I've just removed several decades of carpets/lino/newspaper etc from
what my wife affectionately terms "the damp room". I knew there was a
damp-proof membrane underneath the carpets (the only room with one in
the house), and expected to find a concrete slab underneath that. After
scraping off the brittle bitumen and cloth layer, I instead discovered
an almost complete quarry tiled floor, laid on the ground beneath. I
reckon it is the original floor from when our "damp room" was the
entire ground floor of a cottage (only 10' wide).

The room seems to be in the process of losing it's bone-shuddering
chill and taking on a warm and welcoming atmosphere. This was
noticeable within hours of removing the membrane. The tiles were damp
initially, they seem bone-dry now. Dare I say it, but the walls seem to
be drying out.

I had planned to excavate the ground floor throughout the house
installing insulation etc, but am now having second thoughts. There is
no dpc in most of the house. The walls are 2' thick ironstone with no
dpc. In the more modern part of the house there is a dpc (but no
cavity) and the stone beneath is looking knackered.

Perhaps I should do things the old-fashioned way, but then I'll have
building regs after me, but I don't want to live in a damp smelly house
....

LGF