'RED ASH'
REMOVALs
Flooring Service
Our Trusted Building & Maintenance company
We have long worked with Charles Developments who cover the whole of the UK. Charles Developments are committed to providing quality general building and maintenance services which include 'red ash removal'. Their team of experienced professionals can handle anything from general maintenance to new builds, driveways, extensions, renovations, and HMO.
They continuously dedicate their-selves to ensure their clients receive the best possible service and are completely satisfied with the work they do, which is why we vote them the best in their game.
IDENTIFY
Red ash is an issue which could be found under your floors. As a byproduct of the pottery manufacturing process, ash (red & black) was used as a cheap and plentiful alternative hardcore when building houses post war.
If your property is located within certain areas of Staffordshire and was built in the 1940’s up until the 70’s, it could contain traces of “ash” within it’s perimeters.
Even if you do not plan to sell your property with red ash, it is important to resolve the matter before further structural damage is caused.
REMOVAL
The removal of red ash is no easy task and it could result in your property becoming temporarily inhabitable. The process will require whatever flooring you have to be removed, then you will need to break the concrete sub floor, this will allow access to the contaminated ground below where the ash is contained.
We would recommend to all readers that you explore the option of having a professional to carry out this process. We recommend Charles Developments to carry out this process for you.
INFILL
Now that the contaminated ground has been removed and your building control officer is satisfied (it is important for them to visit at every stage of the process) it is now time to infill the hole you have created.
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Check with your building control officer what their requirements are, usually the new flooring will consist of, a hardcore base typically around six inches deep, then a sand “blinding” layer, this will prevent the hardcore puncturing the next layer which will be a damp proof membrane (DPM). Next is the insulation (typically 100mm of rigid insulation board, the foil backed type), then ANOTHER layer of DPM, this keeps the insulation protected from the concrete layer.
WAIT
Your new concrete floor needs to be left to cure. You should, after 24 hours be able to walk on the floor, but it is advised that you wait a minimum of 28 days before tiling or installing any other form of flooring.
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The finished texture of your floor will be due to the quality of craftsmanship when smoothing the concrete with a float, water content and aggregate size can also play a factor.
You may find that before installing your finished flooring, a silicone based self levelling is needed to smooth out the surface.