ᐅ Screed on wooden floorboards over a crawl space, and more

Hey! We bought a single-family house built in 1938, renovated in 1988, and plan to move in by the end of the year. We’ll get the keys on November 15, and want to complete some renovations before that. The timeline is tight, so we urgently need advice on how and with whom to plan the renovations without going broke.

Some facts about the house: 125m2 (1350 sq ft) ground floor and upper floor, partially basement, under a 12m2 (130 sq ft) room there is a difficult-to-access crawl space with a wooden beam ceiling. It has a Buderus gas heating system from 2006, a 5kWp solar power system - self-consumption planned in five years - and solar thermal panels.

Plans and questions about the floors on the ground floor: The living room and bedroom have linoleum flooring over wooden floorboards, below which are wooden joists. Under the living room there is concrete, and under the bedroom (12m2 / 130 sq ft) the crawl space. The hallway has tiles that are tolerable, but ideally we would lay new vinyl flooring with cork insulation (8mm thickness) in all three rooms. Here the problems start: what would be a sustainable solution for the subfloor in these three rooms (total 50m2 / 540 sq ft)? Concrete screed in the living room? Concrete screed on wood in the bedroom?

Then the heating issue. Does it make sense to switch partially to underfloor heating while keeping some of the old radiators to convert gradually later? Does it even make sense to get rid of the gas heating because of the photovoltaic system and rising gas prices?

Regarding government incentives: we were told that most KfW (state development bank) grants are not worth it because the required standards are very expensive to meet.

We have many other questions and would probably need comprehensive consulting from people who understand the interconnections and dependencies. Who should we contact for this?

I would not necessarily recommend applying a wet screed on an old wooden structure. Depending on the condition of the subfloor, it might be better to cover it with OSB panels or, if everything is uneven and warped, to level it with a dry screed system. Are there more details available about the subfloor?

Unfortunately, no. The seller of the house is cooperative, but they still live there. If I can only start planning the floor removal in mid-November, moving in by the end of the year probably won’t be possible... but it has to be. Any details regarding the thickness and condition of the floorboards?

IdleWombat schrieb:

We bought a single-family house from 1938, [...] A few facts about the house: 125m2 (1,345 sq ft) on the ground and upper floors, partially basemented, under a 12m2 (130 sq ft) room there is a hard-to-access crawl space with a wooden structure as a ceiling,

This is very unusual and even more reason than usual to obtain detailed information from the building records.

IdleWombat schrieb:

and want to move in at the end of the year. [...] Owner-occupancy planned only in 5 years,

I don’t understand that.

---

https://www.instagram.com/11antgmxde/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/bauen-jetzt/

IdleWombat schrieb:

Details regarding the thickness and condition of the floorboards?

Inspect the condition of the wood from underneath.
Does the floor bounce or creak?
Is the floor uneven?
Is the floor insulated?
Is the floor covered from below?
If you have visited the house, you probably took photos, right?
Is there a property brochure?

11ant schrieb:

I don’t understand that.

Then don’t cut out the relevant parts of the text:

IdleWombat schrieb:

Buderus gas heating system from 2006, 5 kWp photovoltaic system – own use planned only in 5 years, solar thermal system.

The system will be used solely for feed-in, as it was installed around 2006. The feed-in tariff will expire in 2026, so it will be converted for self-consumption then.

IdleWombat schrieb:

Questions about the floors on the ground floor: the living room and bedroom have linoleum flooring on wooden floorboards, underneath are wooden joists, and below that in the living room is concrete and in the bedroom (12 m² (130 sq ft)) the crawl space. There are tiles in the hallway which are tolerable, but ideally we want to install new vinyl flooring with cork insulation (8 mm (0.3 inches) thick overall) in all three rooms. Here the problems start: what would be a sustainable solution for the subfloor in the three rooms (total 50 m² (540 sq ft))? Screed in the living room? Screed on wood in the bedroom?
Then the heating topic. Does it make sense to switch partly to underfloor heating and partly keep the old radiators, planning to renovate step by step later? Does it even make sense to give up the gas heating, considering the photovoltaic system and rising gas prices?
Regarding government subsidies: we were told that most KfW (Credit Institute for Reconstruction) subsidies are not worthwhile because the required standards are very expensive.
We still have many other issues and probably need comprehensive advice from people who understand the interconnections and dependencies. Whom should we contact?

You can contact a construction manager, civil engineer, or architect who works with existing buildings. Or a general contractor who does renovations.
But please be aware that _nothing_ will happen this year anymore. Even if you start doing everything yourself now, you will fail due to missing materials, processing times (screed, drying, etc.). That is completely unrealistic.