Residential floor finishes

The floor of the average house from 1400 to 1600 was little more than compacted earth, chalk or lime ash. In areas where the materials were available, stone flags and large clay tiles were laid directly on top of the earth. This was the flooring of choice throughout the period. The floors would have been affected by water rising through gaps in the joints during the winter months, and timber floors were often laid on top to keep the occupants clear of the floor. When, in later centuries, suspended timber floors became better detailed, the floor base level would have been dug out and lowered before the floor joists and boards were laid.

In a modern adapted house, the floor is very likely to be a combination of previously added and removed floors. The combinations of different floor designs can affect how the house attracts and disseminates moisture and water. Floors that are laid directly on earth with no form of compaction or base layer are relatively rare, but the original floor may not have been adapted fully to receive a modern timber or concrete floor, and poor compaction can be manifest in the cracking of concrete sub-floors.

Properties from this era did not have damp-proof membranes or damp-proof courses, and have probably survived because they remained dry enough without them, or could breathe because they were well ventilated. It could be as fundamental a mistake to conclude that rising damp is caused by a DPC failure as it would be to suggest that one is required.

There is also the potential of trapped moisture under a floor causing timber floors to rot. The most basic remedy is to introduce air-bricks into the external walls, to ventilate the floor void. However, this is not the approach of most modern remedies. These mainly work on the principle of blocking the moisture route completely, using chemicals or plastics. The practical reason why modern concepts are used is because they provide instant results and are widely available to homeowners and builders. It would be incorrect to be too dismissive of these processes, but remedies that are sympathetic to the whole structure will settle down better in the long term.