From the outset Interior Screed™ has been a floor screeding company associated with shaking up established norms. The combination of our unparalleled screed knowledge, our rigorous quality control coupled with our determination to help you find the perfect floor screeding product for each individual contract makes Interior Screed™ your trusted outsourced floor screeding contractor
Screeding Processes & General Information
Traditional sand and cement screeds are basically consists of sand & cement mixed at a ratio of between 3:5 parts sand and 1 part cement. In the majority of cases 4:1 is quite sufficient.
In the past reinforcement was achieved by using Hex wire (chicken wire) or D49 mesh. In the early 90’s Polypropylene Fibres (PPF) started to become very popular, and today PPF is the most commonly used reinforcement for traditional floor screed.
Traditional floor sand cement screed drying times vary according to the weather conditions, depth and manufacturers admixtures used.
Installation Process
Traditional sand cement floor screed is applied with a straight-edge, wooden / plastic float and finished with a trowel or powerfloat. The basics are to find four level points, level between two with the straight-edge, level between the opposite two, and pull off between the ‘screeds’ with the straight-edge, to find a flat area. Screed can be either pumped into the building or wheel barrowed.
Screed Systems and Materials Installed
Fully bonded sand cement floor screeds need to be laid on a shot-blasted / scabbled concrete base, and be bonded using an adhesive such as PVA, SBR, epoxy resin or a cement slurry.
PVA glue is a good screed adhesive especially if it is mixed with water & cement, to make a slurry. If the concrete base is primed the day before with PVA & water mixed, then a slurry applied prior to screeding, then it is quite reasonable to expect screed to fully bond at just 25mm thick.
SBR has approximately the same characteristics as PVA, but it is not water soluble after drying, and so is recommended around wet areas, such as swimming pools.
Epoxy resin, such as Isocretes’ M-bond’ allow sand cement floor screeds to fully bond at depths as little as 15mm. It is quite an expensive system, but has many advantages over other bonding agents. One such advatage is that if two-coats of epoxy resin are applied (one 12-24hrs before the second coat & screeding), then the epoxy resin acts as a top end DPM.
Cement makes a reasonable bonding agent if there is reasonable depth of at least 50mm. A good slurry must be formed using water, and must be brushed in thoroughly and any drying spots must be kept damp as sand cement screed is applied. Always a good idea to damp the concrete slab the day before.
Partially bonded sand cement floor screeds are a cheap alternative to doing the job properly, and have the added risk of the floor screed failing, because at depths less that 50mm, the screed can start to break up if the bond to the concrete is lost. This system is only used when people are tryin to save money, and sometimes bonding agents like PVA & SBR are still used, but they are still at high risk from failing due to the slab not being shot-blasted or scabbled.
Unbonded sand and cement floor screeds as the name suggest are not bonded directly to the concrete base, but are intentionally de-bonded with the use of a DPM (damp-proof membrane). The advantage is that any cracking from the sub-base is not carried through to the screed, drying times can be reduced by omitting the concrete drying time. All walls and pillars must be lined with edging foam or 20mm insulation, such as kingspan, to protect against shrinkage cracking.
Floating floor screeds are laid on insulation to provide an insulated floor area. All walls and pillars must be lined with edging foam or 20mm insulation, such as kingspan, to protect against shrinkage cracking. This system is the most commonly used in house building, especially with underfloor heating systems. There is very little difference between unbounded and floating screeds. high-impact insulation such as extruded polystyrene can give the same levels of rigidness on floating screeds as you would expect from unbonded screeds
Polymer Modified floor screeds – There are three main types of polymer modified screed which are in use today, fast-drying, fast-set, and polymer modified screed.
Fast-drying floor screeding such as Isocrete-K-Screed’,and Tarmac’ Truscreed’, use super-plasticisers to reduce the amount of water needed to make the screed mixture plyable, this in turn makes for a fast drying time as there is a higher cement to water ratio. The drying times for both these systems is around 4mm per day.
Rapid-set floor screed such as Ardex Ardurapid and Isocretes screedfast rely on aluminium based cement to accelerate the setting process. This type of screed tends to be foot traffickable after an hour or two, and is usually dry within 2 days. This type of system is useful in fast track retail fit outs etc.
Polymer modified floor screed is a standard mix with PVA or SBR added in large amounts to create a gluey screed. When set these types of screed are resistant to water and other chemicals, they also allow floor screeds to be thinner than non-polymer modified screeds.
Flowing screeds can have cement or calcium sulphate based binder agents. Calcium sulphate screed falls into the two catergories of Anhydrite / Alpha hemihydrite. Both systems allow for large areas to be completed over a short amount of time. Advantages over traditional screed is that flowing screeds can finished quickly and they can be laid unbonded/floating to an average of 40mm in commercial areas, with 35mm being acceptable in domestic environments. Disadvantages are that they have less crush resistance and suffer massively if regularly gets wet, and even worse flooded. Flowing screeds cannot be worked to find falls in wet rooms and need extra preparation with respect to tiling the surface (This information is within the printed literature of our suppliers products). Often called various names including underfloor heating screeds, gyvlon screeds, liquid underfloor heating screeds, screeds over underfloor heating, UFH screed, flowing under floor heating screeds are all generally the same type of product and all are perfectly suited to underfloor heating applications.
It may be worth considering the location of your flowing screed installation. As mentioned flowing screeds do not cope well with immersion in water. Should the property be susceptible to flooding it may be worth considering a traditional sand:cement screed which would have a better chance of witholding the force of the insulation below, trying to float.
Granolithic polymer modified floor screeds can be polymer modified with SBR or PVA, to give absorbant resistance and extra bond. Although Granolothic screeds have been phased out by our suppliers we are able to offer suitable alternative high strength screeds.
Areas in the UK Covered:
Liverpool, Birkenhead, Bootle, Widnes, Warrington, Knowsley, Crosby, Southport, St Helens and Kirkby, Chester, Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield and Wilmslow Blackpool, Blackburn, Preston, Burnley, Fleetwood, Lancaster and Wigan, Lancashire, Preston, Manchester, Warrington, Oldham, Bury, Salford, Stockport, Warrington, Bolton and Rochdale, Carlisle, Penrith, Barrow-in-Furness, Kendal, Windermere, Ulverston, Bowness, Keswick, Whitehaven, Workington and Cockermouth, East Riding of Yorkshire including Beverley, Hull, Cottingham, Driffield, Pocklington, Bridlington, Goole and Howden, East Yorkshire, Hull, North Yorkshire including Whitby, Harrogate, Skipton, Selby, Ripon, Scarborough, Northallerton, York and Knaresborough, Yorkshire, York, South Yorkshire including Doncaster, Sheffield, Barnsley and Rotherham, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire including Leeds, Wakefield, Huddersfield, Halifax and Bradford, Wakefield, Leeds, Northamptonshire including Kettering, Corby, Wellingborough, Towcester, Rushden, Daventry, East Midlands including in Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Derbyshire, East Midlands including in Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire including Leicester, Loughborough, Coalville, Hinckley, Market Harborough, Oadby and Lutterworth, Nottinghamshire including Mansfield, Nottingham, Worksop and Newark-on-Trent, Lincolnshire including Skegness, Grantham, Stamford, Spalding, Grimsby, Scunthorpe, Lincoln, Gainsborough, Cleethorpes and Boston, Derbyshire including Glossop, Derby, Chesterfield, Ashbourne, Buxton, Matlock, Ilkeston, Swadlincote and Alfreton, Nottingham, Leicester, Kent including Ashford, Maidstone, Tunbridge Wells, Edenbridge, Dartford, Folkestone, Dover, Ramsgate, Margate, , Sussex, Surrey, Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, Hampshire including Basingstoke, Portsmouth, Southampton, Winchester, Farnborough, Waterlooville, Eastleigh and Aldershot, East Sussex including Hastings, Eastbourne, Brighton, Lewes, and Bexhill, West Sussex including Midhurst, Chichester, Bognor Regis, Worthing, Crawley and Billingshurst, Surrey including Guildford, Dorking, Woking, Epsom, Farnham, Horley, Reigate and Ewell, Oxfordshire including Bicester, Chipping Norton, Oxford, Banbury, Abingdon, Witney and Didcot, Berkshire including Reading, Maidenhead, Bracknell, Ascot, Slough, Windsor, Newbury, Hungerford and Wokingham, Buckinghamshire including Bletchley, Milton Keynes, Aylesburys, Princes Borough, High Wycombe, Marlow, Bourne End, Chesham, Gerrards Cross and Buckingham, Portsmouth, Brighton, East including in Hertfordshire, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire including Potters Bar, Watford, Borehamwood, Hemel Hempstead, Hitchin, Hertford and St Albans, Essex including Halstead, Chelmsford, Basildon, Brentwood, Southend-on-Sea, Colchester and Epping, Cambridgeshire including Peterborough, St Ives, Huntingdon and Cambridge, Suffolk including Bury St Edmunds, Lowestoft, Newmarket, Stowmarket, Ipswich, Framlingham, Aldeburgh and Southwold, Norfolk including Norwich, Downham Market, Cromer, Great Yarmouth, Kings Lynn and Sandringham, Bedfordshire including Bedford, Biggleswade, Leighton Buzzard, Dunstable and Luton, Somerset including Glastonbury, Ham Hill, Barwick, Yeovil, Dunster, Weston-super-Mare, Bath, Taunton, Cheltenham, Wotton, Tetbury, Circencester, Moreton,Chipping Campden, Lydney, Coleford and Bristol, Congresbury, Winscombe, Backwell, Winford, Dundry, Portishead and Barrington, Teignmouth, Newton Abbot, Plymouth, Totnes, Okehampton, Tiverton, Exeter, Axminster, Dartmouth and Exmouth, Wiltshire including Salisbury, Chippenham, Swindon, Trowbridge and Warminster, Dorset including Weymouth, Portland, Swanage, Bridport, Charmouth, Dorchester, Bournemouth, Verwood, Wareham and Christchurch, St Mawes, St Ives, Truro, Launceston, Lands End, Bodmin, Tintagel and Newquay, Bristol, Plymouth, North East including Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland, South Tyneside and North Tyneside, Northumberland including Morpeth, Prudhoe, Ponteland, Hexham, Ashington and Bewick upon Tweed, County Durham including Durham, Consett, Peterlee, Middlesborough, Darlington, Barnard Castle, Bishop Auckland and Hartlepool, Newcastle, Sunderland, Staffordshire including Burton-upon-Trent, Stoke-on-Trent, Tamworth, Lichfield, Uttoxeter and Leek, West Midlands including in Shropshire, Hereford, Worcester, Warwickshire and Staffordshire, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwick, Kenilworth and Rugby, Worcestershire including Great Malvern, Redditch, Kidderminster, Evesham and the Cotswolds, Hereford, Leominster, Ross on Wye, Ledbury and Wye Valley, Shropshire including Shrewsbury, Oswestry, Telford, Bridgnorth, Ludflow, Market Drayton and Church Stretton, Birmingham, Stoke on Trent, Greater London including Islington, Bexley, Bromley, Sutton, Havering, Ealing, Brent, Harrow, Enfield, Camden, Greenwich, London including in Greater London, South West London and Central London, Central London including Shoreditch, Southwark, Walworth, Butlers Wharf, Soho, Maryleborne, South Kensington, Paddington, Malda Vale and Islington. Fulham, Putney, Brixton, Wimbledon, Merton, Chelsea, Tooting, Streatham and Mortlake, South West London, Floor Screeding Barnet, Bromley, Croydon, Ealing, Enfield, Lambeth, Lewisham, Newham, Warwickshire, Manchester, Greater Manchester, Rochdale, Bury, Oldham, Birmingham, London, Greater London, Birmingham, Birmingham, Birmingham, Manchester, Manchester, Manchester, Birmingham, Birmingham, Manchester, Manchester, Birmingham, Manchester,
Supply and fitting into building contractors, construction companies, self-builders, shopfitters nationwide. Interior Screed have a wealth of experience of supplying and installing floor screeds, thermal and acoustic insulation into building sites throughout the United Kingdom. A growing self-build market is becoming a larger part of the building industry and our experience of installing cement screeds into the commercial building industry can be utlised to the self-builders advantage.
Floor screeding provides a smooth level floor within your self-build which will help the self-builder apply a large variety of final floor finishes to our floor screed. Floor screeding and Flowing Screeds or Gyvlon is also a useful solution for self-builders looking to install onto under floor heating systems as it provides a thermally efficient floor screed system.
Interior Screed’s achievement within the developing self-build market is based on our capability to offer an economical, reliable and efficient service. Our wealth of experience in the floor screeding sector ensures Interior Screed can offer expert advice to those who are embarking on a self-build.
To find out more about the floor screeding products and floor screed services that Interior Screed Ltd can offer nationwide, contact us estimating@interiorscreed.co.uk.
Interior Screed is one of the United Kingdom’s leading floor screeding specialists. Interior Screed has the site expertise and technical experience required to provide main contractors, construction companies, shopfitters and self builders with a premium service throughout the UK.. Our floor screeds are quality controlled and installed by SSSTS and CSCS registered operatives.
We ensure our floor screeding operatives install highly durable floor screeds by providing only the best floor screed products available to our installers and customers. You can be safe in the knowledge traditional sand or cement floor screed from Interior Screed is installed correctly, on-time and to budget.
Utilising award winning business partners Interior Screed are able to offer leading edge floor screeding solutions whilst retaining the flexibility to supply and install traditional sand cement screed coupled with specialised products such as anhydrite screed utilised on under floor heating systems and self levelling floor screeds nationwide.
To find out more about the floor screeding products and services we offer to main contractors, construction companies, shopfitters and self builders throughout the UK, get a free no obligation quotation today by contacting estimating@interiorscreed.co.uk
We are specialist floor screeding contractors, providing a comprehensive range of screeding services to a diverse range of clients over a variety of industry sectors.
Based in the Midlands we are ideally located to serve the floor screeding requirements of main contractors, shopfitters, localised building contractors and self builders throughout the UK. Utilising award winning business partners we are able to offer leading edge floor screed solutions whilst retaining the flexibility to supply and install traditional sand cement screeds coupled with specialised products such as Gyvlon screed to underfloor heating systems and self levelling floor screeds
As a highly specialised floor screeding contractors we operate closely with our strategic business partners to offer leading edge floor screeding products and materials. We are able to source, supply and install floor screed into site locations throughout the UK.
Initially a sand cement screed business we quickly realised the need to serve our clients an interrelated range of floor screeding products. We now specialise in the supply and installation of traditional sand and cement floor screeds, flowing screed and self levelling floor screeding to main contractors, localised building contractors, shopfitters and self builders nationwide. The combination of our unparalleled floor screed knowledge, rigorous quality control coupled with our determination to help you find the perfect floor screeding product for each individual floor screeding installation makes Interior Screed your trusted outsourced floor screeding specialist.
Many of our clients are taking advantage of our integrated approach to receive a
seamless, unified range of floor screeding services.
To find out more about the floor screeding products and services we offer to self-builders throughout the UK. Call Interior Screed for a free no obligation quotation today or email estimating@interiorscreed.co.uk.
Floor screeding may be the simple act of applying a well-blended mixture of cement with graded aggregates and water, but there’s more to this process than you might think. It’s one of the most vital steps in flooring that plays a major role in ensuring the quality, finish and durability of the floor – which is why getting it right first time is so important.
The key to successful floor screeding is about appointing the right contractor who has the right experience with different flooring, screed mixes, installation techniques and protection measures.
At Interior Screed, our floor screeders are experienced in completing a wide range of projects in a variety of properties, anything from residential properties to commercial buildings. What’s more we’re licensed to lay a vast selection of screeding solutions including sand and cement, self-levelling, Gvylon and hard-duty to name a few.
With us, you can be sure our directly-employed experts will find the right solution for your floor and pay extra close attention to the finishing touches – ensuring your screed makes the perfect foundation for your choice of floor finishing.
Interior Screed’s floor screeding business has gained a reputation for superior craftsmanship and a dedication to client care. We operate throughout the UK, and we have experience in working in every type of commercial and residential property.
Our services include sand and cement screeds, Gyvlon or Free-Flowing screeds and self levelling floor screeds.
But it’s not so much what we do, but how we do it that really counts. Our team work in partnership with you from day one, to make sure you’re happy with every stage of our work. What’s more, we’re committed to delivering our plastering and dry lining services safely, efficiently, and sustainably, ensuring you receive the best possible service every time.
So, if you’re looking for a reliable, high quality commercial floor screeding contractor, you’ve come to the right place.
VIP Screeding from Interior Screed Ltd
Sreeding a floor is an application of blending Portland Cement with graded aggregate. This process forms what known as a sub-floor. The screeded sub-floor is then ready to receive a final/wearing floor finish.
Floor screeding is vital in floor buid-ups to ensure quality, finish and durability of the entire floor system.
A well installed floor screed can reduce cost’s to the not only the client/main contractor but also the ultimate end user. A poorly installed floor screed can be an extremely expensive potential liability with costly measures needed in order to remedy problematic screeds.
High Quality Floor Screeds from Interior Screed Ltd
At Interior Screed Ltd we have a wealth of experience in delivering floor screeds into major capital developments throughout the UK. We carry highly skilled installation teams combined with modern technology and a blue chip client list we believe we are ideally positioned to deliver your floor screed installation. Our experienced floor screed teams are fully 100% CSCS compliant. When considering your installation we take the hassle out of planning, screed selection, screed mix design, screed laying in order to deliver your screed system on time and on budget.
Select from our Range of Screeds from Interior Screed Ltd
- Traditional screed: A standard screed mix of cement/sand mixed in the ratio of 1:4-5 is used for creating a defined screed layer in order to install a final floor finish such as tiles, wood, linoleum, vinyl etc. Traditional floor screeds are generally suitable for use in hospitals, schools, hospitals, retail, homes etc.
- Free flowing screeds: A anhydrite free flowing, self-leveling and self compacting screed generally presents a major advantage in terms of easy placement whilst also providing reliable end-results. Anhydrite floor screeds are not suitable for areas that are prone to water penetration. They cannot be used as a final wearing surface and are not compatible with cementitious products such as levelling compound.
- Floor levelling compounds: Levelling compounds vary from the general floor screeds as they are used for levelling or as the final layer of floor screed in order increase the overall performance/tolerance whilst laying floor finishes such as tiles, vinyl etc. Levelling compounds are often applied into warehouses/industrial areas that require a very high level of surface regularity, flatness or durability.
- Structural screeds: Structural floor screeds are suitable for installing on precast floor surfaces. Working with accurate calculation/specification often working in conjunction with structural engineer information can be ascertained on factors such as load requirements, flexural strength, bending moment and point loadings.
- Fast drying screeds/Accelerated screeds: Working to strict schedule we can deliver accelerated/programme compliant screeds. A benchmark of 1mm per day and 0.5mm thereafter (110 days for 75mm) for standard drying screeds customers are also able to opt for a fast drying floor screed such as the Tarmac Cem-Screed range enabling the installation of a final floor finish as early as 3 days after screeding.
The correct homogenously blended screed mix using the right material proportions and following a pre-agreed mix design is a vital factor in delivering a quality floor screed installation. Upon considering between a ready mix or a site mixing of screed, factors need to allowed for in terms of access requirements, cost control and build schedule.
Delivery methods from Interior Screed Ltd
- Hand Mixed: Suitable for small areas and remedial repairs to floor screeds.
- Free Fall Mixers: Suitable for small areas and remedial repairs.
- Forced Action Mixers: Forced action mixing such as screed pumps, pan mixers and screed batching plants.
Our process of screed installation is a systematic process achieving top results time and time again. We take several steps whilst preparing to install the floor screed.
- Ensuring the specification is fit for purpose
- Substrate analysis in order to ascertain whether the floor is ready receive the screed
- Access/Egress is suitable for screed installation.
- Working with the builder to ensure areas are watertight
- Datum level depths are within tolerance/nominal allowance
- Water access is available on site
- Adequate waste removal provisions are located close to mixing areas
- Test certificates for mixing plant are within time-frames.
For any queries regarding your floor screed or for assistance in choosing your floor screed, please feel free to contact us at estimating@interiorscreed.co.uk or our Nationwide Sales Line: 01789 730003
