My daughter's new house is an ex-council, 1950s three bedroom semi
on two floors.
On the ground floor, the hall, bathroom and kitchen have solid
floors, the adjacent lounge/dining room has a suspended
floor.
These parts have never been altered as far as I can see. Why
would it have been built like this?
On 31/07/2025 16:52, tim+ wrote:
My daughter's new house is an ex-council, 1950s three bedroom semi
 on two floors.
On the ground floor, the hall, bathroom and kitchen have solid
 floors, the adjacent lounge/dining room has a suspended
 floor.
These parts have never been altered as far as I can see. Why
 would it have been built like this?
 It's traditional: solid floor at the back with flags for the kitchen
with a big range, and scullery / bog; floorboards at the front where
your might want a rug.
My daughter's new house is an ex-council, 1950s three bedroom semi
on two floors.
On the ground floor, the hall, bathroom and kitchen have solid
floors, the adjacent lounge/dining room has a suspended
floor.
These parts have never been altered as far as I can see. Why
would it have been built like this?
On 31/07/2025 16:52, tim+ wrote:
My daughter's new house is an ex-council, 1950s three bedroom semi
on two floors.
On the ground floor, the hall, bathroom and kitchen have solid
floors, the adjacent lounge/dining room has a suspended
floor.
These parts have never been altered as far as I can see. Why
would it have been built like this?
Dunno, but my parents (1949) 3 bed semi council house had the same >arrangement.
On Thu, 31 Jul 2025 20:50:09 +0100, Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> wrote:
On 31/07/2025 16:52, tim+ wrote:
My daughter's new house is an ex-council, 1950s three bedroom semi
on two floors.
On the ground floor, the hall, bathroom and kitchen have solid
floors, the adjacent lounge/dining room has a suspended
floor.
These parts have never been altered as far as I can see. Why
would it have been built like this?
Dunno, but my parents (1949) 3 bed semi council house had the same
arrangement.
My small two-bed bungalow, built in 1959 has suspended floors in the
kitchen and sitting room, but solid floors in the hall and two
bedrooms. So it's not just prewar properties that have a bit of both.
I don't see the point of some of each.
On 31/07/2025 17:11, Nick Finnigan wrote:
On 31/07/2025 16:52, tim+ wrote:
My daughter's new house is an ex-council, 1950s three bedroom semi
 on two floors.
On the ground floor, the hall, bathroom and kitchen have solid
 floors, the adjacent lounge/dining room has a suspended
 floor.
These parts have never been altered as far as I can see. Why
 would it have been built like this?
  It's traditional: solid floor at the back with flags for the kitchen
with a big range, and scullery / bog; floorboards at the front where
your might want a rug.
Our first house was a 1930s house. On one of the many estates around
London built by Laing. Same thing. Solid kitchen floor. Suspended
elsewhere.
A really well built house, but the layout was not brilliant. Tiny
kitchen. Tiny bathroom. Large dining room, which was separate from the kitchen.
in 1951 my family moved into a newly built house. I don't know about
floor construction, but it had a hatch in the wall between kitchen and
dining room.
On 01/08/2025 07:59, John Armstrong wrote:
in 1951 my family moved into a newly built house. I don't know about
floor construction, but it had a hatch in the wall between kitchen and
dining room.
Our mid-60s bungalow has a hatch. I've often though of getting rid of
it, but it would take too much time, effort, and particularly expense. Anyway, it's almost entirely hidden behind the TV.
I guess that, as a "functional feature", they disappeared in the late
60s or perhaps early 70s.
On 01/08/2025 07:59, John Armstrong wrote:
in 1951 my family moved into a newly built house. I don't know about
floor construction, but it had a hatch in the wall between kitchen and dining room.
Our mid-60s bungalow has a hatch. I've often though of getting rid of
it, but it would take too much time, effort, and particularly expense. Anyway, it's almost entirely hidden behind the TV.
I guess that, as a "functional feature", they disappeared in the late
60s or perhaps early 70s.
Our mid-60s bungalow has a hatch. I've often though of getting rid of
it, but it would take too much time, effort, and particularly expense. Anyway, it's almost entirely hidden behind the TV.
I guess that, as a "functional feature", they disappeared in the late
60s or perhaps early 70s.
On 01/08/2025 07:59, John Armstrong wrote:
in 1951 my family moved into a newly built house. I don't know about
floor construction, but it had a hatch in the wall between kitchen and
dining room.
Our mid-60s bungalow has a hatch. I've often though of getting rid of
it, but it would take too much time, effort, and particularly expense. Anyway, it's almost entirely hidden behind the TV.
I guess that, as a "functional feature", they disappeared in the late
60s or perhaps early 70s.
In article <SNPiQ.1919$8Sla.1760@fx12.ams1>,
Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> wrote:
On 31/07/2025 16:52, tim+ wrote:
My daughter's new house is an ex-council, 1950s three bedroom semi
on two floors.
On the ground floor, the hall, bathroom and kitchen have solid
floors, the adjacent lounge/dining room has a suspended
floor.
These parts have never been altered as far as I can see. Why
would it have been built like this?
Dunno, but my parents (1949) 3 bed semi council house had the same
arrangement.
I suspect the reasoning behind this due to water use. The kitchen is likely to have water spilled on the floor, both from cooking and clothes washing, This would not be good for wooden floors.
Jeff Layman wrote:
Our mid-60s bungalow has a hatch. I've often though of getting rid of
it, but it would take too much time, effort, and particularly expense.
Anyway, it's almost entirely hidden behind the TV.
I guess that, as a "functional feature", they disappeared in the late
60s or perhaps early 70s.
My parents' 1968 house had a serving hatch, I remember the doors were inconvenient so it got bricked-up. Eventually the door between kitchen
and dining room was also bricked-up to allow a longer run of cabinets.
My daughter's new house is an ex-council, 1950s three bedroom semi
on two floors.
On the ground floor, the hall, bathroom and kitchen have solid
floors, the adjacent lounge/dining room has a suspended floor.
These parts have never been altered as far as I can see. Why
would it have been built like this?
Jeff Layman wrote:
Our mid-60s bungalow has a hatch. I've often though of getting rid of
it, but it would take too much time, effort, and particularly expense.
Anyway, it's almost entirely hidden behind the TV.
I guess that, as a "functional feature", they disappeared in the late
60s or perhaps early 70s.
My parents' 1968 house had a serving hatch, I remember the doors were inconvenient so it got bricked-up. Eventually the door between kitchen
and dining room was also bricked-up to allow a longer run of cabinets.
On 01/08/2025 10:43, Tricky Dicky wrote:
Jeff Layman <Jeff@invalid.invalid> wrote:We once had a hatch which was the right size for a cat to sit in it
On 01/08/2025 07:59, John Armstrong wrote:
in 1951 my family moved into a newly built house. I don't know about
floor construction, but it had a hatch in the wall between kitchen and >>>> dining room.
Our mid-60s bungalow has a hatch. I've often though of getting rid of
it, but it would take too much time, effort, and particularly expense.
Anyway, it's almost entirely hidden behind the TV.
I guess that, as a "functional feature", they disappeared in the late
60s or perhaps early 70s.
The last house my parents owned was a 1962 three bedroom semi with a
through lounge it too had a Serving hatch to the dining end of the
lounge.
This was quite convenient as otherwise it meant walking the full
length of
the corridor to access the lounge and then walking through the living
room
part to the dining area.
Our last house was a 1957 three bedroom semi originally, it had a solid
floor in what was originally the kitchen and suspended elsewhere. I do
not
know if it had a serving hatch as the wall between the original
kitchen and
dining room had already been removed before we moved in.
and warm himself in the heat of the radiator which was immediately
below it.
The cat would then be sick over the radiator fins which were almost impossible to clean, while the heat spread the aroma everywhere.
John
On 01/08/2025 10:14, Andy Burns wrote:Via the hall?
Jeff Layman wrote:
Our mid-60s bungalow has a hatch. I've often though of getting rid of
it, but it would take too much time, effort, and particularly
expense. Anyway, it's almost entirely hidden behind the TV.
I guess that, as a "functional feature", they disappeared in the late
60s or perhaps early 70s.
My parents' 1968 house had a serving hatch, I remember the doors were
inconvenient so it got bricked-up. Eventually the door between
kitchen and dining room was also bricked-up to allow a longer run of
cabinets.
so how did the food get from the kitchen to the dining room and how did
the dirty crockery and cutlery get from the dining room to the kitchen?
On 01/08/2025 10:14, Andy Burns wrote:
Jeff Layman wrote:
Our mid-60s bungalow has a hatch. I've often though of getting rid of
it, but it would take too much time, effort, and particularly expense.
Anyway, it's almost entirely hidden behind the TV.
I guess that, as a "functional feature", they disappeared in the late
60s or perhaps early 70s.
My parents' 1968 house had a serving hatch, I remember the doors were inconvenient so it got bricked-up. Eventually the door between kitchen
and dining room was also bricked-up to allow a longer run of cabinets.
so how did the food get from the kitchen to the dining room and how did
the dirty crockery and cutlery get from the dining room to the kitchen?
On Thu, 31 Jul 2025 20:50:09 +0100, Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> wrote:
On 31/07/2025 16:52, tim+ wrote:
My daughter's new house is an ex-council, 1950s three bedroom semi
on two floors.
On the ground floor, the hall, bathroom and kitchen have solid
floors, the adjacent lounge/dining room has a suspended
floor.
These parts have never been altered as far as I can see. Why
would it have been built like this?
Dunno, but my parents (1949) 3 bed semi council house had the same
arrangement.
My small two-bed bungalow, built in 1959 has suspended floors in the
kitchen and sitting room, but solid floors in the hall and two
bedrooms. So it's not just prewar properties that have a bit of both.
I don't see the point of some of each.
In article <106hqqd$843c$1@dont-email.me>,
Jeff Layman <Jeff@invalid.invalid> wrote:
On 01/08/2025 07:59, John Armstrong wrote:
in 1951 my family moved into a newly built house. I don't know about
floor construction, but it had a hatch in the wall between kitchen and
dining room.
Our mid-60s bungalow has a hatch. I've often though of getting rid of
it, but it would take too much time, effort, and particularly expense.
Anyway, it's almost entirely hidden behind the TV.
my parent's 1900ish house i Edinburgh had a substantial sized hatch. Good enough for children to hide in
I guess that, as a "functional feature", they disappeared in the late
60s or perhaps early 70s.
On 8/1/2025 10:14 AM, Andy Burns wrote:
Jeff Layman wrote:
Our mid-60s bungalow has a hatch. I've often though of getting rid of
it, but it would take too much time, effort, and particularly
expense. Anyway, it's almost entirely hidden behind the TV.
I guess that, as a "functional feature", they disappeared in the late
60s or perhaps early 70s.
My parents' 1968 house had a serving hatch, I remember the doors were
inconvenient so it got bricked-up. Eventually the door between
kitchen and dining room was also bricked-up to allow a longer run of
cabinets.
My grandparents' 1930s home in Edinburgh had a hatch with a single
sliding door.
On 31/07/2025 22:00, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Thu, 31 Jul 2025 20:50:09 +0100, Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> wrote:It's quite expensive to pour a full slab and if the size is large, it's
On 31/07/2025 16:52, tim+ wrote:
My daughter's new house is an ex-council, 1950s three bedroom semi
  on two floors.
On the ground floor, the hall, bathroom and kitchen have solid
  floors, the adjacent lounge/dining room has a suspended
  floor.
These parts have never been altered as far as I can see. Why
  would it have been built like this?
Dunno, but my parents (1949) 3 bed semi council house had the same
arrangement.
My small two-bed bungalow, built in 1959 has suspended floors in the
kitchen and sitting room, but solid floors in the hall and two
bedrooms. So it's not just prewar properties that have a bit of both.
I don't see the point of some of each.
also quite cold. And quite ugly.
On 01/08/2025 08:00, The Natural Philosopher wrote:
On 31/07/2025 22:00, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Thu, 31 Jul 2025 20:50:09 +0100, Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> wrote:It's quite expensive to pour a full slab and if the size is large,
On 31/07/2025 16:52, tim+ wrote:
My daughter's new house is an ex-council, 1950s three bedroom semi
  on two floors.
On the ground floor, the hall, bathroom and kitchen have solid
  floors, the adjacent lounge/dining room has a suspended
  floor.
These parts have never been altered as far as I can see. Why
  would it have been built like this?
Dunno, but my parents (1949) 3 bed semi council house had the same
arrangement.
My small two-bed bungalow, built in 1959 has suspended floors in the
kitchen and sitting room, but solid floors in the hall and two
bedrooms. So it's not just prewar properties that have a bit of both.
I don't see the point of some of each.
it's also quite cold. And quite ugly.
But its not done like that. The construction slab is only
rough-poured and only tamped to get it more or less
level. On top of this is about 100mm of screed which does
provide the necessary level floor. The screed has the sort
of consistency of the centre of an aero chocolate bar which
gives some insulation. All typically topped with Marley
'plastic' tiles stuck down with some sort of black
biutumastic goo.
In article <106ipbh$gos5$1@dont-email.me>,
SH <i.love@spam.com> wrote:
On 01/08/2025 10:14, Andy Burns wrote:
Jeff Layman wrote:
Our mid-60s bungalow has a hatch. I've often though of getting rid of
it, but it would take too much time, effort, and particularly expense. >>>> Anyway, it's almost entirely hidden behind the TV.
I guess that, as a "functional feature", they disappeared in the late
60s or perhaps early 70s.
My parents' 1968 house had a serving hatch, I remember the doors were
inconvenient so it got bricked-up. Eventually the door between kitchen
and dining room was also bricked-up to allow a longer run of cabinets.
so how did the food get from the kitchen to the dining room and how did
the dirty crockery and cutlery get from the dining room to the kitchen?
on a tray?
On 01/08/2025 10:14, Andy Burns wrote:
Jeff Layman wrote:
Our mid-60s bungalow has a hatch. I've often though of getting rid of
it, but it would take too much time, effort, and particularly
expense. Anyway, it's almost entirely hidden behind the TV.
I guess that, as a "functional feature", they disappeared in the late
60s or perhaps early 70s.
My parents' 1968 house had a serving hatch, I remember the doors were
inconvenient so it got bricked-up. Eventually the door between
kitchen and dining room was also bricked-up to allow a longer run of
cabinets.
so how did the food get from the kitchen to the dining room and how did
the dirty crockery and cutlery get from the dining room to the kitchen?
On 01/08/2025 12:24, S Viemeister wrote:
On 8/1/2025 10:14 AM, Andy Burns wrote:
Jeff Layman wrote:
Our mid-60s bungalow has a hatch. I've often though of getting rid
of it, but it would take too much time, effort, and particularly
expense. Anyway, it's almost entirely hidden behind the TV.
I guess that, as a "functional feature", they disappeared in the
late 60s or perhaps early 70s.
My parents' 1968 house had a serving hatch, I remember the doors were
inconvenient so it got bricked-up. Eventually the door between
kitchen and dining room was also bricked-up to allow a longer run of
cabinets.
My grandparents' 1930s home in Edinburgh had a hatch with a single
sliding door.
Parents 1956-built house on land they owned, had a serving
hatch as large as a 1 metre square window, with two
sliding glass doors in wooden frames, curtain-style.
The glass had an obscured wash-board effect and was presumably
not safety glass, so they were soon covered with 'Fablon'?
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