[emmv79]

Hi I live in a 1950s house and have wooden floorboards downstairs I lifted some of the boards and found damp mud is this normal as having trouble keeping the house warm. I have underlay and an axminster carpet and you have to sit with your feet up or they freeze why is this?

[scott53715]

Not normal. Is there concrete under the dirt? There needs to be some water (vapor) barrier under the wood; so the wood doesn't get moist and mold and rot ensues. There may be a big crack in your foundation or floor allowing water to take soil into your house. You need to clean-up the wet mud, repair your cracks, put down a proper concrete floor and then replace your wood. A wood floor over dirt hasn't been allowed since the log cabin days. Hope this was helpful.

[ma0641]

If you have dirt under the wood, you have drainage or leakage issues. If this continues you will have a lot of damage to repair. Is this on a slab or is this a basement?

[fredg]

My house was built in 1940, with many add-on rooms since then. The old flooring is on 2 x 6 boards, laid on concrete foundations all around the outside of the house. The flooring is open to the ground, on top of the 2 x 6's.
As far as I know, the ground underneath is dry. I can look through a window in the basement, into the bottom of part of the house, and it's dry.
I would talk with a contractor, and see about putting a barrier of some kind around the outside bottom of the house, to keep water from draining in from the front, sides, or back. Good luck. I am not a carpenter, contractor, or professional builder. This is just my own opinion of where I live.

[scott53715]

All crawl spaces should have a vapor barrier between dirt and living area. Something as simple as a sheet of plastic held down with gravel will do. All unheated crawl spaces should also be vented. Your local inspector/ building inspection department is there to give you the proper specs recognized in your area.