Help needed with an Unlevel Sandstone Floor

[Mike]

We have recently purchased a house and when we removed the carpets we have found out that there is a sandstone floor in the living room.

Unfortunately the sandstone floor is not very nice to look at as there are some large cement patches in the floor as well and unfortunately it is a bit unlevel in some areas of the room.

We would like to put new carpet back down and most importantly onto a level floor.

Is it possible to skreed the floor with a sand/cement mix to level it up and then put a large sheet of thick polythene on the top when its all dried to stop moisture coming through and into the carpets.

The only other option I can think of is to have the whole sandstone floor dug out and replaced with a floating floor but this is going to be a pain in the bum to have done and no doubt be quite expensive.

(1) Is it OK to level the floor with Sand/Cement ? (2) Will it cause any probs in the future with damp ? (3) Is there another cheaper way of leveling the floor that I haven't thought of ?

Oh I've thought of using a self leveling compound but I would have to use loads of the stuff to level the floor in one particular area - it isnt really an option.

Thanks for any advice re this prob - its got us stumped and we don't have the knowledge or experience to sort it out.

Mike

[Rob Morley]

You might find someone who will take the floor out for free, if they're looking for some stone slabs :-)

[Ian Stirling]

I wonder if taking a skim off the sandstone would be possible. I don't know what tool you'd use.

[Robert E A Harvey]

[e-mail] (Mike) wrote

Local flooring contractors use a purpose made screed which appears to be cement and Latex. Jolly good it is too. Google for "latex floor screed" to come across several. Not sure about damproofing it, it hasn't been needed anywhere I know about. I'd be inclined to do it under the screed, not over it. Somehow.

Old Lincolnshire houses had upper floors made with reeds laid across joists, then plastered. Looks like stone, but is warm underfoot. The latex screeding is used to level it, because it bends and twists down the centuries.