Hello everyone!
I'm in the process of renovating a new bathroom in a house built in 1975. The area is about 5 square meters, and the subfloor consists of a roughly 10 cm thick concrete slab with a basement below. The bathroom is located in one corner of the house and doesn't have any load-bearing walls directly beneath it. The house itself is a brick villa with wooden paneling on the gables, 1 1/2 floors with a basement.
Currently, there is a plastic mat in the bathroom. We will be installing tiles and klinkers, self-leveling compound, a bathtub, etc. When the plumber drilled up to replace the drain, a hole was drilled straight through the ceiling because there was so little concrete. And the reinforcement was barely there, there wasn't any reinforcement mesh but rather flat reinforcement bars scattered here and there, not sure on center but maybe 600 on center? It looks exactly like masonry reinforcement.
As I tend to worry unnecessarily and also lack knowledge of structural calculations, I suddenly got cold feet. What can a concrete slab in a house built in 1975 really withstand? I want to believe it can handle a lot, but I haven't managed to find any figures. Is there anyone in this forum with knowledge and expertise in the area who might help me feel a bit more at ease again? I'm afraid it will collapse. I would feel more at ease if there were reinforcement mesh, but now that we saw there was barely any reinforcement? Can a concrete slab really hold with little reinforcement? We cast concrete to fill the hole, about 40 cm in diameter.
I'm in the process of renovating a new bathroom in a house built in 1975. The area is about 5 square meters, and the subfloor consists of a roughly 10 cm thick concrete slab with a basement below. The bathroom is located in one corner of the house and doesn't have any load-bearing walls directly beneath it. The house itself is a brick villa with wooden paneling on the gables, 1 1/2 floors with a basement.
Currently, there is a plastic mat in the bathroom. We will be installing tiles and klinkers, self-leveling compound, a bathtub, etc. When the plumber drilled up to replace the drain, a hole was drilled straight through the ceiling because there was so little concrete. And the reinforcement was barely there, there wasn't any reinforcement mesh but rather flat reinforcement bars scattered here and there, not sure on center but maybe 600 on center? It looks exactly like masonry reinforcement.
As I tend to worry unnecessarily and also lack knowledge of structural calculations, I suddenly got cold feet. What can a concrete slab in a house built in 1975 really withstand? I want to believe it can handle a lot, but I haven't managed to find any figures. Is there anyone in this forum with knowledge and expertise in the area who might help me feel a bit more at ease again? I'm afraid it will collapse. I would feel more at ease if there were reinforcement mesh, but now that we saw there was barely any reinforcement? Can a concrete slab really hold with little reinforcement? We cast concrete to fill the hole, about 40 cm in diameter.
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There must be reinforcement closer than 60cm. If that's really the case, I would be worried.
now it is sealed but I do not know how it looks if it is as tight over the entire floor structure or just there because there are outlets there? The whole floor structure is built like this, so the kitchen, living room, and everything else are on the same level. But the bathroom will be heavy with tiles, tile floors, bathtub, leveling compound, etc.H hempularen said:
If you want a double-check, you need to know the supports for the bathroom and where they are positioned.