Most floor screed problems are not bad luck, they are a number missed at specification time or at covering time. Screed laid too thin cracks, screed covered while still damp lifts its finish, and screed dried too fast crusts on top while moisture stays underneath. This article lists the pros and cons, but the checks
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Choose by how the screed must behave, not by speed alone. A bonded screed becomes part of the slab, so it is thin and follows the slab, faults included. An unbonded screed sits on a separating membrane and moves independently of the slab, so it needs more thickness to span on its own. Floating screed
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Decide on calcium sulphate screed by its limits, not its speed. It flows flat, suits underfloor heating, and reaches foot traffic quickly, but it is not ready to cover in 24 to 48 hours: that is roughly when it can be walked on, not when it tests dry. Cover it only after a moisture test
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Choose by the job, not by the product. Wet screeding levels fresh concrete in the same pour, so it suits new slabs where cost and speed matter most. Dry screeding, a self levelling topping laid over a cured slab, suits existing floors and commercial jobs where flatness tolerance matters more than price. If the slab
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Most anhydrite screed problems come back to three causes: moisture left in the screed, laitance left on the surface, and a screed laid too thin or on a badly prepared base. Get those three right and most of the cracking, debonding, hollow spots and covering failures described below never happen. The rest of this article
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Screed is ready to cover when it tests dry, not when the calendar says so. As a planning rule, allow 1 day of drying per millimetre of thickness for a traditional sand and cement screed at around 20 degrees C with good ventilation, so a 50 mm screed plans at about 50 days before testing.
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Anhydrite screed, also called calcium sulphate screed, is a pumpable, self levelling floor screed that suits underfloor heating well because it flows around pipes and conducts heat efficiently. Its two non negotiable rules are moisture and laitance: the screed must be dry enough, tested properly, before it is covered, and the weak laitance skin on
Depth and finish decide this choice. Cement screed builds a new floor base, typically 25 mm to 40 mm thick, and takes weeks to dry before it can be covered. Microcement is a decorative finish in its own right, laid only a few millimetres thick over a sound existing surface, and ready far sooner. If
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Screed and mortar are not interchangeable, even though both are cement based. Screed is a levelling layer laid horizontally over a floor slab to give a flat surface for a floor covering. Mortar is a bonding paste laid between bricks, blocks or stones to hold masonry together and carry load. If the job is a
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Floor screed is the levelling layer laid over a structural concrete slab to give a flat, level surface for a floor covering. It is not the structural floor, and it is not a wearing surface on its own. Its thickness, its bond to what lies beneath, and its drying time decide whether the finished floor
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Depth decides this choice more than anything else. If you need to level a few millimetres, feather out dips, or get a floor covered the next day, self levelling compound is the right tool. If you need to build up 25 mm or more, form a fall or a ramp, carry a heated floor, or
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The right primer for self levelling compound is decided by the substrate, not by the brand on the tin. Porous concrete usually takes an acrylic primer, often in two coats, because the first coat soaks in and the second builds the film the leveller bonds to. Smooth, power floated concrete, calcium sulphate screed and timber
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Screed cracks for a reason, and the reason decides the repair. Shrinkage cracks come from water leaving the screed. Thermal cracks come from heating too early or too fast. Structural cracks come from movement below, a debonded section, or a screed laid too thin for its construction. Sealing a crack without removing its cause only
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Screed is the thin levelling layer laid over a structural concrete slab to give a flat, level surface for a floor covering. It is not the structural floor and it is not a wearing surface on its own. It carries the floor finish, it can hide services and insulation in a floating construction, and its
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Most cracks in underfloor heating screed come from one of four things: the heating was switched on too early or turned up too fast, movement joints are missing where the floor changes, the screed is thinner than the heated construction needs, or the screed dried too fast in its first days. A fine surface crack
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