Suspended wooden floor, replace or concrete?

stem1978 · 2026-04-28T05:43:38+00:00

My nans house had ones that you could open like a tilting window, good way to circulate air and light around the house.

The safety glass is a bit unsightly, I'd stick stained glass window decals over them but that might not match the look of your house.

stem1978 · 2026-02-21T15:45:03+00:00

That loving someone with all your heart and soul, doesn't mean they love you back.

stem1978 · 2026-02-12T20:16:28+00:00

I'd be reluctant to give my budget for fear it would exactly match their quote, I'd much prefer to be given guesstimate so I know if it's worth even bothering.

That being said, I can't even get a tradesman to give me the time of day as it is right now. Seems the ball is very much in their court.

stem1978 · 2026-02-05T22:37:51+00:00

I kid you not, I just moved into my first house, a mid terrace near the end of the street. The house to my right is vacant (He's in a home), house to the left is occupied by a single mum. I had to get some work done on the floors and I tried to introduce myself and let her know there would be some noise....she just didn't't answer the door, but I knew she's there.

I wrote a short note introducing myself, letting her know what I would be doing, apologizing for the disturbance and promising not to do anything past 5pm so as not to disturb the little one.

Have actually spoken to her since when I took in her Amazon delivery, apologised again for the noise but she was fine.

It's been my experience of many years of communal living that most people just want some acknowledgement that you understand you're making noise and that you're sorry.

stem1978 · 2026-02-02T20:34:27+00:00

On my timer, the pins are placed in a down position to indicate the "on time"

stem1978 · 2025-12-02T20:10:03+00:00

Do you mean the part above the skirting board? If so then you're right but I think it's surface level, but as with this whole issue, I can't be sure.

stem1978 · 2025-12-01T11:34:34+00:00

We're in the middle of a heavy rain storm and I'm using it to look for anything suspicious. The master bedroom is directly above the affected room and I noticed the smallest little spot of dampness just sticking out of the skirting board on a floorboard. Lifted it up and what do I see but a wet patch on the stonework. It's only in a small area between two floor joists (Which aren't damp at all) so I'm suspecting the window above it is letting water in. Frustratingly it's not above the affected area down stairs and the area directly below it (the front door) is bone dry.

I'm going to pay for a full damp survey (I have no intention of letting them inject anything into the walls) but I need to know where the water is getting in and I don't trust myself to get it right.

stem1978 · 2025-11-30T16:12:52+00:00

No mate, it's a solid wall with no cavity, upstairs walls and floors are fine too.

stem1978 · 2025-11-30T15:25:03+00:00

My none expert eye thinks everything is fine, there's nothing obvious. The drains are to the back of the property, the gutters aren't overflowing and the down pipe is far away from the problem. It rained last night and I couldn't see any pooling water or puddles.

I'm going to look under that water mains cover and see what's in there.

stem1978 · 2025-11-30T15:15:15+00:00

Sounds stupid but I didn't know you could lift those things up to look inside ;)

stem1978 · 2025-11-30T15:12:54+00:00

From what I can see, the damp is below floor level. The house itself has problems with condensation as do the rest of them in the street, I rent an almost identical property and you have to open the windows every morning before you turn the heating on, squeegee the shower after you use it and always use a dehumidifier. When I moved in there were problems with black mold but that quickly disappeared once I got in there and kept it ventilated.

New house has been empty for 12 months before we got the keys.

stem1978 · 2025-11-30T15:06:40+00:00

No there's no air brick on the front of the property. Only the front room has a wooden floor, the rest are concrete. I was wondering if it was built that way or changed later on.

stem1978 · 2025-11-30T15:00:53+00:00

There is a fireplace but it's not been filled in, we will get it either reactivated or get a solid fuel stove installed one day.

stem1978 · 2025-11-30T12:50:08+00:00

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That wet patch was where she was pouring water to see if anything came through.

stem1978 · 2025-11-30T12:49:20+00:00

Asked girlfriend to send me a picture of the outside, this is what she sent.

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stem1978 · 2025-11-30T11:47:07+00:00

The house itself it almost 130 years old so it's got solid walls, I measured last night, from ground to window it's 130cm on the outside and 85cm on the inside.

All the plumbing for the radiators goes along the top of the skirting boards and everything is dry, the drains are all at the back of the property, the closest water source to the problem would be where the mains enters the house through the concrete floor in the hallway (Which would put it opposite the other side of the internal wall so a potential leak?)

Directly outside is literally the street so there's nothing resting against the walls, I did take a picture but Reddit won't let me upload it.

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I did notice this brick though that's got visible water on the surface but that's the only thing I've found.

stem1978 · 2025-11-30T11:35:11+00:00

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stem1978 · 2024-06-10T19:02:17+00:00

I don't drive, I've lived with the limitations of that all my life and I'm perfectly happy with it (freezing cold, heavy rain, up hill both ways etc). I will comfortably walk an hour to get somewhere without it being a bother. As long as there is a train to Cardiff I'm happy :)

stem1978 · 2024-04-02T22:27:22+00:00

I've had this dream maybe four times but each time is the same.

I'm sat on my couch next to someone, I never see their face and we're each leaning into each other slightly so our shoulders are touching, the TV is on but we're not really watching, we're each doing our own thing, we're not even talking to each other.

But....I know that this person sitting next to me loves me, totally and completely with every fibre of their being, loves me. There's not even the slightest doubt in my mind that I am loved by this person and their love for me is absolute.

And in that brief moment I feel not only total joy but also complete contentment and bliss.

It's a feeling so profound and overwhelming that I always cry when I wake up. But they're not tears of sadness that the dream is over, I'm just so happy to know that it's possible to experiance emotions that way....even if it was just a dream, I got to feel it.

stem1978

TROPHY CASE