Flooring & Tiles Across South Wales

The oldest streets were laid out for the coal and metal ports, and terraces are what they left: the commonest house type in the capital, and second only to semis in the city to the west. Ownership runs above seven in ten in two of these towns, while in the steel town more than a third of homes are rented.

Under the terraces the ground floor is boards over a void, in four of these towns rather than one, and a century of movement means levelling comes before any covering. Where the streets climb, the lowest floor was often laid with no membrane beneath it, so a damp-proof coat and a screed can cost more than the covering itself. Testing finds that; looking does not.