Nationwide Floor Screeding
Floor Screed Near Me ✓
How Do I Find Screed Near Me?
There are several factors to consider when choosing floor screeding contractor or screed near me in a specific geographical location within the UK.
Choosing a professional floor screeding contractor or screed near me for your project is critical to ensure the execution of your floor screeding is carried out to British Standard and specification. When deciding on a floor screeding contractor or screed near me for your building project the selection criteria checklist should include factors such as experience, expertise, certifications, compliance with regulations, and the ability to manage risks.
It not just as simple as searching for screed near me and selecting a floor screeding contractor that may be local to your building project however may not carry the experience, back of house knowledge and accreditations necessary to carry out the works.
A contractor should carry the following:
- High level of floor screeding experience.
- Familiarity with the hazards of the floor screeding process.
- Previous health and safety performance records and accreditations.
- Safety policies, risk assessments (RAMS) and training records.
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Using sand and cement screed on commercial building sites?
In terms of commercial floor screeding and domestic residential floor screeding the UK’s most popular type of floor screed is sand and cement screed. Sand and cement screed is installed into 86% of commercial and domestic building sites throughout Britain and remains by far the country’s most popular type of both commercial floor screeding.
In terms of commercial floor screed when using sand and cement screed it’s important to decide before the screed is laid how quickly you require your common floor finishes or floor coverings to be installed in order to suit your build programme. Sand and cement screed dries vastly quicker than any liquid screed on the market. That’s why commercial floor screed utilising sand and cement screed are widely used mainly due to the advanced drying rates of sand and cement screed.
The robust nature of commercial floor screed or sand and cement screed material lends itself the ability to form falls/micro falls to marry up existing thresholds to patio/bi fold doors together with the option to install the floor screed much thicker providing a ‘solid feel floor’ underfoot with zero bouncing effect as is sometimes the case with liquid screeds.
Carrying a vast range commercial floor screed that can cure in a matter of hours or months dependent upon budget and build programme restraints we specify your sand and cement screed to match your exact site requirements. No matter the sand and cement thickness we are able to accelerate commercial floor screed accordingly and ensure your build programme stays on track.
When can you traffic sand and cement floor screed?
When considering the laying of sand and cement floor screed, it’s important to consider the nature of light foot traffic and full site traffic. Ideally sand and cement floor screed should be protected until common floor finishes are installed however the majority building sites cannot facilitate screed protection.
Therefore its important that sand and cement floor screed is able to withstand direct site traffic and is robust enough to cope with the stresses inflicted upon it. Generally, sand and cement floor screed requires a period of curing before applying foot traffic. Levelling sand and cement screed is not considered to be a wearing surface however they are produced to be able to withstand a certain level of foot traffic. Often the actual construction process itself is far more abusive to the floor screeds than the actual intended end use of the screed.
We provide sand and cement screed products that incorporate features to help withstand light and full site traffic obligations. A traditional sand and cement screed may take as little as 12 hours before light site traffic can be introduced. Generally, we ask for 24-48 hours before light traffic can be applied with 72 hours being the norm for full site traffic. Site conditions and temperatures are important factors to also consider when considering applying light/full site traffic to sand and cement screed.
We are able to help specifiers decide exactly when foot traffic can be applied, just reach out to us and a friendly member of our team will be happy to help.
Sand and cement floor screed installation
Contrary to popular belief a sand and cement floor screed installation carries many benefits over a liquid floor screed installation in terms of surface regulatory and compatibility of floor finishes to the finishes screed. A sand and cement screed can be installed with an improved surface regularity of that of a liquid screed. Liquid screeds are dappled into position using a dappling bar in order to achieve a level surface however there remains scope for liquid screed to dip and undulate in places and not ultimately level out accordingly therefore to remedy this issue a liquid compatible self-levelling product must be used.
Using a sand and cement floor screed it’s possible to be able to install a sand and cement floor screed that far exceeds liquid screed. Sand cement screeds are installed using laser level as appose to screed tripods (liquid screed) enabling the floor screeder to constantly check the surface regulation as the methodical sand and cement installation progresses.
Compatibility of floor finishes i.e. the use of vinyl or luxury tile glues; tile adhesives and self-levellers are far less expensive when a sand and cement floor screed installation has been introduced. Laitance removal following a liquid screed installation can be problematic to remove in terms of sanding the screeded surface of the cured liquid screed.
Laitance removal liquid screed
A major disadvantage of using poured liquid screed is the removal of laitance following the floor screed installation. A layer of laitance consisting of cement and aggregate will be present on the surface of the finished screed. The laitance will need to be removed within one to ten days following the floor screed installation.
What is laitance?
Laitance is cement and aggregate particles that have risen to the surface of the liquid screed following the floor screed installation taking place. The presence of laitance is pretty much standard in liquid screed and is often the result of inconsistent material mix ratios within the screed product or because of rain/water ingress.
Both rain ingress and an inconsistent mix ratio will result in the poor curing of the liquid screed resulting in an increase in the formation of a laitance skin. This laitance skin layer, although initially seemingly harmless to the untrained eye, is one of the biggest causes of failure in a liquid floor screed installation.
Without costly and immediate laitance removal the floor will be vulnerable to stresses of foot traffic, excess stress placed on the bond of the laitance to the screeded surface it highly likely the floor will eventually fail. The bond between both elements (laitance & screeded surface) will break resulting in any attached floor finishes coming loose.
At this juncture there will be a need to undertake expensive remedial work to the floor screed installation to replace all floor coverings and undertake laitance removal.
When should laitance removal be undertaken?
Sanding or diamond grinding of the liquid screed surface should be undertaken one to ten days following the floor screed installation by a professional. The lower portion of the liquid screed is still undergoing the curing process within this time frame therefore it is preferable to sand during the early curing process.
Sanding of the floor screed installation will accelerate the drying process, and will also ensure that a stable surface forms on to the surface of the screed to which floor finishes can be applied following consultation with the finishes installer to ascertain the correct bonding products (adhesives/glues/levellers) to be used.
Specialised diamond cutting pads should be used on the screed in order to sand down and remove the layer of laitance. Overall, the longevity and durability of the floor screed installation will be dramatically improved ensuring any further application of flooring whether it be laminate, tiles, vinyl etc. will adhere to the screed. The removal of laitance is key in achieving a successful liquid floor screed installation and ensuring that costly remedial works in terms of replacing floor finishes can be avoided.
