Looking for any first hand knowledge to help me decide how to tackle putting a new floor down in my lounge.

The house is on a concrete raft foundation with a 2270mm floor to ceiling height. Insulation would be nice. The concrete was poured direct onto ground when the house was built in 1960.

Has anyone done similar work and if so what was your solution? Also, did you do the work yourself and was it manageable?

Thanks.

It’s pretty easy. A chop saw makes it all a lot easier, as does being thorough about using a tapping block to ensure your fit is tight.

I used insulation rolls which was a mistake, the snap together tiles seem a better option.

Done exactly that on a house that sounds the same.

I used insulation rolls for the first room I did, complete PITA. I used the folded stuff for the others, much better.

3 years in seems OK still.

What sort of wood floor? Engineered click in or independent plank? If it self joining just use the mats 8-10mm . If the planks are independent you may need to use an adhesive to stop them moving about. Remember to leave a minimum 10mm gap at wall floor junctions to allow the floor to move. Yes the insulation roll is a complete pita.

It’s going to come down to what type of floor you’re having – as creedy asked above.

What thickness? Click or regular t/g?

Thanks for the responses.

Elka 14mm engineered uniclick flooring now selected.

Main problem now is that I have a ~2mm lip to deal with in one small location caused by differential settlement. Between main foundation slab and later added porch slab. Considering dpm, thin board (mainly to cope with this lip), Elkas own underlay, then engineered flooring, in that order,

Does that sound feasible?

I have seen a wooden floor laid on small insulation beads (like in a bean bag). it effectively floats on them. Quite a skilled job to screed them out level but works very well on an uneven sub-base.

I did this in my hall, dining room, kitchen and downstairs toilet with tongue & groove wooden planks. It was a big job – I used a hand saw though and I’m sure a chop saw would have made it a lot easier but I didn’t have that many cuts to do really.

You’ll need a mallet, tapping block and I found wooden floor strap clamps a major help. Do a few lengths, clamp together to close the joins, at the end of a days work I left the straps in place to help keep things tight.

Take the skirting boards off though as this gives you a much nicer finish.

I put the floor down 7 years ago and not had any issues. Very satisfying job.

you can pour a self leveleng latex mortar to deal with the change in level, you must let it dry before you lay the floor. If you suspect high humidity in the slab lay a plastic moisture barrier before the insulation.

you might be better off with a new handsaw and a simple saw guide just to save the dust a chop saw throws out

cut a bunch of 10mm spacers for the edges to stop it moving while you are laying it

Take the skirting off, pick the wall you want to be parallel with and fix a batten in/under the skirting position lay the floor off this.
Remove batten refit skirting.