Hello!
I plan to move back into the two-family house from the 1950s that has been in our family. Specifically, I will be living on the upper and attic floors.
This semi-detached house is tilted due to subsidence caused by the local, now-closed coal mining operations. Roughly estimating, the house leans about 2.5° (with a 3.5-meter (11.5-foot) room length, resulting in a height difference of approximately 15cm (6 inches) between opposite walls). The house tilts toward the front side.
I am now facing the challenging task of leveling the floors in the apartment before moving in. Previously, my grandmother lived there and solved the problem by placing beer coasters under the table legs, which is not really a solution I find satisfactory.
The original floors consist of a concrete slab with a wooden plank floor on top. The planks will be removed so I have free access for leveling.
The ground floor floors were leveled about 20 years ago, but with a cost-saving method. A carpenter removed the planks, installed wooden beams of varying thicknesses, leveled these with small wedges, and then screwed on chipboard panels. I am not satisfied with this solution either. Firstly, the wood settled and shifted, causing the floor to start creaking and squeaking after only a few years. Secondly, walking on the floor is very loud due to the resonance under the panels. Thirdly, even at the flattest point, the panels need to be supported by a beam, which raises the entire floor by the thickness of that beam.
To clarify upfront: I will completely redo the electrical wiring, so I would prefer a solution that allows me to lay the new cables directly in the floor.
Here are some ideas we have to solve the problem:
1.) Wood
Underlay with beams and wooden panels. Only as a last resort. This basically falls through for the reasons mentioned above (noisy, hollow, raised, shifts)...
2.) Concrete
Pour concrete in the room to level the floor. We have concerns about the structural load though. Is the weight of the concrete so critical that it might affect the floor below? The rooms are approximately 3.5 x 3.5 meters (11.5 x 11.5 feet). Given the estimated tilt, this would mean about 0.9 to 1.0 cubic meters (32 to 35 cubic feet) of concrete per room if I’m calculating correctly.
3.) Self-leveling screed
Pour liquid screed to level the floor. We were told this is only possible up to a thickness of 4 or 7 centimeters (1.5 or 2.75 inches) — I can’t recall exactly what the building materials supplier said. Is this true? Where does this limitation come from? Is it related to curing? If so, would it be possible to apply one layer, let it cure, then apply another layer, and so on? Or are there other reasons? What about the weight? Would we face similar structural issues as with concrete?
4.) Lightweight granules
A neighbor leveled his floors using some kind of unusual screed granules. These are very expensive and, according to the building materials supplier, need to be mechanically compacted above a height of 6 centimeters (2.4 inches). To save costs, the neighbor first leveled with polystyrene beads and then added a layer with these screed granules before laying wooden panels on top. I find it hard to believe this wouldn’t settle over time, as polystyrene is not that stable, right? It also seems very complex: multiple granule layers, compacting after each layer, then floating wooden panels with tongue and groove, additionally glued.
Does anyone have other ideas?
Regards
MrM
I plan to move back into the two-family house from the 1950s that has been in our family. Specifically, I will be living on the upper and attic floors.
This semi-detached house is tilted due to subsidence caused by the local, now-closed coal mining operations. Roughly estimating, the house leans about 2.5° (with a 3.5-meter (11.5-foot) room length, resulting in a height difference of approximately 15cm (6 inches) between opposite walls). The house tilts toward the front side.
I am now facing the challenging task of leveling the floors in the apartment before moving in. Previously, my grandmother lived there and solved the problem by placing beer coasters under the table legs, which is not really a solution I find satisfactory.
The original floors consist of a concrete slab with a wooden plank floor on top. The planks will be removed so I have free access for leveling.
The ground floor floors were leveled about 20 years ago, but with a cost-saving method. A carpenter removed the planks, installed wooden beams of varying thicknesses, leveled these with small wedges, and then screwed on chipboard panels. I am not satisfied with this solution either. Firstly, the wood settled and shifted, causing the floor to start creaking and squeaking after only a few years. Secondly, walking on the floor is very loud due to the resonance under the panels. Thirdly, even at the flattest point, the panels need to be supported by a beam, which raises the entire floor by the thickness of that beam.
To clarify upfront: I will completely redo the electrical wiring, so I would prefer a solution that allows me to lay the new cables directly in the floor.
Here are some ideas we have to solve the problem:
1.) Wood
Underlay with beams and wooden panels. Only as a last resort. This basically falls through for the reasons mentioned above (noisy, hollow, raised, shifts)...
2.) Concrete
Pour concrete in the room to level the floor. We have concerns about the structural load though. Is the weight of the concrete so critical that it might affect the floor below? The rooms are approximately 3.5 x 3.5 meters (11.5 x 11.5 feet). Given the estimated tilt, this would mean about 0.9 to 1.0 cubic meters (32 to 35 cubic feet) of concrete per room if I’m calculating correctly.
3.) Self-leveling screed
Pour liquid screed to level the floor. We were told this is only possible up to a thickness of 4 or 7 centimeters (1.5 or 2.75 inches) — I can’t recall exactly what the building materials supplier said. Is this true? Where does this limitation come from? Is it related to curing? If so, would it be possible to apply one layer, let it cure, then apply another layer, and so on? Or are there other reasons? What about the weight? Would we face similar structural issues as with concrete?
4.) Lightweight granules
A neighbor leveled his floors using some kind of unusual screed granules. These are very expensive and, according to the building materials supplier, need to be mechanically compacted above a height of 6 centimeters (2.4 inches). To save costs, the neighbor first leveled with polystyrene beads and then added a layer with these screed granules before laying wooden panels on top. I find it hard to believe this wouldn’t settle over time, as polystyrene is not that stable, right? It also seems very complex: multiple granule layers, compacting after each layer, then floating wooden panels with tongue and groove, additionally glued.
Does anyone have other ideas?
Regards
MrM
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