1950s floors

[Steve]

We're buying a 3 bed semi built in 1955. Will the solid downstairs floor generally contain any insulation? Its an ex council house we think.

We are doing a full refurbishment of the house, possibly doing wet UFH in the kitchen/diner, which I know will involve excavation. I'm wondering if it'll be worthwhile excavating the whole lot for UFH and insulation, since piping to radiators will always be tricky with solid floors.

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Probably not. The insulation we put into floors these days (polystyrene, expanded PU and ceramic beads, etc) are generally only found in houses from the 1980s onwards. What you may have instead is white asbestos fibres which were commonly used to prevent cracking of cast and poured concrete (in the same way that polyethylene or nylon fibres are sometimes use today) as well as improving moisture resistance (no polyethylene dpm then). So have a couple of samples tested before going mad with a breaker. Despite what some people say you cannot discern these fibres visuslly - the only way is to have a UK lab test for you.

 

[Steve]

Should i also get it tested if I intend to chase heating pipes into the floor? I'm guessing the answer is yes. What might i have to pay for this?

 

[Deleted member 174758]

Look up asbestos testing services for the answer. Disturbing materials containing asbestos will contaminate other areas, so you need to take precautions if you know that you are handing/digging it. Council properties were always far more likely to have asbestos-containing materials incorporated in them although most councils would have done an asbestos survey on their properties so there may be one on file for your house, or the vendor may have one from that time.