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We have a large area of floor space which needs to be levelled. It's three rooms which are now knocked through into one. This means we have to level a tile kitchen floor and a parquet wood floor to the same level.
The wood floor is really old, really 'welded' to the floor and has no loose bits whatsoever. Is there any way I could just pour the levelling compound straight over this or should I take the whole floor up first?
I think I know the sensible answer already but was hoping that someone would say "I did that and it's worked just fine.
It'll need to be lifted. Screed isn't straightforward to get level and can't cope with unevenness of more than a few mm very easily. If it's old floors, you may find they aren't insulated, so digging them out and laying 75mm of insulation with concrete etc on top will give a warm, level surface at the correct height for doors etc - laying screed plus flooring will raise your floor levels significantly.
What boxelder said. Chances are once a bit of elbow-grease has been applied and you remove one piece of parquet with possibly a chisel the rest might lift easy...or not. Might be a pig of a job but it's the right way forward.
Do it properly and take the parquet up - hammer and chisel/pry-bar (a cat's paw tool will be useful - Stanley do a cheapish one available from screwfix etc.). Then a wide flat bladed spade should do the rest. Get a pallet and stack it neatly - you might even get a reclaimed parquet dealer to take it off your hands for a few quid - or at least come and take it away for free. Do you know what the parquet is or can you post a pic?
What's the new floor going to be? (This will dictate next steps after parquet removal.)
As above. The parquet may come loose under your new floor, which could be a problem depending on what you're laying down
If they are parquet blocks then they could be quite saleable
Thanks guys.
The new floor is going to be looselay Karndean.
Was just really trying to save myself a packet by not having to use so much self levelling compound. Last time I levelled the garage floor I did about twelve bags just raising it about 4mm.
This floor space is going to be huge compared to that.
Does anyone know who the cheapest suppliers of levelling compound are likely to be?
If the parquet is level, why not just cover with ply, then level tiled area to that?
Most latexes will not be suitable for getting up to the thickness of a parquet (given that it's 3/4"-ish?).
Do not under any circumstances cover a parquet floor with screed and a vynil floor
the blocks will expand and fail in 100 % of cases due to bottling in any moisture
There are no good cheap smoothing compounds/ screeds
you also need to make sure there is a DPM in situ before laying a new vynil floor
There are no good cheap smoothing compounds/ screeds
+1
Personally, I'd do this (if I was doing it for a client who was willing to pay to have it done properly...)
Remove all existing floor coverings (yep, tiles too!)
Check moisture content of exposed screed (allowing some time for it to dry after removal of old flooring)
Prime and apply 2-part liquid DPM.
Prime and apply [b]compatible[/b] smoothing compound.
Fit new floor covering.
We had a floor covered in bitumen at an old house we bought, it went straight onto the old quarry tiles and soil (yes soil!) It sealed out the damp and made a good solid level floor.
I wouldn't put it straight onto parquet though.