Lowering floor

[MadProfessor]

Our Edwardian house has two different levels on the ground floor. The kitchen and dining room are about a foot lower than the 3 other ground floor rooms. We're considering lowering one of the reception room floors that is adjacent to the kitchen and dining room so that we can put in sliding door in between them to use as a family room.

The floor of the room we're considering lowering is the typical suspended wooden flooring: floor boards over joists on bricks. Is this going to be crazy expensive? Are there any downsides to this e.g. increased risk of damp or decay?

[C Lee Farquar]

It depends a bit on the structure of the floor. If they joists rest on sleeper walls then you reduce the height of the walls and use some PVC damp course to isolate your wall plate. If your joists bear into the walls then you'll need to build new sleeper walls.

There is a good chance your DPC will end up above floor level. You can fix some Newton Lath, or similar, between the DPC and floor and make good the plaster.

The most important aspect is that the timbers are isolated from the masonry to prevent rot.

[MadProfessor]

The joists rest on sleeper walls.

[Eddieslofart]

Where's the air bricks ?

[Murph7355]

Eddieslofart said:

Where's the air bricks ?

And any external ground levels generally.

I wouldn't alter this sort of thing personally. It's "character"

Are there no other solutions to your desire for a sliding door OP?