Can You Use Liquid Screed Instead Of Concrete?

To the average person on the street, liquid floor screed and concrete may look like similar materials used for the same purposes. However, talk to any contractor or other member of the building trade, and they will tell you the two are very different. In how they’re used, composed and laid, screed and concrete are entirely different but equally useful in their application.

In this article, we’ll take you through some of the key differences between liquid floor screed and concrete. We’ll give you a better idea of what the two materials are used for, how they are used and why you might choose one over the other for certain projects.

For starters, concrete is mainly used in construction projects and civil engineering as one of the most effective and cheapest building materials available. Anyone living anywhere in the UK will be familiar with the look of concrete, as it’s used in almost everything from roads and buildings to bridges and domestic houses. If you like the industrial aesthetic, you can even use concrete inside your home for your internal walls or floors.

Conversely, liquid screed is a flooring material that is often laid on top of concrete or other solid underflooring to create a smooth and robust surface for whatever floor coverings you want to place on top of it. Since screed is a liquid, to begin with, it creates a completely flat and smooth floor surface, making it ideal for any type of flooring you might like. With a flawless flat surface, you can place anything from vinyl, linoleum, ceramic tiles, carpets or wood onto a screeded floor.

The added support this versatile material provides is ideal for areas or locations with a lot of foot traffic. When laid correctly, the strength of the self-levelling liquid screed is one of its main benefits, making it a great solution for domestic, commercial or industrial flooring where strength is a necessity.

You can typically walk on a screeded floor within a couple of days after you lay it. Naturally, this will take a little longer when the weather is warmer in the summer months. This timeframe also depends on the type of screen you apply since some will take much longer to sufficiently cure and harden than others.

As a general rule, building practice states that the drying time for gypsum screeds is usually one day per 1mm of screed laid down up to a thickness of 40mm. If you lay gypsum screed above 40mm in thickness, the drying time increases to two days per 1mm. This is a relatively quick process compared to other building materials, making screed a great time-sensitive option for flooring.

Liquid screed is also incredibly cost-effective since you can benefit from all the strength and robustness of concrete but at a fraction of the thickness. This makes it ideal for large projects or those looking to refurbish their homes on a budget. Most screeds can be applied in wet areas, apart from gypsum screed, which can form blisters when moisture works its way into the mix.

Another factor making screed ideal for large projects is the amount you can lay in a single day. Compared to standard concrete, which you can only lay 150 square metres of in a day, with screed concrete, you can cover up to 1,000 square metres of surface area. Both a cost-effective and comprehensive solution, screed can speed up your construction timeline, helping things to run smoothly.

Liquid screed is also ideal for laying on top of underfloor heating, given its efficiency at transferring heat. This can save you even more money on energy costs in the long run. Essentially, this is because you can lay screed tightly around underfloor heating pipes, allowing for quicker and easier thermal transfer into the room above.

We’ve covered how liquid screed compares to ready-mixed concrete in terms of its use and cost-effectiveness, but what exactly are the uses of the two building materials? Given that they are very different, it won’t be a surprise to learn they have different uses in the construction industry.