How are flats built re floors?

leaskovski

leaskovski

leaskovski

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Ok, so a purpose built flat, built in the late 80s (88). How typically do you think these would be built?

The reason I am asking is that our flat appears to have a water leak, well, the laminate and ply flooring as appeared to have bowed and a dark mould like substance has appeared between the ply and laminate.

The flat in question is a top floor flat, and I would assume the floor underneath is concrete? Is that most likely? Would it even be possible to run a pipe in a concrete floor such as that?
 
Ah, so that it would be possible to run a pipe through that then. Sounds to me like this isn't our problem and is the building management firms issue.
 
Could be beam and slab with precast pretensioned beams and lightweight infill blocks between.
 
how is it our leak when it isn't from one of our pipes? The pipes that supply our flat come in via a different location in the flat and are all visible once they enter the flat (run behind cupboards and bath.
 
I wouldn't have though that there would be anyone else's pipes in your flat. The only time I'd expect a leak from someone else to affect you (especially in a top floor flat) would be if it was adjacent to a service riser or adjacent to another flat.

That said, when water leaks, it can sometimes track quite a way before it appears.

Is the affected area adjacent to (an)other flat(s) or against an exterior wall?
 
john_s said:
I wouldn't have though that there would be anyone else's pipes in your flat. The only time I'd expect a leak from someone else to affect you (especially in a top floor flat) would be if it was adjacent to a service riser or adjacent to another flat.

That said, when water leaks, it can sometimes track quite a way before it appears.

Is the affected area adjacent to (an)other flat(s) or against an exterior wall?
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Sound's like it's in his floors, so definitely unusual if its the flat's below's pipes; but still possible!
 
leaskovski said:
Ok, so a purpose built flat, built in the late 80s (88). How typically do you think these would be built?

The reason I am asking is that our flat appears to have a water leak, well, the laminate and ply flooring as appeared to have bowed and a dark mould like substance has appeared between the ply and laminate.

The flat in question is a top floor flat, and I would assume the floor underneath is concrete? Is that most likely? Would it even be possible to run a pipe in a concrete floor such as that?
Click to expand...

Yes it would. Many flats had pipe ducts and hot air blower ducts cast into the concrete floors. Others have actual shuttered ducts that run throughout the property that are covered with either wooden or metal plates. Inside are often the pipework for radiators. Generally, in purpose built flats there will be central sevice risers running up the entire structure that all of the services to each flat branch off. They tend to enter the property through the kitchen or bathroom somewhere (or both).

Trouble with water is it migrates and locating the source can be difficult. It may be a pipe on the wall that is leaking and the water is pooling into the floor. It could be the waste pipe from the bath/shower that is leaking, or any sinks.

Without seeing the layout of the pipework and services it would be hard to comment further. It could be a radiator is leaking, so I would check those.

It could be that the roof or rainwater goods are failing and letting in water. If you have any risers containing the rainwater goods for the roof, the water could be coming down the riser and saturating the concrete slab floor causing damp.

Theres loads of ways a concrete floor can get damp but mostly it involves water ingress from somewhere!
 
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BuffetSlayer said:
Many flats had pipe ducts and hot air blower ducts cast into the concrete floors. Others have actual shuttered ducts that run throughout the property that are covered with either wooden or metal plates.
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Or Asbestos, but by the late 80s this was mostly not the case - but be careful :)
 
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