Hello folks, first post...pretty desperate for some help! We had a floor levelled (53m2 hallway, leading to open lounge/kitchen) at the beginning of Feb in preparation for an engineered wood floor. The sub-floor is concrete with patches of what look like vinyl tiles that were laid God knows when and have been 'removed' over the years with varying degrees of success! A couple of weeks ago we noticed that hairline cracks were starting to develop, these have gradually got worse, some noticeably soft and 'airy' underneath...all cracks sound hollow when knocked. Where the floor is sound (for now) it does not sound hollow when knocked. I need to understand why this has failed (I suspect poor/non-existent prep) and how to remedy the situation. The real problem for us is that we have a kitchen due to be delivered on 4th May, which leaves us 3 weeks to get it sorted! Our preferred route would be to employ another tradesperson, but this experience has made us wary...and aren't all of the decent guys going to be booked out with work anyway? The alternative is to do the work myself and although I'm OK at DIY (kitchen & bathrooms fitted inc. electrics, plumbing and tiling) I fear that I'll get half way through the job and realise that I've bitten off more than I can chew. Anyhow, first things first...lets see if I can upload some pics. Cheers, Rich
Ok...so the pics in the above post show what the hairline cracks developed into, after a couple of weeks. To show how little the compound has adhered to the sub-floor, I've poked a little pallet knife in and lifted the floor...next to no effort was required.
I know there's a bolster chisel in shot, but most of this was pulled up by hand. I've tried to show the preparation (or lack of it?) here. Both shots are of the same area but the 2nd is closer in, the bottom right is the concrete sub-floor then on top is this thin layer of something that's almost paint-like in places but then thicker and a bit more 'plasticy' in others. An old tile maybe? That's all I've got in the way of photos for now...please fire away with some questions and / or advice! Cheers, Rich
It looks like its been put over bitumen (that black tar glue) and no primer so it will just pull off the bitumen. Could be damp, wrong screed. Lift it all I think
Owen, you have! Posted by Suzy, my other half, and soon to be updated with a more detailed (demanding?) job description. The guy says he used primer but I know that he was laying screed the morning he arrived. That seems like quick work to me; to make good the floor, lift the tiles, prime and start laying the compound. Tony, I can find out the product name...will take me a few mins. It's fairly cheap, in a white bag and called something like Cemotex, I think its by Bostic. Hold on and I'll find it.
the original fitter should of taken it back to the original subfloor(concrete) and thats still what you will need to do, lift it all up, moisture test an go from there
Rip it up and start again, cementone? Water based and no primer and looks to have gone over the old Marley tiles, basically the latex has sheered straight off the floor, unfortunately the only course of action is to start again ripping it all up to bear concrete check for moisture ten prime and level.
Not sure on the exact age of the house but I think it's late 60's so on the borderline of when DPM was mandatory. The product used was Cementone Cempolay I'm prepared for the whole floor having to come up, but I'm not getting the same guy back. He's either a cowboy, incompetent or, most likely, both and I don't want him anywhere near the place!
Have a look on the fitters directory or can you tell us where you are so the guys near you can come and have a look and price it for you.
We're in Warwickshire, near Atherstone. It is going to be floated. To be honest, we don't mind either way but just want the 'best' option for the floor (18mm ply backed with 4mm wear layer T&G)...had been told that glued would give a more solid feel but either was a valid option.
It's cheap mate you buy it from builders merchant.I wouldn't use it and i certainly wouldn't use it without a dpm in the floor & no primer.
Its not a trade product and id be surprised if the guy you used was a proper floorlayer as I dont know any reputable floorer who would by his latex outa wickes or b and q.
