Sealed concrete floor screed as a finish?
trying to save some pennies on our extension as another steel has been missed off so the costs are just increasing constantly.
Our large open plan area (kitchen diner 7.5m x 4.3m) goes into the living area (L shaped) - the new kitchen diner part being concrete and the living area will be boarded and screeded to match. (image below rough layout. Ignore the kitchen unit colours at the back as it's an old photo!
We were planning to have LVT flooring as a durable and water resistant finish as having bifolds across the whole width of the room.
But...
It is going to cost aound 2.5k to have the floor prepped, screeded then the LVT fitted by a pro.
I have seen on a recent Homes magazine where someone wanted polished concrete floors and instead had them screeded and sealed to give a similar effect. Husband thinks it would look too cold and although I would prefer a warm wood effect on the floor, it could possible save us a lot of money by not having LVT put down. The concrete extension part has been insulated underneath so shouldnt be too cold/
What do you guys think?? I know it would look good in the extension side but worried about the lounge. I love rugs though, so ....
Thoughts...
Anyone done this themselves?
the room will have a dark black grey simple shaker kitchen with brick wall - industrial style.
Comments (27)
AR
5 years agoTani H-S
5 years agoRelated Discussions
Concreting floor before putting underfloor heating down
Comments (1)If it's a concrete slab, it will need to be completely dry before you lay insulation and a DPM (Damp Proof Membrane), followed by the underfloor heating. Concrete drying times are advised by the manufacturer and it's always best to follow their guidance. 1 day per 1mm seems right, however the actual drying time really depends on the site conditions and levels of humidity. If you're planning on putting in a screed finish then you will need to allow another day per 1mm for the screed to dry. If this is just a screed and not concrete, you'll only need 65mm, not 100mm. However, if you have 100mm to make up then we'd recommend adding 35mm of insulation for a better performance and more eco-friendly build, as well as a shorter drying time. Some people advise to dry out screeds by using the UFH on a low setting or by adding fibres, however this is more risky and should be done under the advisement of your installer/builder....See MoreConcrete floors - love it or leave it?
Comments (22)Got to agree with radicalman - there are actually a lot of downsides to a concrete floor. Because they're so brittle and hard they are almost guaranteed to crack - they're also very cold and unforgiving underfoot. We offer a poured resin that is just 3-4mm thick and is so similar looking to concrete a lot of people can't tell the difference. Essentially we pour two pigments at the same time and blend them so you get the same finish/effect - but it's warm, smooth, soft (elastic) and really comfortable so you can walk around your home/kitchen etc. barefoot without worrying about it! Aesthetically though I love a polished concrete floor - such a great blank canvas for any style as it complements contemporary interiors and provides a really interesting contrast with more traditional styles! If you want a warmer finish (in a taupey grey or warmer pigment) that's also possible and stops it looking too industrial......See MorePolished Concrete Floor (for domestic/residential apartment)
Comments (6)Do yourself a humongous favour and don't go for polished concrete. It is about as practical as putting down white marble. It will show every stain and scratch and doesn't age gracefully. It needs to be sealed after it is laid (and fully dried out...) - ideally with something like clear two-part resin; and that is a very expensive finish in itself. With the underfloor heating it will probably crack, and to get it right requires a lot of depth (and weight) which you probably don't have in a flat. We have tried this many times and have learned the problems the hard way. The solution that I have arrived at is to go for large format fully vitrified porcelain tiles in a "concrete" finish. These days they come in massive sizes - 60 x 120cm and even 75 x 150cm, which give you the "slab" look and feel, and the finish is bomb proof. Typical ranges would be "Concreto" by Strata Tiles, "Composition" by Solus Tiles or by Microcement by Apavisa (Distributed by Strata). In fact Apavisa seem to make a large range of these tiles: http://www.apavisa.com/en/colecciones/?concepto=Cementos&espesor=&filtro=1 One caveat - in the large format these tiles are up to £45/sqm, but I would pay double that never to have to deal with another polished concrete floor again!...See MoreOak Flooring Disaster - What Now?
Comments (12)Hello, sorry to hear about your experience. I'm not a floor expert but wanted to share my experience and thoughts. If you plan to screed the floor again, it might be wise to research how long the screed really takes to dry before laying a wooden floor because even though it is dry to walk on, there may still be moisture in the screed. If you lay the DPM, then add screed on top, the moisture only has one way to go which is upwards into the wood floor again. Why do you need the self levelling screed? Is it because the floor is completely unlevel in one part of the room compared to another? Just from my own experience, I've just had my kitchen, hallway and extension installed with engineered floors back in October. We had a chimney breast removed and this chimney sat on a concrete floor, the rest of the floor had wood floor joists. As some of the concrete floor was disturbed during the building work, the builder said he was going to fix it by filling the gap with concrete but lay DPM in the between the joists so the damp would not go through to the joists. When the floor fitter came to check the site, I told him this was the plan for the area, he immediately said the floor would not be dry in time ( floor to be installed a week after the concrete ) and said he would not install the wood floor in that area as it would take months to dry and the moisture would go into the wood. The existing concrete also had some damp ( not sure if this is normal ), he used a damp meter. The builder was obviously not happy with this as he said it takes 2 days to dry and there was a bit of standoff off between the fitter and the builder. The floor fitter said yes it might take 2 days to dry to walk on but moisture is still in the concrete. Eventually I had to get the builder to remove the concrete floor section and replace it with joist. In this situation I decided to trust the floor fitter as this was his field of expertise. My point is, even if you have a screed, I think you also need some DPM or something in between the screed and the wood that stops the moisture from rising into the wood. You could also go to some independent flooring shops if you still need to look for new flooring as they are usually very knowledgable, explain your situation with the screed, tiles etc and they would should be able to advise you what to do to avoid the same thing happening again. Did you have the floorboards floating or glued?...See MoreAR
5 years agoTani H-S
5 years ago
Ribena Drinker
5 years agoTani H-S
5 years agoRibena Drinker
5 years agoTani H-S
5 years agoTani H-S
5 years ago
HU-343559674
5 years agoUser
5 years agoTani H-S
5 years agoUser
5 years ago
Juliet Docherty
5 years agoTani H-S
5 years agoRibena Drinker
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5 years agoTani H-S
5 years ago
Anthony (Beano)
5 years agoUser
5 years agoTani H-S
5 years agoHU-343559674
5 years agoGood grief, Tani!
Choice paralysis here for you.
"Ask a room full of economists and they're all give you a different answer". Everyone's take on interior decor is unique to them and whilst everyone is chipping in here with good ideas, we wouldn't mind betting you're no further forward with your planning.
You mentioned resilient flooring needed because of asthma suffers in your house. This a huge misunderstanding that somehow has been banded about. Similar to "the average human swallows 5 spiders during their sleep in their lifetime"… all untrue folklore.
Carpet tends to capture air borne particles, making it easier to vacuum them away. Take a look here https://www.linkedin.com/company/lano/ and see their most recent article ⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️
Unnatural Flooring is a great shout from @semidetached click here to view on our site and something similar from Fibre Flooring, click here for the products.
We offer sound advice and free samples and we left our contact details for you in an earlier post.
Night, night!Pavan123
5 years ago
Sarah
5 years agoJonathan
5 years agoTani H-S
5 years ago
Ribena Drinker