Property types · Gillingham, ME7
Fitting flooring in a Gillingham 1930s semi? Understand mixed floor construction, original parquet and level changes at hearths first.
Hearth levels, mixed subfloors and interwar-era screed or concrete without a damp proof membrane are the recurring practical issues in 1930s semis. None make flooring impossible, but each needs identifying before work starts.
Bungalows scattered around Parkwood give a single-storey layout with fewer stairs to negotiate, so this property type is often the quickest to fit despite the wider room-to-room flooring transitions involved.
Original skirting boards and door architraves in 1930s semis are often deeper than modern equivalents, which affects how a new floor covering meets them at the edges. Fitters typically allow for this when calculating expansion gaps and trim, rather than treating the room as a standard modern opening.
Bay windows, a feature of many 1930s semis, often sit on their own small run of joists or a stepped section of solid floor, and skirting or timber surrounds around them can mask a slightly different level. Fitters usually check this area separately rather than assuming it matches the rest of the room.
Where Gillingham has seen recent infill development, this property type sits on a screed poured within the last decade, meaning moisture readings usually settle faster than in older housing.
Where Gillingham has infilled former garden plots with additional dwellings, this property type sits on a smaller footprint, meaning room-by-room ordering matters more than it would on a larger house.
We reach Gillingham via the A2, and cover the wider ME7 district as part of our normal round.
Where suspended timber floors have not been covered with parquet, the original boards are frequently still there under carpet or old vinyl, sometimes with gaps or movement that has developed over the decades. These boards can usually be prepared for a new covering, but squeaks and springiness are worth investigating rather than masking.
Check original floorboards for gaps, movement or damp before deciding on preparation.
Confirm the floor beneath any removed chimney breast has been made good.
Identify any past repairs or altered subfloor sections in wet rooms.
Squeaks usually point to movement between boards and joists rather than a structural problem, and this can typically be addressed during preparation before a new floor covering is fitted.
The area beneath the old footprint is not always finished to match the surrounding floor, so it is worth confirming this has been made good before assuming the whole room is level.
Often yes, since plumbing and layouts in these rooms tend to be updated more than once over the decades, sometimes leaving patched sections of subfloor that differ from the rest of the room.
It can, if the conversion involved strengthening the floor structure to take additional loading, which is worth mentioning to your fitter when discussing an upstairs room.
These are our own installations in the county. They illustrate the type of work covered on this page rather than a particular job.
Postcode district ME7, Medway Council.
Whether keeping original parquet or fitting new flooring, a Gillingham 1930s semi needs its mixed construction understood first.
Bring flooring choices to life against your semi's actual rooms and finishes.