nsc Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 What's this about upstairs bathrooms in French houses always being problematic? We've been advised by numerous builders that we shouldn't put a bathroom upstairs unless we're prepared to also install a concrete floor. But surely the majority of British houses have upstairs bathrooms?Having said that, we've just bought a property in Northern France 'needing work' and it has an upstairs bathroom. At the weekend, I lifted the floorboards on the landing and in the bathroom to find out why the floor was 'wonky', only to find that under the bathroom floor, the joists were completely rotten due to water damage. So somewhere, I'm beginning to listen. So why doesn't it seem to be a problem in Britain, whereas it seems to be a problem in France. Has anybody else heard anything like this?Incidentally, we intend to keep the bathroom upstairs. We just want to know if there are any particular precautions we should take. Cheers Neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeb Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 oooooooh ah......never heard of this one!! Everyone I know (French and other nationalities) who has an upstairs, has a bathroom (or shower room) or several!!However, today our pipes are frozen to the kitchen and the bathroom above and we only have the one downstairs working.Ohh just a thought, maybe folks keep quiet about the upstairs ones to avoid taxes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lespearsons Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 In our house there is only one upstairs room with a concrete floor - the bathroom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 Yes a concrete floor is essential in France as French urine is highly acidic and rots through the wood, hence the reason that most Frenchmen pee outdoors.RegardsS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nsc Posted March 1, 2005 Author Share Posted March 1, 2005 Thanks, Simon,I rather suspected it was something like that! Neil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Babnik Posted March 1, 2005 Share Posted March 1, 2005 also British bathrooms tend to have carpets which absos some of it!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie15 Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 [quote]In our house there is only one upstairs room with a concrete floor - the bathroom.[/quote]Yep, same here.Whenever we've had bathrooms put in upstairs the builders ( French) have always laid a concrete floor first. They use that Styrobeton stuff( sp ??) mixed in with the concrete to make it lighter, insulating and soundproofing (!!!). The floor tiles can then be laid on top , it seems to work well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esperaza Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 Is this due to the earthen floors so favoured in France? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie15 Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 [quote]Is this due to the earthen floors so favoured in France?[/quote]This has always been where there are wooden floors Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nsc Posted March 2, 2005 Author Share Posted March 2, 2005 OK, thanks. That's the shape of it. I've been advised that if I MUST have an upstairs bathroom, I should install a concrete floor first. (... shoulders shrugged, eyes to the ceiling ...)The thing that I don't understand is why we don't do that with British houses. I've grown up in houses with upstairs bathrooms, have owned five houses in England with upstairs bathrooms (all with wooden floors, I should add) and have never had a problem. What's the difference? Am I missing something?At the end of the day, I'll take the local advice, but at the moment, I'm not sure why. nsc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Smith Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 Is it - if you want an upstairs bathroom AND you want a tiled floor? We have a wooden floor in our bathroom - and the ensuite. We just made sure there was a load-bearing wall under the bath. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceni Posted March 2, 2005 Share Posted March 2, 2005 So why is it so different in France then? We have one first floor bathroom with a concrete floor, the one that backs onto it will have a wooden floor and the second floor bathroom will have a wooden floor - with no supporting beam under the bath - mind we did build the whole floor so do know what it can support. Our first floor bathrooms in the UK never had anything but wooden floors and the walls were all plasterboard.Oh, one cold tiled bathroom floor is enough, not tiling the other two bathrooms, or carpeting them either (oh the thought of smelly horrid bathroom carpet YUCK) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted March 3, 2005 Share Posted March 3, 2005 A serious reply; I used 2 layers of 18mm marine quality chipboard and tiles on top. All is well.RegardsS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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