Ready to hire?
Post your job in minutes, browse real reviews and choose who to speak to.Post a jobNeed some tips or advice?
Ask a questionCarpets, Lino & Flooring
Mystery Hard red floor in Victorian kitchen
Anonymous user 09/03/2024 - 3.33 PM
Hi, Really hoping someone could shed some light on what flooring material this may be and why there is a gap between floor and wall I have recently pulled up some old thin vinyl and found a pinky red hard solid floor underneath. This material is 20 mm thick, easily shattered with a chizzle and can be scratched with the head of a screwdriver. There are small dark grey flecks in it but no brown ones. It is completely intact with no bubbles/ blisters, there seem to be some lines in it as if it was poured in strips but this could have been where previous Kitchen units sat and indented it. That's the first query..what could it be? I googled and came up with mangesite (possible asbestos risk). Getting a damp meter to test electrical conduction today. I burnt a piece with a gas lighter and it just melted, turned soft and bubbled, no glow around the edges like id read. The second thing is the floor does not join the walls and there is a 1 in gully/ gap between where this red floor ends and the bricks. The stone flags/concrete whatever is under the red floor also seems to not be connected to the brick wall. In this gap is just damp earth and I can get about 6 inches down into it. This dampness extends to the first visible course of bricks where there's a build up of salts. There's an old dpc brick injection here and I believe the wall above that first course is tanked and cemented over. Is this gap normal? Should I just leave it be for water to evaporate? A damp guy said seal everything but I don't want to drive moisture up into currently dry walls. Sorry for the long one, help would be hugely appreciated thankyou!
Are you a tradesperson and able to answer this question?
1 Answer
Perfect floors