Hello everyone
We have bought a 70-year-old farmhouse that obviously needs a fair amount of work, which we are aware of. I am a trained carpenter and want to do as much as possible myself on the house.
Now to my question: the house is located in East Frisia, and we have three rooms with hollow spaces beneath the wooden floors. So underneath there are joists and then soil, and in one of the three rooms (kitchen), groundwater sometimes comes through.
I would like to compact and fill these spaces—what is the best way to proceed?
I have read a bit online but didn’t get a clear idea; I hope someone here has experience with this. The other option was to hire a company, but I expect that would be quite expensive.
Maybe someone can help me, thanks in advance for your answers.
We have bought a 70-year-old farmhouse that obviously needs a fair amount of work, which we are aware of. I am a trained carpenter and want to do as much as possible myself on the house.
Now to my question: the house is located in East Frisia, and we have three rooms with hollow spaces beneath the wooden floors. So underneath there are joists and then soil, and in one of the three rooms (kitchen), groundwater sometimes comes through.
I would like to compact and fill these spaces—what is the best way to proceed?
I have read a bit online but didn’t get a clear idea; I hope someone here has experience with this. The other option was to hire a company, but I expect that would be quite expensive.
Maybe someone can help me, thanks in advance for your answers.
If you want to do it properly, this is going to be a huge project...
My brother renovated an old farmhouse from the 16th century and had to completely replace the entire floor (at least they only had cold feet, not damp ones...)
Is the ground directly underneath the wooden floor? So no insulation or anything? Like in a barn? And you’re living in that??? Wow...
If you want a floor that meets at least some of today’s comfort and energy standards, you need to remove the old floor completely, excavate at least 50cm (20 inches) into the ground, then—if I remember correctly—you lay gravel, insulation, a concrete slab, and build up the floor structure (screed, wooden floor, possibly both).
Are the walls dry if the house is basically sitting in water?
If you basically don’t have a house but a construction site, I would also consider waterproofing the walls.
And last but not least: the house is only 70 years old? Is it under heritage protection? I hope not for your sake... Still, the question is: is it really worth preserving? If I read that there isn’t really a proper floor, I’d seriously think about whether it makes sense to invest a lot of money into maintaining a home that only roughly meets today’s standards, or if it might be better to consider demolition and rebuilding instead.
My brother renovated an old farmhouse from the 16th century and had to completely replace the entire floor (at least they only had cold feet, not damp ones...)
Is the ground directly underneath the wooden floor? So no insulation or anything? Like in a barn? And you’re living in that??? Wow...
If you want a floor that meets at least some of today’s comfort and energy standards, you need to remove the old floor completely, excavate at least 50cm (20 inches) into the ground, then—if I remember correctly—you lay gravel, insulation, a concrete slab, and build up the floor structure (screed, wooden floor, possibly both).
Are the walls dry if the house is basically sitting in water?
If you basically don’t have a house but a construction site, I would also consider waterproofing the walls.
And last but not least: the house is only 70 years old? Is it under heritage protection? I hope not for your sake... Still, the question is: is it really worth preserving? If I read that there isn’t really a proper floor, I’d seriously think about whether it makes sense to invest a lot of money into maintaining a home that only roughly meets today’s standards, or if it might be better to consider demolition and rebuilding instead.
Pelix schrieb:
We bought a farmhouse that is 70 years old, [...] and we have three rooms in the house with hollow spaces under the wooden floor. So beneath it are joists and then soil The construction description doesn’t really sound like it’s only seventy years old – that would actually still be “post-war.” And it sounds like only three rooms are affected, while other rooms have a different type of floor structure or foundation (?).
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H
hampshire9 Sep 2018 09:15One possible solution is a pump that activates once a defined groundwater level is reached. The water is then directed into the sewer system.
Of course, I cannot say what damage the house already has or what still needs to be done.
Of course, I cannot say what damage the house already has or what still needs to be done.
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