Black boards/laminate under carpet... what is it?

[5finger4head]

We are slowly doing up our “cottage” and there are many bodged jobs. In our dining room there is an awful brown carpet that I hate and it’s pretty well worn. We’re having new radiators fitted so we’ve decided to give the room a lick of paint.

Underneath the carpet is this black layer (see pictures). What is it? It’s not cold to the touch. We wonder whether the carpet was put in for warmth, as when we first moved in it was very draughty. We’ve since put in new windows and doors.

My idea is to get rid of the carpet. Reveal what’s underneath and paint it. But I’m mindful that there may be a reason it’s there.

I’m currently on maternity leave so have a lot of time to ponder this! Any ideas very welcome.

It's just underlay isn't it?

Have you looked under it?

@ViperAtTheGatesOfDawn no it’s not underlay; it’s under the underlay if you get what I mean?

It's the same stuff you line roofs with, probably to reduce draughts...

@Tangledtresses ah bugger so not usable as an actual flooring?

Oh no they look like boards be careful they might have asbestos in them! I'd do some research and get them tested...

@Tangledtresses I’ve just looked that up. It’s not one sheet it looks like tiles up close.

Draught excluder/ insulation? Suspect it's been put there to help the room retain heat.

The house was built in 1903 so potentially not asbestos?

@CheshireCats I think you may be spot on. Looked up black floor insulation tiles and it came up with something similar.

Could be old Marley tiles, do they feel like brittle ‘plastic’ rather than ceramic?

www.acmremoval.co.uk/services/marley-tile-removal

They are a bastard to get up, we had our kitchen floor skimmed instead but there are visible tiles in the pantry.

@GenderApostate19 I’m taken hostage by my sleeping baby upstairs at the moment but I’ll go and have a look later. I guess even though the property was build in 1903 they could have been put down during the time these were popular. Being completely thick but what do you mean just skimmed instead? I understand skimming in terms of plastering but not flooring. We only really want to spruce up the room as the long term plan is to remove part of the wall that leads to the kitchen/utility rooms.

Ok they definitely don’t feel like plastic. They feel like wood or similar material.

We had a kind of plasticised self levelling screed put down over ours. We then had glued vinyl planks put down about 15 years ago but now have laminate/lvt down on top.

They don’t date from anywhere as remotely old as 1903!! Someone has used the tiles as an insulation underlay, you would be able to put another floor over then but would be mad to consider them “flooring”.

They look like a plasticy fybreglass kind of thing

@Onjnmoeiejducwoapy I wasn’t saying they were from 1903; I was meaning they can’t be anything original as they’re too new and were put down later.

We wouldn’t use them as “flooring” if that’s not their purpose. Just knowing what they are helps us plan what to do and not just rip the carpet up with next steps in mind.

I would probably want to get an opinion on whether they have asbestos. They look around the right sort of age for that

!! They look exactly, and I mean exactly like my asbestos tiles in my house. !!

Please get them tested before you break them/release fibres in any way.

These are what mine that were asbestos looked like.

@1990s thanks for the pic and info. We would definitely get them tested first. You’re right they look very similar. I don’t think we would even move them. Just go over the top like the owners that put the carpet in have. How much does it cost to get it tested and/or removed?

Ours had carpet over and we wanted to just put carpet over again but someone had helpfully nailed the gripper rod into them and cracked them, so we had them removed.

As I understand it if they’re undisturbed they’re low risk and you can just glue carpet grippers onto them.

To get them removed we found a registered company through ARCA I believe. I don’t remember the exact cost but around a thousand for three largish rooms I think?

Thanks @1990s. We’re just about to start weaning our second child so the thought of a new carpet seems silly 🙃 we’ve got the chap who did our carpets upstairs coming to have a look tomorrow so hopefully he can shed some light on it and give us some options.

So just an update. The person who fits our carpets has come and had a look. He inspected the bit near the front door which seemed to had dropped and it’s polystyrene then chip board then painted black on top. Any idea what the black paint will be?

Hmmm weird. Honestly what I would do is just get a bit of it tested for asbestos (think you can do it for £100ish from memory) then you’ll know.

If it’s definitely not you can merrily rip it up