Floor Screed Problems

Assess and prepare floor.

Floor screed problems.

Screed mix containing less than the required amount of cement. Ensure the floor is fully dry the residual moisture level should be less than 0 5. It may be applied onto either a solid in situ concrete ground floor slab or onto a precast concrete floor unit. There are many proprietary screeds on the market and information about these can be obtained from the manufacturer.

As liquid screed drys from the bottom up we know by leaving a dinner plate over night if there is moisture then it is still wet to us the simple methods work. This is useful for applications such as floors that need to slope to a drain or internal ramps. They developed the bre screed tester which is a penetrometer type device where a 4 kg mass is dropped 4 times at the same spot from a height of 1 metre on to a circular foot piece. We need to look at the possible reasons as to why it could fail and there is quite an extensive list but i think it is important to understand why.

We have never had any problems we have just layed 250m2 of porcelain on the ground floor on liquid screed without any issues. The cured anhydrite screed will have a layer of laitance that will need to be removed after 2 6 days dependent on brand of screed used. With any screed problem we need to find out why your floor needs a screed repair in the first place and to treat the cause not just the symptom of why the screed has been damaged. However the repair will be visible this isn t a problem if the screed is simply being used to level the floor prior to applying a finish but if you re intending to stain the screed and leave it exposed then this could be a consideration.

Screed has been directly trafficked and damaged during the construction phase of a project. A floor screed is usually a cementitious material made from a 1 3 or 1 4 5 ratio of cement to sharp sand. Because of the problems experienced with sand cement screed flooring a unique test method was developed by the building research establishment bre in the uk. Screeds provide a vital layer in a floor that bonds the finish people see and walk across to the concrete substrate of the building s construction.

Lately there s been a rise in popularity for leaving the screed raw and untouched. An advantage of semi dry screeds is that they can be laid at an angle. Very dry screed mix or poor compaction however over wet screed mixes can lead to shrinkage problems and affect the flatness of the finished screed.