In a message dated 5/3/2003 7:37:54 PM Eastern Daylight Time, [log in to unmask] writes:
Sometime back...a long time back, I came across a floor leveling
plaster-like stuff that had been installed over historic plank flooring
to facilitate the installation of carpet. The movement of the boards
eventually broke up the leveling stuff in to a powder or granular sort
of stuff. I don't know what the stuff was but it was more like plaster
than concrete and had none of the resilience of a latex material.
John,
I think you're thinking of what we call "flash patch" in New York. I dunno exactly what the hell it is, or what it's official name is, but I suppose it's some sort of gypsum-based, uh, material with some other sort of, uh, material (probably cement, latex, and....) mixed in, that used to fill low spots before isntalling carpet of ceramic tile.
There's a product called Gypcrete that's used commercially for this sort of patching and fill; whether it's available in homeowner-sized quantities I don't know, but since Our Esteemed Friend is working in a kitchen, whatever he uses needs to be pretty water-resistant.
How about some of Cuyler's historic dirt?
Christopher, howzabout the following (if John and the rest of our colleagues approve, of course):
Mix up a little concrete to replace some of the cinder fill, and build up what amounts to a footing beneath the void. Extend a wooden sleeper (2x4 maybe?) beneath the wooden section of floor, then face screw (and/or better yet glue and screw) the new sleeper through the old floor. Then screw and glue a mouse's-asshole-tight fitting new wooden dutchman (maybe with soap or paraffin on the edges of the dutchman to prevent squeaks?) to fill in the void where the wall used to be.
Ralph