Screed
What is Screed flooring?
Screed flooring is made up of cementitious materials and sand blended together based on a suitable mix design and is applied to provide a leveled surface for the finished floor. So, basically, screed flooring is the base for the floor finish and it greatly influences the performance of the floor finish. Screed flooring meaning refers to any action that smoothens the pliable material into a flat, smooth, and leveled layer. This thin layer of the said mixture can vary in thickness from around 50mm to 100mm depending on the surface it needs to be applied on. It is usually laid over a concrete subfloor to obtain a smoother texture where other materials can be laid on top of it There are tools manufactured exclusively for the process of screeding, but you can also make use of any straight board to do the floor screeding easily.
Types Screed Flooring
The type of screed flooring you decide to pick will affect how your finished floor looks and will determine how strong and durable it will be. We will discuss what are the various types of screed flooring and how can they affect your floor.
Liquid Screed: Liquid screed is the most versatile screed flooring and it can be used on a wide range of flooring. The liquid screed is laid by pump or shoot which makes the entire process easier and quicker. It also takes less time to dry, so it is a popular choice for projects with a tight deadline.
Concrete Screed: Traditional and still the most popular is concrete screed flooring. It provides a sturdy base layer for regular and long-lasting use. It is widely used in factories and warehouses due to its durable qualities and also used in places that need drainage points.
Free Flowing Screed: Another popular choice is free-flowing screed flooring. It takes less time to lay and is suitable for incorporating electrical components underneath your flooring. It is extensively used in hospitals, prisons, offices, and shopping centers. It is, however, not very useful for wearing surfaces.
How is a screed made?
Screed is often made by mixing cement with fine sand with a 1:3 to 1:4.5 ratio of cement to sand. The resulting mass is a sturdy, cementitious material that can be used as a top layer for concrete flooring or as insulation around heating pipes submerged underfloor.
Liquid Screed Flooring
Screed flooring is made up of cementitious materials and sand blended according to a specific mix design and used to give a leveled surface for the floor finish placed on the screed’s surface. As a result, the floor screed serves as the foundation for the floor finish. It has a significant impact on its performance. It’s a smoother mixture utilized as a top layer of flooring for internal floors to provide a leveled and smooth surface.
Some of the advantages of our liquid screed flooring:
Easy to setup:
You won’t have to wait days for us to lay your flooring when you utilize liquid screed to create the proper foundation. This is due to the liquid screed flooring nature, which makes installation rapid and straightforward.
Take less time to get dry:
Are you concerned that a wet floor would cause your project to be delayed? When you utilize liquid screed, you won’t have to worry about these issues. This is because it dries significantly faster than other flooring materials. Indeed, it just takes 24-48 hours for it to dry enough to walk on, so you’ll be ready to get back to work on your project in no time.
Fewer chances to crack:
Our specially formulated liquid screed is well-known in the building industry in the South for its long-lasting excellence. To help make it extraordinarily strong and resistant to deformation, we employ specific chemicals, including anti-crack fibers and an anti-shrink agent. We also include a superplasticizer to help with workability.
Soft Floor:
When you choose liquid screed as your flooring material, you won’t have to worry about a lumpy and uneven surface. Because of its flowability, liquid screed is self-leveling, which speeds up installation and creates a flawlessly smooth and flat surface ready for your selected covering.
Best Underfloor heating:
Perhaps the most crucial advantage of liquid screed is that it is ideal for installing underfloor heating. It not only covers all of the pipes, preventing any bubbles or gaps but it can also be installed at a shallow depth, making the heating system more efficient.
Cement Screed Flooring
A cement screed is a mixture of cement, aggregates such as clay and lime, and water. The cement and water are mixed to obtain a smooth paste. Usually, this mix consists of one part of cement and three to four and a half parts of sand. The surface of the sand or aggregates is coated with the said paste. It is hardened by the process of hydration and thus resulting in a hardened mass of high strength and durability. Cement screed flooring can take at least 1 to 2 days to dry but it can take up to a week before high levels of activities can be started on it.
For someone not working in the construction industry and a layman, it may be difficult to understand the difference between concrete and floor screeds.
Actually, it is very odd given the fact that both materials are made from the same basic ingredients; cement, aggregates, and water.
The basic chemistry is also the same for both concrete and screed – the cement and water are mixed to form a paste and then it coats the surface of the sand or the aggregates, and the cement paste hardens by a process called hydration.
However, the basic difference is in the size of aggregates used, the grade of the cement used, and finally, the mix consistency and finish are different
A concrete screed has a much coarser mixture than a liquid screed, consisting of larger, hard-core aggregates, which are the key element that provides it its durability and makes it strong and long-lasting.
Concrete screed flooring
Concrete screed flooring is a thin layer that is generally poured over a base surface or floor to form a smooth coating on the floor. It also provides a strong foundation for the top floor. There are many advantages of concrete screed flooring:
Easy to Care: concrete screed flooring is almost maintenance-free. The only thing you require to do is to sweep and mop weekly. No additional care is needed. You can seal and wax your concrete floor every three months or so, depending on the level of use. Higher traffic on the floor will wear out the protective layer, so make sure that you protect it to make it last longer.
Economical: Concrete doesn’t is much cheaper in comparison to other flooring types, which will suit you if you have a tight budget. It is a very good and inexpensive choice. You can also add different colors and styles to make your floor more unique and customized.
Durable: Concrete screed flooring has a long life. It will last even longer with proper care and maintenance. It can last against heavy pressure from large types of machinery and concrete flooring is also hard to damage and is scratch-proof also.
A lot of Options: Concrete in earlier days used to be gray and dull, but nowadays developments have allowed this flooring to expand regarding color and texture options. Color can be mixed directly in the concrete, or it can also be applied to the already installed floors via staining or painting. A smooth effect can be obtained by polishing.
Environment-friendly: Concrete screed floors cut down the need for other materials such as wood. It also reduces the possibility of the depletion of precious resources.
Screed flooring is required when a colorful, functional, and pleasing-to-eye floor is needed rather than a bare concrete surface. For industrial purposes, or various commercial locations, which will see heavy traffic, a more robust screed is required than is used in a residential project.
A freshly screeded floor has to be sealed before fitting the tiles unless a type of screed has been used that does not need sealing and priming. This kind of screed is generally dust-free. The screed is firm enough to walk on it, usually after 3 days of application, and then only tiling can be started. Concrete should be at least 7 days old to begin tiling. All substrates that are to be tiled must be clean and dry.
Process of screed Flooring
• First, evaluate the surface of the base
• Estimate the materials that will be used for screeding
• Preparation of the base
• Preparing the floor screed mixture
• Applying bonding agents such as water or bonding slurry
• Placing the floor screed mixture
• Finally, properly curing the placed materials on the surface.
We at Shawar Conchem have been manufacturing screed for construction sites for many years. We pride ourselves on providing a very reliable, hassle-free service and top-caliber concrete at very competitive prices.
Get in touch with our expert team to get a free quote for your floor screeding requirements. We would love to hear from you and will be happy to answer any questions that you may have.