Carpets, Lino & Flooring

Rotten floor boards and joists - repair/replace or lay a screed floor?

Anonymous user 09/03/2024 - 2.48 PM

We have an old Victorian terrace house and are having the kitchen moved to a new room at the moment. When the laminate from the old kitchen was lifted we found out that about 6 floor boards were rotten with damp and from a water leak and at least parts of 2 joists were 'spongy' too. The joists lay on top of soil (I've read that's usual for houses of this age) with a thin membrane on top which the floor boards were placed on. The room isn't very big - probably 12feet x 9 feet. The floors of the rooms leading from the room with the rotten joists are concrete and I was hoping for some advice on what to do with the damaged flooring: 1. Would it be possible to remove the joists and floor boards and lay floor screed? I'm worried about ventilation - the room has one external wall with which the ground is level with the room's floor so an air brick wouldn't be possible. The other 3 walls are internal. I think we'd lay laminate on top of the screed. 2. Have someone come and repair the joists and lay new floor boards. I imagine there would need to be some damp proofing put in underneath the joists? Which do you think is the better option? Thanks in advance for any advice you might have! Wes