What is the typical structure/materials of a kitchen floor?

Normally 30 to 50 mm of soft screed depends on property age , you should be able to run water pipe in there , if there are air bricks below doc it’s likely to be block and beam if not solid 4” oversite but without inspection impossible to say

Hi As your kitchen floor is as you say solid, it will most likely be sand and cement screed on a concrete slab. This method of construction means that you are in a newer house as older homes were timber joists throughout. The additional option to this is beam and pot, concrete beams spanning the foundations with clay pots laid on a ridge in between. There will not be any joists anywhere in the floor. The sand and cement screed should be approximately 100 mm thick and may contain a chicken wire mesh, this is sometimes used to help the screed hold together especially in areas of high foot traffic or heavy loads. The concrete under the screed could be of two types and it is impossible to tell which until it is exposed. The first type is concrete poured in situ, this should be approximately 150 mm thick unless there were any special ground conditions, this slab will contain re bar. The second type could be a bison slab which are large pre cast concrete slabs spanning the room to foundation walls. Unsure why you are asking this question so a little more information, if you are looking to break a hole through the slab or drill into it then you may well hit re bar. If you suddenly find a hollow then you are in either a bison slab or a beam slab. One major concern though, if it is a concrete slab poured in situ there will be a DPM under it (damp proof membrane), this must not be damaged, its job is to stop ground water rising through the slab. Whatever your reason for asking I would recommend before starting any work asking a professional to do an exploratory hole under or behind a cabinet to ascertain the actual construction of the slab. Best of luck IPS

Depends on age and location of property but typically if it’s 30-40 years old or under and on ground floor it should be between 2” & 4” of concrete built onto insulation boards with dpc underneath, older than that there won’t be insulation, it will be concrete on top of hardcore. It is possible to cut a channel into concrete but always fit a barrier between this and any pipe work. If it’s above ground floor or ground floor is higher than a couple of steps from outside ground level then it could be a layer of concrete built onto concrete ‘h’ beams and yes, there should be rebar in all applications. Hope this helps