Hi. I am renovating a 1950s (ex council) ground floor flat and am putting Quickstep Livyn vinyl planks throughout. Most rooms are floor-boarded but the kitchen an bathroom are solid floors which had tiles and carpet (now removed) laid. I was going to lay 9mm ply over the floorboards screwed down but can I carry them through over the solid floors or is there a better method. The floors do not seem damp but don't know if there is a dpm or not. Any advice would be appreciated. Many thanks.
There won’t be a damp proof membrane under that concrete if it’s 1950s. you need to apply a liquid Dpm. They you could glue plywood over it or use some smoothing compounds to build it up to match the plywood levels
Thanks for that Dazlight. I think the leveling compound is the way to go. So my next questions are 1. What do you recommend for the liquid dpc and does it require priming before or after the dpc. The floor has had leveling compound in the past but not very good. 2. Can you recommend a smoothing compound. Thanks.
Do you know what smoothing compound is down now ? You might have to remove it if it’s a water mix and not a latex.
I don't know what it is. How can you tell? Is there a primer that can be used so I can leave it down? I am using a foil backed underlay. (LVT and underlay from Howdens)
I've taken some of the old compound up now, it varies in thickness from 3 or 4 mm to virtually zero and is well stuck down. There seems to be an old brick wall underneath (probably cupboards), there is damp around this area and another area. How would I protect the ply from the damp and what would be the best way of securing it down? I was thinking of removing the old compound re-leveling with Stopgap1200pro, 2 coats of Permaseal liquid dpm then final leveling with Stopgap. But would it be ok to level up whats been removed then Permaseal and ply over that? If so what would you fix down the ply with. Total size of the room is 10m2. Its going to be a nightmare removing the old stuff, not to mention noisy for the neighbours, so any way round it will be a real bonus. Thanks for you replies
What we do on most is remove bricks and fill back in with a visqueen sheet and granno mix screed , 1200 pro pr ardex NA with 6mm limestone chipping. Then if the whole floor is rough we pre smooth with ardex NA or 1200 pro , then ardex DPM1c the whole floor. The. Prime p4 and screed again
I cant post photos yet apparently. There is a thick bituminous dpc under the top brick. The depth of leveling compound will only need to be 3-6mm as floorboards are slightly higher.
