What exactly is causing the damp and how is it coming up through the floor?

I do think you can remove the parquet, because you can cut it at the wall and put a skirting board in front of it, then you won't see it. That would leave you with a concrete floor to lay whatever you want on.

Obviously you do have the damp issue, so I just wondered what was causing it?

The water table is really high in this part of Wales, and the land behind is higher. Mainly, the house is essentially a great big bomb proof bunker (literally, even down to once having the air raid siren on it and a suspected filled in raid shelter) with early 40's construction. The walls are immensely thick solid brick, slate damp course, and the floor an enormous deep concrete floating slab. I have to say it is the most difficult construction to work with that Ive come across.

Apart from resorting to some tanking measures, inserting dry rod damp course at the back, great measures to landscape and control exterior surface water, and paying particular attention to ventilation, damp is not causing issue any more... but this is also why I take particular heed in receiving advice that closing the floor with LVT could possibly "create" an issue :(

this is going to be the bathroom floor... I figured that the space the parquet releases will allow a bit more room for UFH. Cutting the parquet is easier said than done. The only way is to laboriously chisel it as saws cannot get close enough or burn up the wood, hit the concrete etc. The walls are also going to need to become supporting. This area is cleared to build a supporting pillar.

Thank you , another tool to add to the arsenal. The chisel did the job for the pillar area but I'll need that for the rest of the room.

So do you take stock in what the "flooring guy" said about LVT not allowing the floor to breathe enough?

I would agree, because it's glued down lino basically made from a non-breathable product unlike wood. Could you consider some sort of tanking product on the floor to keep the damp out? Not my specialty i'm afraid, but works in basements and wet rooms, so I can't think why it couldn't be applied in your case.

I presume the concern with tanking the floor is it will send the damp up the walls.

Clay tiles (unglazed) are breathable. Amore rustic look though. Perhaps natural linoleum, or cork? again would have to be unsealed, oiled may be ok though

Be aware that if you have moisture coming up through the floor, any flooring is likely to end up with a bit of uneven colouring and may get white “bloom” from salts. So something a bit more rustic may work better anyway

alternatively if you have lots of spare ceiling height you could consider a suspended floor with air ventilation under?

Yes minipie, that's precisely the concern, the walls are still drying out to this date in some areas. It is the intention to tank the bathroom, but this is a small area in a not so risky spot having only one short exterior wall. It will have both a radiator and towel radiator and extra vents whether it gets a warm floor to boot or not

.... but this isnt my concern, the other nearly 65 square meters of matching floor covering, and the sheer cost of it is!

I dont mind rustic, but the use of cork or lino concerns me in terms of being hard wearing enough, and clay tile sounds pricey but I shall have a look at that.

I looked at Hessian, sisal... but Ive never lived with those types of floor. I've seen some say theyre hard to get stains out and I'm concerned that it would latch onto husky hair.

This looks alright: http://www.corkfloor.co.uk/floor/GNVICELAND.aspx , nearly £4k (+++) without fitting or the accessories though. But it's "VinylCork" ... that's still coated and looks the same problem as LVT?!

http://www.corkfloor.co.uk/floor/GNCCLSWHITE.aspx at a start of just under 2.5K (+++), which would do the job. ... but this also poses the question regarding it's "weartop" coating which is the thing that makes it any use at all for the durability I am looking for...

I'm lost... I honestly cant live another 3 years with bare cold floors that look an absolute mess :( At this point, I'll whack £2.99 carpet in and sell the place

Have you got the depth to put floorboards down? I'm guessing yes as the parquet was 1" thick. Floorboards are a great cheap option, breathable, varnish them, easy to hoover, easy to mop, look great. I did this in a couple of my older properties where the floors were knackered, infact, I went straight over one floor with a new one to save time taking the old one up.

This was one of the old reclaimed floor straight over existing.

Here's another

I finished that one in Fiddes Hard Wax oil...........the tenant in there has a dog, and the floor copes well.

In the effor to not take up the parquet which includes digging up a mixture of screed, OSB, floor leveller, tile, even quarry tiles, trying to avoid any lips or steps, I'm wrapping my head around lino vs vinyl, and see that linoleum is available as a natural composition rather than such as LVT which has a plastic/vinyl top layer where the crucial problem is.

I think the "natural linoleum" may be the difference I need, however, this turns my attention to underlay and adhesives. I would like to avoid anything which is or contains dense fiberboard as this sounds like yet another moisture trap to me.

I looked in to this and although Linoleum ( marmoleum ) is made from natural products I don't believe it's breathable - I found a link on forum where a chap had made enquiries in to bamboo and linoldeum and his thread said:- "From enquiring to a company about Linoleum (specifically Marmoleum) compatibility with a limecrete floor I received this response "Certain sub-floor requirements are needed to make the installation successful, but the product isn’t breathable that is why it is referred too as a resilient floorcovering" Seeming ruling out the use of linoleum."

Also, you can only lay them on flat, solid surfaces such as concrete or screed., so I'm not sure that it will suit your combi floor surfaces.

You go for it Rose, well done, glad you've got a solution. x

Hi Rose,

Hoping you see this. My situation is almost identical to yours (high water table, not wanting to seal floors for risk of water tracking up walls etc). But trying to decide whether LVT is going to cause issues or not.

Please could you share if your project worked/any issues you came across?

Thank you

Elliott

Hi! I also have the exact same dilemma. Can i ask how you got on with LVT? did it cause any further issues?

thanks…

Niki

Hi Nicki Also been making the decision on my floor in house 600 years old, I have decided on unsealed cork floors, finished with micro porous oil. Ty Mawr lime in wales has a good selection of products.