Floor Screeding Birmingham West Midlands (B1): If you are planning to install under floor heating, have an uneven or damaged floor or are renovating a property or basement in your Birmingham property, it is the perfect time to think about bringing in a professional floor screeding company. Allowing you to lay your final layer of flooring material, (tiles, carpets, boards etc) on top of it, floor screeding provides a smooth finish to a basic sub-base. Floor screeding will provide a durable, quality finish for virtually any room.
FLOOR SCREEDING CONTRACTORS BIRMINGHAM
It does not matter how large or small the room is that you require to be levelled, a competent screeding firm in Birmingham will have the essential skills, equipment and knowledge to offer you an outstanding standard of service. They'll be ready to advise you about the right kind of screed that your project requires, and how best to apply and install it.
It may be a requirement, contingent on the proposed use of the room, for a structural engineering survey to abide by building regulations on flex strength, load bearing and point loadings of the screed floor.
The training and skills that a screeding specialist brings to your project will guarantee a high quality result and help in prolonging the lifetime of your floors. Choosing the correct screeding materials and the best installation technique is vital if you want to end up with a quality and durable finish for your floor surface.
Make certain you get more than one estimate for your Birmingham screeding project and also ask what standard of finish each quotation is for. The Surface Regularity (SR) finish is the figure to watch out for when studying a quotation from Birmingham screeding companies. SR2 and SR3 will be less costly options, but the floor screeding finish could have deviations and errors, whilst SR1 guarantees a perfect quality of finish. Any errors in the screeding may cause problems in laying flooring owing to ridges, indentations, flat spots in the surface.
Every Birmingham screeding company must stick to British Standards (BS8204) and should have some form of accreditation from screeding material and equipment manufacturers, e.g. Gypsol, Flowcrete, Cemfloor. A contractor holding accreditations demonstrates that they've been trained and assessed in using these products and can offer a high quality standard in all aspects of their installation.
Commercial screeders in Birmingham will usually undertake larger screeding projects in restaurants, factories, schools, warehouses, shopping centres and hospitals.
TYPES OF SCREED
Standard Screeds - Used in domestic projects where the combination of cement and sand is perfectly acceptable for standard floor traffic use. This mixture comprises a 5:1 ratio of sand to cement. The standard flooring screed dries at a rate of one millimetre thickness per day.
Liquid or Self-Levelling Screeds - When a high standard of finish is needed this blend of cement and latex is used to produce SR1 level screeding. The self-levelling compound provides a smooth and clean surface over a damaged floor or rough substrate to allow all flooring materials to be laid. The liquid screed can be poured to a thickness of just one millimetre, but still provides a high strength surface for a wide variety of flooring finishes.
Polymer Screeds - These provide an extremely high level of strength with a lower thickness. Owing to their different chemical compositions, these screeds have varying curing times which you can verify by viewing manufacturer's product guidelines.
Fast Drying and Advanced Drying Screeds - If there is a need to progress urgently with the work due to time limitations, this screed dries much quicker than standard screeds. Drying out at a rate of 3-7mm, depending on the mix, they're normally a fibre reinforced type of screed and are great for flooring projects that have tight schedules.
Fibre Reinforced Screed - The first choice where underfloor heating is being installed in residential homes in Birmingham. The greater strength and flex provided by the fibres within this screed help protect the floor from cracking and shrinkage due to heat. At roughly one millimetre per day, it has the same drying rate to standard screed.
Industrial and Heavy Duty Screed - Where traffic levels are high or heavy loading of the floor is necessary, heavy duty screeds deliver maximum strength and durability.
SCREEDING PREPARATION AND INSTALLATION
To make certain that the screeding is of a high quality finish which is durable and hard wearing, time must be spent on fully preparing the area before any screeding material is poured. It's important that all contaminants such as loose debris, grease, oil or paint is eliminated from the floor before laying any screed, because these can affect the bonding capability that a quality screed needs.
If any cleaning products are used in this process it is vital to make sure that no residues of soaps or detergents are left on the surface and it is permitted to dry out naturally. If screeding over a cement or stone floor then all cracks should be repaired to prevent them from "travelling" up through the screed layer and causing deviations on the final floor surface. An on-site survey will allow the screeding specialist to take note of this preparation work and tackle it before starting to pour the screeding layer.
Before any screeding can be poured a DPM (damp proof membrane) must be installed to shield the screed and final flooring from dampness. Different gauges of special polythene could be used as a damp proof membrane and also act as a barrier for the screed and any insulation panels.
If the area is susceptible to radon then a further barrier is required to stop the gas from entering via the ground. If radon gas is present in large amounts then a complete extraction and ventilation system might be needed beneath the screed which will extract any gases that are seeping in from the ground.
The final stage of the surface preparation process is the painting or spraying of a primer or sealer. These sealers and primers will guarantee the screed bonds perfectly to the base surface and help to produce a top quality finished floor. Owing to their special nature, only trained screeding contractors in Birmingham should be entrusted with using them correctly, safely and using bespoke equipment for the task.
If required, this is the time that under floor heating can be installed and laid out in the correct manner. The heating pipes and cables are securely attached to insulation panels to stop any movement and make sure they are positioned correctly. Underfloor heating is one of the most effective ways to heat a room and a properly installed system will give an even level of warmth in all areas of the floor.
The screeding can now be mixed and prepared in situ and poured onto the floor base. The specific requirements of the room will dictate the form of screeding that's used. Bear in mind that even advanced and quick drying screeds have a minimum of twenty four hours before you are able to walk over any laid surfaces and at least 3 days before any flooring materials can be laid. If you're hoping to wind up with a properly finished and durable floor surface you must follow the manufacturer's guidelines with regard to heavy duty and standard screeds where this time period will be increased.
The SR standard of your screeding can be verified once it has solidified enough to be walked upon. The basic SR test involves the use of a 2 metre long straight-edge to check for any fluctuations in the screeded surface.
- SR1 - Over the entire floor area, if there aren't any disparities greater than 3 millimetres from the straight-edge, then you've got a top quality SR1 level surface.
- SR2 - If the floor surface has a deviation from the straight-edge of five millimetres or less it is SR2 level and is the standard for industrial and commercial floors.
- SR3 - If the deviation around the whole space is 10 millimetres or less the quality of the screeding is categorised as SR3 and is suitable for garage and utility areas.
If you require load bearing checks, a qualified structural engineer is needed to conduct the tests. This test will determine the overall strength of the screeded surface and its suitability for the intended use. This will include what's known as a drop hammer test which records specific data on the strength and flexibility of the screed. The precise measurement and testing tools needed mean that this can only be carried out by a qualified structural engineer heeding the BS8204 guidelines. (Tags: Screeding Birmingham, Floor Screeding Services Birmingham, Floor Screeding Birmingham, Floor Screed Birmingham).
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Screeding Related Tasks
There are a wide array of tasks that can be carried out by your local Birmingham floor screeding specialist including coloured floor screeding Birmingham, floor resurfacing, resin floor screeding Birmingham, screed flooring, subfloor repair, screed aftercare, screeding estimates, damp proof membranes, fibre reinforced floor screeding Birmingham, floor screeding advice, floor moisture testing Birmingham, screed surveys & testing, substrate floor preparation, external screeding, bonded concrete screeding, underfloor insulation, flow screeding in Birmingham, floor levelling, floor screeding tools Birmingham, concrete pumping, bonded screed, polished screed floors, floor preparation services Birmingham, decorative floor screeding Birmingham, sand screeding, acoustic flooring solutions, polished concrete flooring, structural screeds Birmingham, underfloor heating screeds, acid etching concrete, garage floor screeding in Birmingham, floor screeding, floor noise reduction, self-levelling screeding, final floor finishes, and lots more floor screeding tasks. These are just a selection of the duties that are carried out by those specialising in screeding. Birmingham specialists will be happy to inform you of their entire range of screeding services.
Floor Screeding Near Birmingham
Also find: Birchfield screeding, Ladywood screeding, Small Heath screeding, Aston screeding, Bromford screeding, Bordesley Green screeding, Edgbaston screeding, Handsworth Wood screeding, Druids Heath screeding, Highgate screeding, Selly Oak screeding, Lea Hall screeding services and more. All of these villages and towns are catered for by companies who do floor screeding. Birmingham householders can get price quotes by clicking here.
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