Hi,
Recently bought first home,
Having pulled up laminate & floorboards on ground floor, the floor is concrete slab with wooden battens sunk-in which the boards were fixed to.
The floor has clearly been damp for a long period of time and in parts (exterior wall, where there has been leaks/leaking gutters) is crumbly.
The original battens laid into the floor are totally rotted and in the process of being removed.
My thoughts so far are:
-Sure up the existing floor, fill any big holes etc with new cement.
-Install DPM / Latex screed
-PIR board and Chipboard flooring for new surface.
Particularly stuck on 2 things:
-whether i should leave the channels the battens sat in empty to allow for airflow from airbricks/prevent water pressure if the floor is still damp.
-Where/what layer to put the DPM/screed in - If I lay this directly over the current floor, the screed would be unsupported over the batten channels if I leave these unfilled.
Im totally new to repairing flooring/damp and mainly work with wood - I'd appreciate any thoughts on making the current floor good and product options.
Cheers
NB, will post some photos of the floor as is over the next few days
