For many years now it has been traditional to use a sand and cement screed in order to provide as level a surface as possible upon which to lay the final flooring of a new building. This is mixed on site or delivered ready mixed and is laid on top of the concrete subfloor, since concrete does not produce a flat surface on its’ own.
It is probably fair to say that some 75% of all new build projects still use a sand and cement screed, for the reason we will explain. However, over the last 25 years there has been a newcomer on the block and that is a self-levelling screed which is made with calcium sulphate in place of the cement.
This type of screed is what we supply at Top Mix and is far superior to the traditional mix. It differs considerably from that because it is delivered to site ready mixed in liquid form. That means that it is far faster to lay because all that we do is connect a hose and a pump to the delivery truck and pump it on to the concrete substrate. As it is liquid, it levels itself out without any help from us!
Our self-levelling screed in Bristol, or wherever your project is, does cost a little more than a sand and cement mix, and this is probably why so many projects still use the old type of screed. However, the benefits of self-levelling screed far outweigh the small extra cost.
Less Material Required
To start with, the screed can be laid more thinly than sand and cement so there is a saving there. Because it levels itself out it doesn’t require a worker on his hands and knees with a trowel to level it, as sand and cement does. We can cover an area of as much as 2,000 square metres in a day, whereas the average worker with a trowel will be pushed to do more than 100 square metres.
Our self-levelling screed in Bristol is also perfect when used in conjunction with underfloor heating, which is used in so many projects today. This is because it totally envelops the heating pipes, leaving no gaps or voids. As a result, the heating is perfectly even across the room. It also requires less energy to bring the room up to temperature because the thermal conductivity of the screed is nearly twice that of the traditional mix.