can put pipe work behind, although depending on final kitchen design I think I can just run pipework behind base units for sink and dw, so it is just heating pipes and i might be able to take them through wall from livingroom (but maybe not due to location of chimney, but could use the skirting covers here.
You have been so helpful in getting me to have optional solutions- thank you.
Your basement has also given me the idea of considering those skirtings that you can put pipe work behind, although depending on final kitchen design I think I can just run pipework behind base units for sink and dw, so it is just heating pipes and i might be able to take them through wall from livingroom (but maybe not due to location of chimney, but could use the skirting covers here.
You have been so helpful in getting me to have optional solutions- thank you.
Stevers
Member
- Messages
- 760
- Location
- Mendip Hills
Oil 'tempered' hardboard is as supplied, and I suspect is used for dimensional stability. It seems to have been the norm to specify it when the vinyl floors were originally fitted in 1997. Since then we have considered Linoleum, but were advised against it as it tends to shrink over a long period. Vinyl isn't great environmentally, but at least is forgiving on crockery. Fake tiling patterns were all the rage back then, but there are (and probably were) more honest options. If good quality it lasts well, and if it's down for a long time (as ours have been) I think that's a reasonable use of resource.
The visible horizontal pipe runs are for heating only and are just above the skirting out of harms way. In the utility room the pipes for the taps/washing machine drop down behind a wall cupboard into the units. My father was all for boxing in, but I'd rather catch a glimpse of neatly fitted bare copper pipes than chunky boxing in. Similarly waste water pipes exit the wall at the earliest opportunity, so again all concealed by the units.
The visible horizontal pipe runs are for heating only and are just above the skirting out of harms way. In the utility room the pipes for the taps/washing machine drop down behind a wall cupboard into the units. My father was all for boxing in, but I'd rather catch a glimpse of neatly fitted bare copper pipes than chunky boxing in. Similarly waste water pipes exit the wall at the earliest opportunity, so again all concealed by the units.
