How to concrete a floor?

[Simon Hawthorne]

Hi all

I am about to fit a new staircase in the room showing in the photo at this link -

I need to sort out the floor. It is a load of double cobble bricks laid onto what appears to be sand. The cobbles are about 100mm tall. I also need a DPM.

Can I just pull up all the cobbles, smooth out whatever is under it, lay some DPM (what sort/spec??), then pour concrete onto it (anyone got a decent weblink on how to do this)?

Thanks in advance

Simon

[Andy]

Geez, is that a torture chamber you've got there ?

;-)

[Mary Fisher]

It *is* a trifle gloomy ...

Mary

[Simon Hawthorne]

Could be!! I think this page gives a better impression....

;)

[The Natural Philosopher]

have a look at

for some hints on concrete.

Some thouhts DO remove cobbles. DO think about some underfloor insulation - 50mm of polysterne is nice and will absorb small soil movements without cracking teh concrete DO think about a decent thick concrete latyer 3-4" at least DP think about some reinforcing mesh if its more than about 3m long in any direction. Its cheap enough. DO think about laying UFH pipes in it when you lay.

In general teh technique is to dig down to teh right depth, smooth off everything wih a later of sand, ;ay DOPM - l;arge blue plastic sheet - over all that lot. Then if you ae using insulation, lay that on top. Then if using it, lay reinforcing grid, and if ;layimng UFH poiopes, cvonect to thgat, and pressurise to 6bar,. Then spal down shitloads of concrete - probably about 50mm, or screed if you thmk you can get away with it.

If you tack boards on teh room edges and use a bar dawn across tehm, you will end up level and smooth.

Then float the concrete sommoth with a float.

[Simon Hawthorne]

Brilliant - thanks very much for your help - just what I was looking for!

Simon

[Holly, in France]

on!

-- Holly, in France. Holiday home in the Dordogne, website: