Hello,
We are fortunate enough to have recently bought a small timber-framed cottage which we are renovating before moving in.
The cottage has a relatively large open area that was formerly two rooms. The front of these has a good level / flat concrete floor. The rear area also has a solid concrete floor but it is (a) significantly lower than the front area, and (b) not very flat or level. The rear area is a minimum of ~115mm lower than the front area.
We ultimately want to run a single flooring through the whole area, with no change in level between the parts, so want to bring the rear area up to the level of the front (flatting it at the same time, of course). I am generally keen on including insulation in the flooring, to do our bit for carbon emissions and cut down on heating costs.
We have received advice to apply a liquid membrane, then a layer of insulation then a screed. We have already applied Wickes liquid membrane (a black bitumen-like substance) across the area, and around the edges up to a height just above the new level we are aiming for. However, I thought I would post here to see what options we might have for filling the height.
Our initial thought was to use 50mm Jablite over the membrane topped with a 65mm screed with a mesh embedded in it. From reading around the forums it looked like that screed would probably hold. However, the descriptions I've read of screeding don't look like it's particularly easy for someone DIYing it for the first time to get right.
Consequently I've wondered whether there are any alternatives. One option I thought of was to use a layer of sand over the membrane to level and flatten, then 75mm of Jablite, topped with 18mm chipboard. I reckoned the chipboard and Jablite would detach the walking from the sand, so it wouldn't shift (and there's nowhere really for it to shift to), but I did see a PDF for Jablite flooring which said "The use of dry sand as a levelling medium is not satisfactory." So back to the drawing board, I guess!
If that general approach is OK (i.e. levelling and flattening the floor a bit, then Jablite, then chipboard), then what would be a good way of levelling? I've seen mention of "floor levelling compound", which sounds like it would do the trick - would it be suitable in this situation?
Oh, and I've no particular brand affinity to Jablite, it's just something that I know is under the floorboards in my parents' house, so I assume it's more or less suitable for this use. It does look pretty reasonably priced compared to other insulating boards though, which is appealing.
I've seen the forum stickies, which look really helpful for if/when we get to doing something like levelling, but if there are any other guides I should be reading which I've not managed to spot myself, please feel free to just point me in the right direction!
The area requiring raising is just shy of 8' by just shy of 9'.
Thanks in advance for any help you are able to provide.
Jamse
We are fortunate enough to have recently bought a small timber-framed cottage which we are renovating before moving in.
The cottage has a relatively large open area that was formerly two rooms. The front of these has a good level / flat concrete floor. The rear area also has a solid concrete floor but it is (a) significantly lower than the front area, and (b) not very flat or level. The rear area is a minimum of ~115mm lower than the front area.
We ultimately want to run a single flooring through the whole area, with no change in level between the parts, so want to bring the rear area up to the level of the front (flatting it at the same time, of course). I am generally keen on including insulation in the flooring, to do our bit for carbon emissions and cut down on heating costs.
We have received advice to apply a liquid membrane, then a layer of insulation then a screed. We have already applied Wickes liquid membrane (a black bitumen-like substance) across the area, and around the edges up to a height just above the new level we are aiming for. However, I thought I would post here to see what options we might have for filling the height.
Our initial thought was to use 50mm Jablite over the membrane topped with a 65mm screed with a mesh embedded in it. From reading around the forums it looked like that screed would probably hold. However, the descriptions I've read of screeding don't look like it's particularly easy for someone DIYing it for the first time to get right.
Consequently I've wondered whether there are any alternatives. One option I thought of was to use a layer of sand over the membrane to level and flatten, then 75mm of Jablite, topped with 18mm chipboard. I reckoned the chipboard and Jablite would detach the walking from the sand, so it wouldn't shift (and there's nowhere really for it to shift to), but I did see a PDF for Jablite flooring which said "The use of dry sand as a levelling medium is not satisfactory." So back to the drawing board, I guess!
If that general approach is OK (i.e. levelling and flattening the floor a bit, then Jablite, then chipboard), then what would be a good way of levelling? I've seen mention of "floor levelling compound", which sounds like it would do the trick - would it be suitable in this situation?
Oh, and I've no particular brand affinity to Jablite, it's just something that I know is under the floorboards in my parents' house, so I assume it's more or less suitable for this use. It does look pretty reasonably priced compared to other insulating boards though, which is appealing.
I've seen the forum stickies, which look really helpful for if/when we get to doing something like levelling, but if there are any other guides I should be reading which I've not managed to spot myself, please feel free to just point me in the right direction!
The area requiring raising is just shy of 8' by just shy of 9'.
Thanks in advance for any help you are able to provide.
Jamse
