Our house is steel frame with cement boards on the outside and plaster boards on the inside and insulation between the two.

On the first floor, we have a verandah. The floor layers are: steel frame, marine plywood, insulation and tiles. We had moved into the house in January 2009. Right after summer, when the temperature rose above 40 degrees centigrade, we have noticed that the tiles were becoming unglued. When the winter rains came the verandah floor started leaking into the bedroom below.

The contractor was called, he undertook to take off the tiles, redo the insulation and I had to pay again for new tiles to be installed. Guess what? The same problem all over again the following winter. Now, the ceiling of the bedroom is in bad need of repair (see photo attached).

The contractor was summoned again and he wants to take everything out again, place an 12 mm FCB layer, then a 4mm asphalt "cloth" and in doing so he wants to shorten the balcony doors by 10 cm - so that I would have to step up on the verandah rather than the floor, inside and out, be of the same level. Oh, by the way he is charging both for the fixing of the verandah problem and for redoing the ceiling of the bedroom.

Could I please have your input regarding the way the verandah floors are done in houses like mine in the US?

Thank you for your time.