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Screed is a seamless, resilient and flexible flooring for residential, commercial and industrial areas. Depending on the material, sealing and installation, the screed structure can be used for various purposes, for example as a heating screed, sloping screed or as protection against aggressive chemicals. The adjustment of the screed construction height also allows precise level compensation.

Layer by layer from the shell to the finished floor

The floor slabs or ceilings of your building form the load-bearing layer for your floor. The unfinished floor is often uneven, rough and has difficulty distributing loads. A top layer of screed compensates for such unevenness. This wear layer is suitable for covering living areas with parquet, tiles or carpet. In basements, garages and modern lofts, the screed often remains as an attractive wear or visible screed. Depending on the intended use, the screed structure can be laid floating, sliding or firmly bonded to the subfloor. The finished floor is then made up of the bare floor, insulation, screed and an optional floor covering.

Composite screed - for heavy loads and high force transmission

The bonded screed offers the optimum conditions for withstanding the heaviest permanent loads. The screed structure consists solely of the bare floor, the selected screed and an optional covering. For the bonded screed, your screed installer selects a screed with similar deformation properties to the underlying floor slab and ensures a strong and durable bond. This ensures optimum force transmission over the entire contact surface.

The typical screed construction height is quite thin and is only around 20 mm for mastic asphalt screed and around 25 to 30 mm for cement screed. Composite screed offers no impact or sound insulation and is therefore mainly used for industrial areas, underground garages or basements subject to heavy traffic.

Slip screed - strong for basements and terraces

If the load requirements are low or the subfloor does not allow an adhesive bond with the screed, then a sliding screed is an option. The screed structure consists of the bare floor, a slip-resistant separating layer, the screed and an optional covering. The single or double-layer separating layer made of plastic-impregnated paper, raw glass fleece or thin polyethylene film reduces friction with the substrate. This allows the screed to safely compensate for minor deformations and movements caused by the sliding movement.

As the separating layer hardly adds any support, the screed construction height is mainly determined by the thickness of the screed. The minimum thickness for bonded screed in accordance with DIN 18560 (screeds in construction) is 45 millimetres for cement screed and 15 millimetres for synthetic resin screed. Slip screed offers only minimal sound and heat insulation and is mainly used in residential construction for basements, terraces and balconies.

Floating screed - ideal for all living areas

With a floating screed, the screed does not come into contact with the bare floor or any overhanging building components at any point. The screed structure consists of the bare floor, an insulating layer lined with barrier layers, the screed and a floor covering. Expansion joints insulate the floating screed from the walls and prevent sound and thermal bridges. As a result, this method achieves very good thermal and impact sound insulation.

The screed thickness for cement screed is around 40 to 45 millimetres. The thickness of the insulation, floor covering and optional underfloor heating must be added to the total screed thickness. If the floating screed serves as an even heat distribution for underfloor heating, experts also refer to it as a heating screed.

As screed layers, we are happy to support you with your planning, the selection of suitable screed types and the determination of your screed construction height for leveling. The same applies to the selection of suitable insulation materials. Feel free to share this article with other builders who would also like to find out more about screed construction.