# Forum Home Renovation Demolition  Remove concrete floor in laundry ??

## Jelco

Our house has floor boards all the way through. The house was cut in half and transported to its new resting place before we bought it. There is 100mm
of concrete that sits on top of the jarrah floor boards in the laundry that I'd love to pull up because it's a step up from all the other floors. I'd like to 
remove the concrete and place that hardyplank type stuff over the floorboards and then tile it. Can anyone think of any reason why this would be a mistake ??

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## paddyjoy

Just watch out for asbestos in case they have nailed asbestos sheeting to the floorboards before laying the concrete.

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## Jelco

Thanks for the heads up. I will need to lower the laundry trough and toilet but I'll talk to a plumber so we won't 
be without them too long.

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## johnc

If the concrete is direct to the boards they may now contain rot. Not anything to stop you removing the concrete but you may need to factor in the possibility of lifting the boards and replacing with something like 19mm compressed fibre sheet rather than the overlay.

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## Jelco

Yeah I thought of using that. Is it easy to cut??  Do you need to treat it for wet areas?

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## Oldsaltoz

> Yeah I thought of using that. Is it easy to cut??  Do you need to treat it for wet areas?

  Cutting is pretty straight forward with and angle grinder but it's a dusty job. 
Because it's a floor with a cavity below it will need waterproofing over the new sheets and arounf the wall to floor joints, also a waterstop in the doorway. 
Also a good time to install floor waste as laundries are the most common cause of internal flooding according to Insurance providers. 
Good luck.

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## Bloss

mmm - I thought it was pretty obvious nowadays that using power tools to dry cut cement based sheets is not smart - in fact very dumb. :Frown:  
All dusts are dangerous and silica, aluminium hydroxide and others which are atomised when using power told such as regular saws and angle grinders are really nasty - as well as being substantial local irritants. 
If anyone intends cutting cementitious sheeting of any type, or tiles or other ceramics then either use score & snap or fibro cutters (if the material is able to be cut that way) or if powered use water-based dust suppressing gear or a full dust extraction system.   :2thumbsup:  
And use a blade designed for that use too eg: http://www.accessfasteners.com.au/pd...g%20Blades.pdf  
Even with dust extraction use goggles & masks. 
This Scyon guide is useful  http://scyon.com.au/products/downloa...TICE_FA_LR.pdf  
Your lungs, your life, your choice . . .  :Cool:

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## Draffa

> Our house has floor boards all the way through. The house was cut in half and transported to its new resting place before we bought it. There is 100mm
> of concrete that sits on top of the jarrah floor boards in the laundry that I'd love to pull up because it's a step up from all the other floors. I'd like to 
> remove the concrete and place that hardyplank type stuff over the floorboards and then tile it. Can anyone think of any reason why this would be a mistake ??

  I used a sledgehammer.
In my case, I had hardwood floor, over which was laid concrete, part of which was turned into a shower.  The shower was leaking and had rotted the floorboards out (and, as I later discovered, attracted whiteants).  After confirming with Asbestos removers that the shower recess was not asbestos sheeting, I pulled it down, then used a small sledge to crack all the tiles off the floor and thin layer of concrete under them that formed the shower.  Imagine my surprise to find under the concrete were more tiles and another layer of concrete.  Clearly the shower had leaked before and the solution was to just lay more over the top and hope the problem went away.  I cracked that out as well, and used a larger sledge to crack the floor itself into manageable pieces (difficult, as it was held together with chicken wire).  The loose pieces were simply shoveled through the hole in the floor where the shower had been (sitting on a piece of marine play that wasn't even nailed to the joists).  I cracked one joist in the process.  The rotted timber floor was replaced with cement sheeting of some kind that I can't remember.
Wear a mask.

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