We've just bought a 1930s Edinburgh bungalow (brick cavity walls, suspended timber floor) that's been badly neglected - damp, no heating, lead plumbing, ancient electrics. Plan is to sort heating/plumbing/bathroom/electrics before moving in, then tackle the damp later as we can't afford long-term rental.
We ripped out the bathroom today and found a disaster. The sink drain wasn't connected - just been draining straight over a joist into the solum for who knows how long. One joist actually gave way during removal. Between that, leaking pipes, and a dodgy bath drain, the floor and several joists are completely shot.
The joists sit in pockets in the internal brick walls on bitumen DPC. (See pics.) Left side - joists terminate, you can see the neighboring room's joists protruding ~200mm. Right side - joists continue straight through into the next room (which has damp issues that I need to defer until later). I want to replace just the bathroom joists now, but do it properly so I don't have to lift this floor again later
Here's the plan I'm thinking of:
Does this approach sound sensible? Any pitfalls I'm missing? Many thanks for taking the time to read and any help/advice you can offer!
We ripped out the bathroom today and found a disaster. The sink drain wasn't connected - just been draining straight over a joist into the solum for who knows how long. One joist actually gave way during removal. Between that, leaking pipes, and a dodgy bath drain, the floor and several joists are completely shot.
The joists sit in pockets in the internal brick walls on bitumen DPC. (See pics.) Left side - joists terminate, you can see the neighboring room's joists protruding ~200mm. Right side - joists continue straight through into the next room (which has damp issues that I need to defer until later). I want to replace just the bathroom joists now, but do it properly so I don't have to lift this floor again later
Here's the plan I'm thinking of:
- Clear the solum completely, check bitumen coating is sound (looks OK actually, unlike in the damp room)
- Cut out existing joists back to the walls (probably replace all - they're reading wet on the damp meter)
- Create new pockets in the counter course adjacent to existing ones (needed both sides - the right side pocket will be shared with the other room's joists)
- Install new C24 45x145mm joists wrapped in DPC, packed as needed (existing joists are 2x6)
- Add dwangs/noggins for stiffness
- Re-fill any unused holes with brick
- Re-lay floor
Does this approach sound sensible? Any pitfalls I'm missing? Many thanks for taking the time to read and any help/advice you can offer!