Liquid floor screed has revolutionised floor screed installations. It is a versatile option for creating level floors in any type of property, whether they are newly built or being refurbished for domestic or commercial use.
Liquid floor screed provides a smooth and even surface and can be installed with or without underfloor heating. It is perfect for laying both carpet, tiles, or wooden floors on and is quick to install and dries far faster than other solutions like concrete and sand.
If you’re looking for liquid floor screed in Oxford, then there’s only one place to go – J & H Lynch. We have years of experience fitting liquid screed floors and our team of experts can install un-bonded, bonded, or floated liquid screed solutions for any type of property (for a guide to bonded and unbonded flooring head over to screedexperts.co.uk).
Give us a call today and see what we can do for you.
What is Liquid Floor Screed?
Liquid floor screed is a relatively new concept in flooring products. It is a material that can be poured into a floor cavity to create a smooth and even surface. It replaces the more traditional method of using sand and cement which is more difficult to use, takes far longer to dry, and is less durable in the long term.
Liquid floor screed is commonly used to level uneven surfaces but is equally popular with those wishing to install underfloor heating due to its conductive nature.
Why Choose Liquid Floor Screed?
Due to the easy to use nature of liquid floor screed, it’s a much more work-friendly material. It is easy to pour into place, requires less equipment and man-hours to administer, and dries to a usable surface far quicker than more traditional methods. Liquid floor screed reduces the need to level and flatten concrete meticulously only to find that there are still imperfections when it dries. Liquid floor screed’s liquid nature naturally finds a uniform level quickly and with far less effort.
But the benefits of using liquid floor screed aren’t just in its application. Liquid floor screed provides a solid, level surface that is more durable than alternatives. If laid correctly, it won’t crack or dust (small particle breaking off to form a dust-like compound) like concrete and will look good for far longer.
Advantages of Liquid Floor Screed
Liquid floor screed offers many advantages over other screed methods, including:
Less shrinkage
Traditional concrete based screed methods tend to shrink as they dry. This is due to the high oxygen content within the screed caused by pouring and using sand particles. As the screed dries, the oxygen will escape leaving less volume. This can often be seen by the screed “curling away” from the edges or sinking in the middle.
Liquid Floor Screed contains and traps far less oxygen due to the materials used in its construction and the general viscosity of the liquid. This reduces the amount of shrinkage it may suffer. On top of this, liquid floor screed is self-compacting and self-curing allowing it to release trapped air without human intervention.
Easy Application
While on the subject of easier installation, liquid floor screed is vastly easier to apply than other more traditional screed solutions. Liquid Screed can be pumped from a concrete pump onto the surface, without the need for extensive preparatory work. It takes far less time to dry than concrete based screed and once poured, only requires the minimum of monitoring to ensure it dries correctly. For more details on how a liquid floor screed solution is applied, head over to diydoctor.org.uk.
Quicker to Install
As Liquid Screed can be applied through a concrete pump, you can cover a large area of flooring in a very short time. Liquid floor screed is also far easier to mix and prepare than concrete. All this means that you can generally apply flowing floor screeds to over 2000sqm in a day compared to the roughly 200sqm per day of standard concrete.
Improved Underground Heating Performance
One of the biggest advantages of liquid floor screed is its ability to increase the efficiency of underfloor heating solutions. Liquid floor screed has higher thermal conductivity than other screed options allowing more heat to spread through flooring quicker. This can allow your home to warm up faster as well as potentially saving you money on your energy bills over time.
Reduced Labour Costs
Because liquid floor screed is easier and quicker to instal, it generally costs less too. With less manpower required to prepare, mix, apply, and maintain, labour costs tend to be cheaper than other solutions.
Eco-Friendly
Liquid floor screed is a great option for anyone looking to help the environment. Not only can it cut down on energy usage, but it is generally made from a mixture of recycled materials.
How Long Does It Take for Liquid Floor Screed to Dry?
Once liquid floor screed is installed, it is incredibly important that it is subjected to good drying conditions. This is in common with other screeds and our experts will provide you with full details of anything you can do to help the process.
For our floor screeds, it is important to protect the area from excessive heat or any draughts that could allow it to dry out too quickly. This is most important in the first 24hours. Once the screed is beyond this point it will need to be protected from excessive moisture and the humidity of the property will need to be kept low. This will allow moisture to release from the screed at the required rate so that it dries out naturally. If humidity and moisture are not controlled, you could see drying times prolonged which can lead to delays with other work if you are working to a schedule.
Under ideal conditions, our screed should be touch dry within a few hours and walkable on after 24-48 hours.
What Could Happen if the Screed Is Not Allowed to Dry Correctly?
If the air around the screed is too humid, then this will increase drying times. If the work is part of a building project, then this could impact on your schedule and hold up other work/tradesmen.
If the screed is allowed to dry too quickly too early then it may crack or dust.
Why Choose J & H Lynch for Your Liquid Floor Screed
If you’re looking for a fast, affordable team to install liquid floor screed in Oxford, then you need to call J & H Lynch. We have years of experience installing a wide range of screed flooring for customers and pride ourselves on delivering unbeatable quality and price.
Give our specialist team a call today or leave us a message in our contact us section to see what we can do for you.
