when to lay wood floor

[delboybully]

I have had a real single story extension built onto my terraced home. The extension is water tight, the rads have been put in (and removed for the plasterer), the eletrics have been installed except for the final installation of the socket and the lights fittings. The plasterer is currently plastering.

I currently have a floor but only what the footings men put in. After the plasterer is finished the builder needs to put the final floor in (i think this is floor screeding). i am planning on putting a wood floor down (engineered) and the plasterer said i should wait an inch a month for this floor screeding to dry before putting the wood floor down. The builder says 6 to 8 weeks will be enough and i quote "you will know when its dry"

The floor screed (if that is what its called) will be between 2.5 to 3 inches thick (depending on where you measure it). Who is right?????

 

[Richard C]

Your plasterer is the one you should listen to; a sand/cement floor screed will dry at a rate of around 1mm per day but when the screed is greater than 40mm thick it could dry at half that rate; but you also need to take account there may still be residual moisture in the slab depending on how long it’s been down. The plastering is also putting a lot of moisture into room & that will take 28 days to dry for a base coat & skim or 14 days for plasterboard & skim. If you don’t have a meter, one way of checking how the floor is doing is to lay a polythene sheet on the floor & stand an upturned flat rim pot in the centre overnight & check for condensation on the sheet after 12 hours. Don’t be tempted to rush it or it could all end in tears. It' not normal to lay the screed AFTER it's been plastered as this normally stops 12mm short of the floor screed.

Our resident floor specialist may conform but my advice would be not to lay any sort of wood flooring in a new build for at least 6 months, especially this time of year.

 

[WoodYouLike]

Absolutely right Richard C - and one of our own clients doesn't want to get his head around this either, we went back again this week to check the moist on his request (and knowing it would still be way too high). Perhaps end of next month we can give it a green light (as we'd told him from the beginning).

Try to ventilate as natural and often as possible (opening windows every day fro at least 15 - 20 minutes) so excess moist can escape to the outside world.
As Richard says, don't force dry it - this will only cause problems afterwards.

 

[delboybully]

The existing floor was laid in mid november. The poor weather and snow delayed the roof for 3 weeks and what with christmas and sorting out the plumbing, electrics and plastering this is why we are now ready for the floor screed. 3 walls of the plastering is base coat and skim the other wall (both sides) is plaster board and skim

The reason i had the plastering done before the final screed was on advice of the builder. He recommended this due to the mess that plasterers can make.

I have 4 velux windows in the roof which are all open a little all day at the moment and i am still getting condesation on the windows

I will take your advice and leave putting a wood floor down until it is completely dry

Are damp meters expensive, if they are not too much money i will consider buying one?

 

[Richard C]

The reason i had the plastering done before the final screed was on advice of the builder. He recommended this due to the mess that plasterers can make.

He’s avin a frigging laugh; I don’t know what plasterers he employs but the whole point is to put the plaster on the walls (or ceiling) not the frigging floor; any decent spread will not waste materials & even a ceiling will not see much on the floor for someone who knows what they are doing! Screed should always be first; he’s conning you for some reason.

 

[delboybully]

I only employed the builder to make the extension water tight and to lay the floor. He is responsible for the footings, the walls and the roof and gutters etc.

All the internal work i have either done myself or employed contractors. Thus i contracted the plasterer myself and i must say that although there was a little mess it was minimal. The plasterer did a great job. The builder told me he always gets the plasterers in before doing the final screed so that the new screed doesnt get messed up

O well it is done now. Some of the paster looks like it might touch the floor- should i cut this back to be above the floor level or leave it as it is. Chiseling it off wouldnt be difficult as i have a SDS drill with hammer only action

 

[Richard C]

The builder told me he always gets the plasterers in before doing the final screed so that the new screed doesnt get messed up

That’s a total load of boll ocks; plaster & render that falls to earth will not stick to a screed & is easily scraped off, I really don’t know what he’s on about.

O well it is done now. Some of the paster looks like it might touch the floor- should i cut this back to be above the floor level or leave it as it is. Chiseling it off wouldnt be difficult as i have a SDS drill with hammer only action

Cut it back around 12mm & it wont be that difficult but do not use an SDS as you will vibrate the new plaster in the surrounding area off the wall; use a club hammer & bolster chisel. Get your numpty builder to do it, it was his suggestion to get the plastering done in the first place; but maybe not if he’s going to use an SDS!

 

[vv2806]

Our resident floor specialist may conform but my advice would be not to lay any sort of wood flooring in a new build for at least 6 months, especially this time of year.

Does it mean the floor shouldn't be covered with anything at all during that time? If we eventually build an extension, should we leave it for 6 months unused before putting tiles or wooden flooring and moving the kitchen there, or perhaps it is possible to install the kitchen, put a temporary carpet and change it some time later?

 

[delboybully]

A friend of mine has lent me his dehumidifier. Hopefully this will speed up the drying out process. i am also going to buy a cheap moisture tester to make sure the floor screed if fully dry before laying the wood floor.

 

[WoodYouLike]

Our resident floor specialist may conform but my advice would be not to lay any sort of wood flooring in a new build for at least 6 months, especially this time of year.

Does it mean the floor shouldn't be covered with anything at all during that time? If we eventually build an extension, should we leave it for 6 months unused before putting tiles or wooden flooring and moving the kitchen there, or perhaps it is possible to install the kitchen, put a temporary carpet and change it some time later?

If want the quickest way to get everything finished: do not cover the new concrete floor with anything - it will block, delay the normal natural evaporation of moist in the concrete. It depends on the thickness of the concrete, but rule of thumb: 30 days per inch (2.5 cm) - no two ways about it.

 

[bimbam]

Help!
I've got a bit of a dilema.

I'm due to move into a cottage 2 weeks today which has been completely renovated. Huge amounts of render have been applied to the old stone walls with plaster on top to finish. Additionally, there is a fresh concrete channel about a foot wide on the floor, joining an existing solid concrete floor (old) and chipboard layed onto wooden joists. Roughly speaking, the new concrete comprises 10 - 15% of the whole floor area.

We have someone lined up to lay a solid oak floor just before we move in. However, I'm concerned by the comments in this thread and have a few questions which I would be very grateful if someone - anyone! - could answer:
1. I'm not clear as to whether any dampness in the walls is a factor that will affect the floor (i.e. moisture above the floor) - or is it only the residual moisture in the concrete channel underneath the floor that's an issue?
2. If it's (trapped?) moister beneath the floor that's the problem, given the relatively small area in my case - do I still need to be concerned?
3. The floor specialists we've spoken to already advise applying a waterproof tanking product to both the fresh and old concrete to provide a barrier between it and the wood. Is this not sufficient?
4. I can see that in an ideal world, we wouldn't move in until the summer when the whole house has had time to dry out thoroughly. Unfortunately, that option is not available to us. Any ideas as to what we can do in the (very) short term would be much appreciated.
Thanks!

 

[Bobbie40]

Right,

If the floor gets screeded first, then how long do I have to wait until I can put steps or bandstands on it to plaster the ceiling?

If it takes 3months to dry out then don't I have to leave it at least 1 month before I can plaster the ceiling?

Thanks