"tez" wrote in message
...
Hi

I have just moved into a house where the kitchen floor is made up of
sandstone slabs which appear to be layed directly on the soil beheath.
The house is on a steep hill so the kitchen is the only room where the
floor is on solid ground - there is a cellar at the front of the house
with floor boards for the hall and lounge.

The stone slabs are uneven and not very attractive. They would be
lovely if it wasnt for 3 cement 'channels' containing pipes
criss-crossing the floor. Most of the pipes are redundant, just a
water and gas pipe running arount the edge of the room to the cooker
and sink.

What I would like advice with is what to do with this floor. I dont
have enough money to lift, level, relay and buy extra stone slabs in
order to have a tidy stone floor.

The previous owner had levelling compound covering two thirds of the
floor and then just a carpet on top. I lifted the carpet to
redecorate teh room and noticed lots of black spots on the underneath
which may be mould. The floor is a little damp in places particularly
towards the wall backing onto the hillside, and the next terrace
above. The plaster is also damp on the wall where next doors kitchen
floor level is about 20 inches higher than my floor. This wall is
going to have the plaster removed and then cement/tanking/lime
plaster/finishing plaster applied to a height of 1.5m

When I first moved in I intended have the floor asphalted which I
thought would level and waterproof the floor at teh same time. THe
asphalter said I had to remove the levelling compound before he could
start. I smashed the compound off the floor with a small hammer 8)
But started to read on teh internet that asphalting a damp floor was
not a good idea and could cause the damp to move towards the walls
instead.

What I would really like to have is a flat floor with carpet or tiles
that breathes. Do all levelling compounds waterproof the floor?
Apparently the tile adhesive is waterproof also so a levelled, tiled
floor would effectively do what the asphalt would have?

I went to a carpet shop to ask about just laying a natural fibre
carpet like a seagrass carpet straight onto the slightly uneven floor.
The carpet man said putting a carpet on a damp floor would cause the
glue in teh carpet to begin to smell.

Please could you give me some advice on what to put on the kitchen
floor? I would probably just leave it as it was with a rug in the
middle of the room if the stone slabs hadnt been so spoilt.

I am afraid lifting it is the only solution. A friend of mine had similar in
his kitchen, damp blistering plaster in places, mould under carpets as well
as ants occasionally popping up between the flags. Oh also rusts the
underneath of washing machines, cookers, tumble dryers as well as making
chipboard kitchen units swell and collapse.

He got it all lifted, dug out, and proper base + damp proof membrane +
insulation installed + levelling etc. Got a nice flat and dry kitchen floor.
As a side effect the damp plaster all stopped, implying the damp was coming
up through the earth of the old floor. Only his kitchen floor was like this
the rest of the house being conventional floorboards.