Liquid screeding services for fast, smooth, and efficient floors
Starting with a smooth, level surface for the floor of your commercial or residential building makes everything easier. From clean application of a decorative layer like carpet or floorboards, to well-regulated temperatures from your underfloor heating, liquid screed acts as the basis for all-around better flooring.
At ThermaScreed, we provide high-quality liquid screeding services for clients across the UK. In this article, we’ll explain what liquid screeding is, why it’s better than the alternatives, and how we take extra care to ensure your installation goes smoothly in every sense of the word.
What is liquid screeding?
Liquid screeding is the process of applying liquid screed to a floor.
Liquid screed itself is a cement-style liquid that hardens fast, often drying to a tile-able state within just 4 hours of application. As a liquid, it can be easily spread across wide surfaces, filling into gaps and cavities to ensure a consistent, even finish. This means it can wrap around pipework or spread across rough surfaces with ease.
What liquid screed do we use?
At ThermaScreed, we pride ourselves on the efficiency of our services and the quality of the end result. So we use nothing but the best when it comes to our liquid screed. We primarily use cutting-edge cementitious flowing liquid screeds, which include:
- Anhydrite screed (e.g. Gyvlon)
- Cemfloor
- Belitex
Find out more about our liquid screed solutions >
The advantages of liquid screed vs traditional sand and cement
Sand and cement screed has been the traditional method of screed application since the 19th century, with cement itself tracing its origins back to the Roman Empire. Needless to say, it is a tried and tested construction method – but maybe a little behind the times for certain situations.
Liquid screed, on the other hand, has only been around for a little over two decades. But it has quickly become a mainstay in screeding, offering a host of advantages for your flooring.
The benefits of liquid screed
With easier and faster application, liquid screed is quickly becoming the go-to option for homeowners, developers, and contractors. Here are some of the key advantages it holds over traditional sand and cement:
- Provides a smooth, even finish. Liquid screed levels out naturally, helped along by our installation process, ensuring a flat, seamless finish that’s ready for decoration or use.
- Up to 20 times quicker installation. Liquid screed is much easier to handle and install than sand and cement, doing a lot of the installation work itself and giving us more time to make sure it’s even.
- Dries within as little as four hours. Get on with the next stage of your work within just four hours, or have the screed be public-ready within a day.
- Evenly distributes underfloor heating. By evenly wrapping around pipework and preventing air pockets, liquid screed ensures your underfloor heating can be transferred more easily into the room.
- Reduced chance of cracking. No air pockets means a lower likelihood of cracks or breaks forming in the future, eliminating structural vulnerabilities and improving your screed’s longevity.
The benefits of sand and cement screed
A mainstay building technique, traditional sand and cement screed still has its uses in modern construction. Here are some of the main advantages it holds:
- Reinforced for heavy industry. Our sand and cement screeds are fibre reinforced, making them an ideal choice for places featuring heavy foot traffic.
- Additives can reduce drying times. With the right additives, our sand and cement screed can reach the same four-hour drying time as liquid screed, making it a fast-setting option.
- Adaptable to your flooring conditions. If there are elements of your flooring unsuitable for liquid contact, or you have unusual flooring circumstances, then sand and cement screed offers more controlled application to match your needs.
Find out more about sand and cement screed from ThermaScreed >
The compatibility of liquid screed and underfloor heating
Underfloor heating consists of a series of pipes and shielded electrics that spread heat throughout your floor. Using traditional sand and cement, it can be difficult to properly apply it atop underfloor heating while ensuring even heat distribution and a smooth finish.
This is where liquid screed truly shines. It uniformly fills in the gaps around your underfloor heating, completely encasing it in concrete. It improves the efficiency of your underfloor heating by eliminating air bubbles and maximising thermal transfer potential, and it’s much easier to apply – neatly filling in by itself without the need for careful, time-consuming application, then swiftly hardening into place.
Get underfloor heating that matches the quality of your screed >
Our liquid screed installation process
We are committed to providing you with a perfectly level floor finish with our flowing liquid screed, working to tight schedules or overnight to minimise any impact on your space usage. To achieve this, we follow a consistent process that ensures maximum efficiency and speed for your liquid screed installation.
- First, we recommend you prepare the subfloor by cleaning it, laying down DPM or insulation, and ensuring edges and joints are properly in place.
- After this, you will want to lay a polythene membrane over your insulation to prevent moisture penetration and maintain integrity.
- If we’re installing your underfloor heating, this is when it’ll be implemented, securely fitting the pipes and conducting our tests before moving on to screeding.
- Now we can get on to the liquid screed itself – pumping and pouring it over the prepared surface and using a laser level to ensure it is at depth and fully smooth.
- We spread and flatten the screed to ensure an even finish and leave it to dry naturally with adequate ventilation while protecting it from negative weather conditions during early curing.
And there we have it – your screed will be ready for whatever comes next. After we’re done, we can come back and provide testing and surveyance to confirm your screed’s integrity whenever you need it.
Recommended thickness and drying guidelines
Before we install your liquid screed, it’s worth exploring the thickness you need and drying times depending on what you want to use it for. This will give you a better understanding of the quantity we need to use, the impact this might have on the quote, and how long to leave it depending on weather conditions, further flooring applications, and live use.
In general, liquid screed is applied at 35–40mm thickness for bonded systems and 45–50mm thickness for systems with underfloor heating.
In terms of drying, you should typically leave it at least four hours before applying any tiles or flooring. The screed will then likely be walkable within 24–48 hours, and non-load-bearing partitions can be applied after a week, with full drying being achieved within 14–21 days.
We can provide more specific advice for your unique circumstances if you get in touch.
Learn more with our screed preparation guide >
Quality liquid screed solutions from ThermaScreed
With easier application, smoother forming, and a higher-quality finish, it’s no wonder that liquid screed is quickly becoming the go-to choice for flooring projects. Whether you’re looking to add underfloor heating, level out your space, or provide strong flooring for your home or commercial project, liquid screed is the way forward.
At ThermaScreed, we provide high-quality liquid screed solutions to match any project specification, providing our clients across the UK with reliable, effective screeding. Get in touch for a free quote!
