polished concrete floors

creedp

My wife wants to have polished concrete for a good part of the ground floor and I want to ask if anyone has done this and how you have managed to provide for upstand insulation. My builder says skirting only comes in 20mm size and therefore I will only be able to fit 10mm upstand insulation as the 25mm can't be coverd with the skirting.

AFAIK the Regs require a min of 25mm upstand insulation so therefore what is the solution .. other that to forget the polished concrete floor!!
I presume a possible alternative is to install a double skirting but this would be expensive and also you wil be able to see the join between the two boards. Any views?

Thanks

martin46585

If like most houses nowadays, you intend to insulate on the inside of the block work, then the thickness of the thermal board will out weight the depth of the perimeter strip, or is this a case of a timber frame house ....

antiskeptic

creedp wrote: »

My wife wants to have polished concrete for a good part of the ground floor and I want to ask if anyone has done this and how you have managed to provide for upstand insulation. My builder says skirting only comes in 20mm size and therefore I will only be able to fit 10mm upstand insulation as the 25mm can't be coverd with the skirting.

AFAIK the Regs require a min of 25mm upstand insulation so therefore what is the solution .. other that to forget the polished concrete floor!!
I presume a possible alternative is to install a double skirting but this would be expensive and also you wil be able to see the join between the two boards. Any views?

Thanks

Could you not use a chamfered insulation. Let's suppose it's nominally 25mm thick but chamfered at 45 degrees at the top to leave 10mm showing at the surface. The floor would be a bit thinner right at the skirting board but so what?

And why not increase what appears at the surface to 18mm - seeing as you have 20mm skirting to cover it. It can't be that hard to cut a nice chamfer on the insulation.

Carlow52

why not get some 2 by 4 red deal planed and bull nosed.

A little more expensive but if SWMBO is happy well....

jh1

startin self build myself this week, caught for space too,
have you checked out <snip>, loads of floor inasulation

Poor Uncle Tom

jh1 wrote: »

startin self build myself this week, caught for space too,
have you checked out <snip>, loads of floor inasulation

Your first post breaches the forum charter, read the charter before posting again.

creedp

martin46585 wrote: »

If like most houses nowadays, you intend to insulate on the inside of the block work, then the thickness of the thermal board will out weight the depth of the perimeter strip, or is this a case of a timber frame house ....

Unfortunately [or fortuntely depending on your thermal mass perspective! ]I'm not internally insulating as I have a quinnlite inner leaf. I originally was going with tiles and consequently didn't have a problem with width of upstand insulation exceeding the skirting width as it would be covered by tiles. However, self build/home design/etc magazines came along and my plan was twarted!!

@antiskeptic - I considered using chamfered insulation starting @ 50mm at bottom and chamfered to 18 - 20mm at top. My builder was concerned that this might result in screed cracking along the skirting. Also with very little variation possible how easy would it be to evenly chamfer long lengths of upstand insulation to ensure it doesn't exceed 20mm? Is it posible to buy pre-chanfered insulation or would insultation companies cut to order?

@Carlow52 - good suggestion. However the woman indoors!! is insisting that she wants whilte oak skirting to go with white oak doors and I'm guessing sourcing purpose cut white oak skirting would be pretty expensive? I saw a thread yesterday which had pictures of white oal doors with painted white architraves and skirting which set off doors nicely. Maybe I'll work on that suggestion:)


Thanks for suggestions

antiskeptic

creedp wrote: »

@antiskeptic - I considered using chamfered insulation starting @ 50mm at bottom and chamfered to 18 - 20mm at top. My builder was concerned that this might result in screed cracking along the skirting.Also with very little variation possible how easy would it be to evenly chamfer long lengths of upstand insulation to ensure it doesn't exceed 20mm? Is it posible to buy pre-chanfered insulation or would insultation companies cut to order?

Consider for a moment, the totality of heat loss through the following:

50mm thick upstand cut at a chamfer of 45 degrees leaving zero insulation thickness at the surface. That gives you a slab thickness of 50mm at the interface with the upstand - feathering to zero slab thickness at the wall. This feathered edge is protected by the skirt so that the thinnest slab exposed to load is 20mm thick.

The average thickness of insulation over the chamfer is (0+50)/2 = 25mm (the standard spec). The thickness for the rest of the slab is 50mm. Pretty good.


A chamfer of 45 degrees is easy to cut consistantly and accurately with a skilfully wielded circular saw.


(Personally, I'd chamfer at 45 degrees leaving 10mm insulation thickness at floor level - I just couldn't envisage a loading that close to the skirting that could cause a 40mm thick slab (at insulation interface) to crack.)

creedp

antiskeptic wrote: »

Consider for a moment, the totality of heat loss through the following:

50mm thick upstand cut at a chamfer of 45 degrees leaving zero insulation thickness at the surface. That gives you a slab thickness of 50mm at the interface with the upstand - feathering to zero slab thickness at the wall. This feathered edge is protected by the skirt so that the thinnest slab exposed to load is 20mm thick.

The average thickness of insulation over the chamfer is (0+50)/2 = 25mm (the standard spec). The thickness for the rest of the slab is 50mm. Pretty good.


A chamfer of 45 degrees is easy to cut consistantly and accurately with a skilfully wielded circular saw.


(Personally, I'd chamfer at 45 degrees leaving 10mm insulation thickness at floor level - I just couldn't envisage a loading that close to the skirting that could cause a 40mm thick slab (at insulation interface) to crack.)

Thanks for the above as this make a lot of sense to me and somewhat allays my concern re cold bridge at skirting level. Also the fact that I have a quinnlite inner leaf will help in this context. Of course I should have mentioned in my previous post that I am proposing to use a 100mm screed with the polished concrete to give the same thermal mass as an 80mm screed with tiles on top. With an 100mm screed would it be be better going with an upstand of 100mm at bottom camfered to 10mm at top or is this simply over the top? The areas I will be tiling I propose to go with a 50mm wide upstand at bottom camferred to 25mm at top as this insulation edge will be protected by the tiles.

Thanks again for the advice

antiskeptic

creedp wrote: »

With an 100mm screed would it be be better going with an upstand of 100mm at bottom camfered to 10mm at top or is this simply over the top? The areas I will be tiling I propose to go with a 50mm wide upstand at bottom camferred to 25mm at top as this insulation edge will be protected by the tiles.

Thanks again for the advice

Just a check. This is a concrete slab/screed you're laying and not a lightweight screed used for underfloor heating. I'm assuming the inherent strength of the former.

Just a note: I'm commenting from the viewpoint of a mechanical engineer with a) pragmatic general experience and a reasonable nose for what works b) an easy approach to doing what pleases me even if others might perceive risks being taken.


Present day wisdom holds that you can't have too much insulation so the question boils down to whether these options present a risk of cracking when loaded up. To my mind, I can't see a problem with either option for the naked concrete scenario - you're at decent thickness at no great distance from the fitted skirting and the chamfered section is uniformly supported by close-fitting, rigid insulation.

The main issue is simplicity of producing an accurate cut - which careful application with a circular saw should be able to achieve. You might have to compromise on going with such shallow, full-height chamfers since you're up to a 13" diameter blade to produce them. I don't think such a beast exists in hand held circular saws and you don't want to be getting into cutting from both sides.

I'd take the precaution of treating the edges with care until the concrete has time to properly harden - say 3 weeks to be sure. No scaffolding or other similar point loading to be set up on the edges. That would need a bit of underlining given the tendency to want to stack stuff up against the walls.

sas

Couple of thoughts

1. Have you actually spoken to any of the concrete polishing companys? I priced it at 1 point with one of the recommended ones and they were very keen to lay the screed themselves (because it needs to be level, not just "Irish" level) and they were also very specific as to the thickness it needed to be. 100mm min if I remember correctly. I'm not familiar with the process of polishing so you may want to ask them one of them first. I found it simply too expensive so I didn't go any further.

2. That builder of yours has proven to be a real gem based on your previous posts so do you really think he's going to bother his a**e cutting upstand insulation at 45 degress for you even if you tell him to? That hollowcore wrap story comes to mind...

creedp

@ antiskeptic.
Yes it is a concrete slab, apparaently you can't polish the lightweight screed so you have no choice there. I appreciate your advice on the camfered insulation options and I think the big risk is to ensure the insulation is camfered properly, hence my Q is it possible to purchase pre-camfered adge insulation or can it be ordered from the insulation companies? Will just have to keep a close eye on how the edge insulation is installed prior to pouring the slab.


@Sas - My wife has taken a particular interest in this aspect of the build ( as he did with the aluclad windows, high gloss kitchen, light fittings , white oak doors and skirting, etc!!) and has sourced a number of quotes. The company she has selected have no difficulty with the builder laying the screed but has given him specification for the type of screed, i.e. a dry mix with added polypropelyene(!) fibres ..., They also said that the optimum depth of screed is 100mm but anything over 80mm is acceptable. On the cost, I know!! But having said that I was offerred a choice of limestone tiles or polished concrete - when i saw the price of the limestone tiles I warmed to the concrete:D. The polishing process can take place any time after 3 days from laying the screed but they prefer to wait at least 5 days. Given the point made by antiskeptic that the edge by the skirting should be given plenty of time to dry I might ask them to hold off on polishing for a couple of weeks after screed is laid.

On you 2nd point all i can say is fingers crossed. Unlike the hollowcore wrap incident, which took place earlier in the build, I'm more aware now and have insisted that screed can't be poured until I'm happy with insulation. I have vague memories of someone previously talking about proprietary edge insulation but I suppose its unlikely to stretch to camfered edge insulation. Anyway I will have to proceed, albeit with caution, otherwise I'm staring limestone tiles in the face and that makes me wince

sas

creedp wrote: »

I have vague memories of someone previously talking about proprietary edge insulation but I suppose its unlikely to stretch to camfered edge insulation. Anyway I will have to proceed, albeit with caution, otherwise I'm staring limestone tiles in the face and that makes me wince

One of the big 2 insulation manufacturers (the one that gives you xtra) has a board for turning corners in a cavity. It's like 2 boards cut at 45% angle away from each other (i.e forming a 90 degree) and joined with a foil covering. There is a possibility that this could be used.

I imagine however that it's astonishingly expensive and I'd also go with the suggestion of simply cutting some standard insulation, assuming the detail is ultimately deemed suitable.

On the polished concrete, another thing that put me off was that the suppliers did admit that it would mark if you dropped a heavy plate on it or dragged a table across it. I appreciated (and was surprised by) the honesty. If you haven't already done so, it might be worth having your chosen contractor take you to a job thats 3 - 4 years old.

creedp

One of the big 2 insulation manufacturers (the one that gives you xtra) has a board for turning corners in a cavity. It's like 2 boards cut at 45% angle away from each other (i.e forming a 90 degree) and joined with a foil covering. There is a possibility that this could be used.

I imagine however that it's astonishingly expensive and I'd also go with the suggestion of simply cutting some standard insulation, assuming the detail is ultimately deemed suitable

That wouldn't surprise me so i think I'll be going with the on-site camfering.

On the polished concrete, another thing that put me off was that the suppliers did admit that it would mark if you dropped a heavy plate on it or dragged a table across it. I appreciated (and was surprised by) the honesty. If you haven't already done so, it might be worth having your chosen contractor take you to a job thats 3 - 4 years old.

Good point Sas. Another risk is that hair cracks can appear on the surface which cannot be guaranted against! I think using a dry mix and those polypropeline fibres mitigate this risk but don't remove it! Anyway if it happens I won't be saying 'I told you so'!!

kboc

PM sent

Mellor

I think you are thinkign too much into this. Who ever suggested chamfered insulation apears to have forgotten about the polishing. Are you aware of what this is?

The grinding and polishing process will make **** of a screed that tapers to nothing.

My advice. Lay a normal slab. With 40mm insulation at perimeter. Then Lay a full screed. Have the regualr wall insulation overlap this area.

creedp

Mellor wrote: »

I think you are thinkign too much into this. Who ever suggested chamfered insulation apears to have forgotten about the polishing. Are you aware of what this is?

The grinding and polishing process will make **** of a screed that tapers to nothing.

My advice. Lay a normal slab. With 40mm insulation at perimeter. Then Lay a full screed. Have the regualr wall insulation overlap this area.

Im not clear on what you suggesting here Mellor. The 150mm subfloor is in place. Next is the insulation with UFH pipes. Then the 100mm screed. Are you proposing a different make up for the screed? Btw I don't have internal insulation so thats a bit of a problem also. Sorry for being a bit slow on the uptake here but I am illerate when it comes to construction!!

Also are you saying that it would not be possible to have say 50mm edge insulation at base of 100mm screed camfering up to 10mm or even 0mm at ffl? Given that the skirting will cover 20mm of the edge and the grinding/polishing process will not have go right into the edge of screed.

Last off and this is sheer desperation:) - would the quinnlite inner leaf be of any little benefit from the point of view of reducing heat loss from the slab??

When I spoke to a couple of guys about this they advised to install 25mm edge insulation and something about if this couldn't be coverd by skirting then it could be covered by mastic. I'll have to get back to these boys again about this issue.

Mellor

If you are having a skirting then I'd select a insulation for the screed to match. Tapering is ok, but be careful. 50mm down to nothing over the space of 100mm or less is quite severe. The higher the angle, the weaker the corner is, you don't want a polished slab cracking.
Covering with mastic sounds like a terrible idea.

Polishing is rather a brutal process so they won't be able to leave 18mm unpolished at the edge. Simply isn't that accurate. A quinnlite would help slightly

kboc

sas wrote: »

One of the big 2 insulation manufacturers (the one that gives you xtra) has a board for turning corners in a cavity. It's like 2 boards cut at 45% angle away from each other (i.e forming a 90 degree) and joined with a foil covering. There is a possibility that this could be used.

I imagine however that it's astonishingly expensive and I'd also go with the suggestion of simply cutting some standard insulation, assuming the detail is ultimately deemed suitable.

On the polished concrete, another thing that put me off was that the suppliers did admit that it would mark if you dropped a heavy plate on it or dragged a table across it. I appreciated (and was surprised by) the honesty. If you haven't already done so, it might be worth having your chosen contractor take you to a job thats 3 - 4 years old.

Like everything, if you choose the good trades men, then problems like this will not be a problem. If concrete is polished properly and quality densifiers added then the concrete jumps from 30N strength to 70N strength. At this strength any house hold item will do well to remotely blemish floor.

creedp

If you are having a skirting then I'd select a insulation for the screed to match.

Do you mean that is the edge insulation should match the width of skirting and be uniform in thickness?

Tapering is ok, but be careful. 50mm down to nothing over the space of 100mm or less is quite severe. The higher the angle, the weaker the corner is, you don't want a polished slab cracking.

OK will have to discuss with fitters the best option that they will stand over.

Polishing is rather a brutal process so they won't be able to leave 18mm unpolished at the edge. Simply isn't that accurate.

I'm concerned now as how will they finish around the door thresholds. We have a 3m sliding door in the kitchen, if they can polish accurately up to a fixed edge how will they manage this door threshold?

A quinnlite would help slightly

Something positive:)

Mellor

creedp wrote: »

Do you mean that is the edge insulation should match the width of skirting and be uniform in thickness?

Teah. Pretty much.
Insulation to be no wider than skirting. So 15-20mm insulation. Slightly more if you taper it, but I would take any more than 10mm off.
OK will have to discuss with fitters the best option that they will stand over.

I'm concerned now as how will they finish around the door thresholds. We have a 3m sliding door in the kitchen, if they can polish accurately up to a fixed edge how will they manage this door threshold?

They normally pollish before fixtures like that go in.
If the treshold is raised a little, or has a leading edge then then can run the machine along itas it will provide a guide. A polishign machine is pretty similar to a normal floor buffer (for cleaning). Just with grinding pads.

sas

kboc wrote: »

Like everything, if you choose the good trades men, then problems like this will not be a problem. If concrete is polished properly and quality densifiers added then the concrete jumps from 30N strength to 70N strength. At this strength any house hold item will do well to remotely blemish floor.

Purely for my own info. as I'm not going with polished concrete...

I am not willing to accept that polishing concrete has any effect on it's strength.

What's a densifier? Your post isn't clear to me on whether it's added during polishing or an additive for the concrete in the plant\truck. I assume it's the plant\truck option.

creedp

Teah. Pretty much.
Insulation to be no wider than skirting. So 15-20mm insulation. Slightly more if you taper it, but I would take any more than 10mm off.

OK will discuss on this basis with contractor. Looks like if I go with polished concrete I have to compromise on the insulation. Such is life. The cost of peace and harmony:)

They normally pollish before fixtures like that go in.
If the threashols is raised a little, or has a leading edge then then can run the machine along itas it will provide a guide. A polishign machine is pretty similar to a normal floor buffer (for cleaning). Just with grinding pads.

I know they say that they can offer a discount if they can polish before internal walls are built. So I suppose this also applies to doors etc. Im just not sure how you can polish concrete at FFL before installing external doors. Anyway lets hope that they don't damage the external door thresholds!

kboc

sas wrote: »

Purely for my own info. as I'm not going with polished concrete...

I am not willing to accept that polishing concrete has any effect on it's strength.

What's a densifier? Your post isn't clear to me on whether it's added during polishing or an additive for the concrete in the plant\truck. I assume it's the plant\truck option.

Densifier is a chemical which is added during the polishing process. Concrete has to cure for at least 28 days before can be polished.

sas

kboc wrote: »

Densifier is a chemical which is added during the polishing process. Concrete has to cure for at least 28 days before can be polished.

So you're telling me there's a chemical that can be added to concrete at 28days that turns 30kn concrete into 70kn concrete.

I'm surprised to say the least...

Poor Uncle Tom

sas wrote: »

So you're telling me there's a chemical that can be added to concrete at 28days that turns 30kn concrete into 70kn concrete...

:eek:

Hmmmmm.....why not add it to sand and make concrete altogether.....:p

Maybe it is just a surface hardner.

kboc

sas wrote: »

So you're telling me there's a chemical that can be added to concrete at 28days that turns 30kn concrete into 70kn concrete.

I'm surprised to say the least...

I am glad you are suprised.

I was the paying customer so I done my research and found a quality trades man who did quality work (i went to see a job he done in dublin) so I certainly was not going to question this man on his work or methods.

But thats what he done when polishing floors, and he is quite busy in the current recession which is a indictment of his work in itself.

creedp

kboc wrote: »

Densifier is a chemical which is added during the polishing process. Concrete has to cure for at least 28 days before can be polished.

28 days!! The different guys I was talking to said they could polish after 3 days but would prefer to wait for 5 days! Are you saying that the guys that did your job waited for 28 days before polishing and that this was required from a quality perspective? I'll have to go back with this point and see what reaction I'll get..

Mellor

creedp wrote: »

I know they say that they can offer a discount if they can polish before internal walls are built. So I suppose this also applies to doors etc. Im just not sure how you can polish concrete at FFL before installing external doors. Anyway lets hope that they don't damage the external door thresholds!

The reason that offer a discount if internal walls aren't in is that its now one big stab and easier for them.

Why do you think polishing before exteranl doors are in would be a problem. The slab goes in bfore the doors. You simply polish before you install doors.

sas wrote: »

So you're telling me there's a chemical that can be added to concrete at 28days that turns 30kn concrete into 70kn concrete.

I'm surprised to say the least...

It doesn't turn it into 70kn conrete.
It's a surface hardener. The top 1 oe 2 mm hardens, to the same level as 70kn. But the whole slab is still essentiall as strong as a regualr 30kn slab.

creedp wrote: »

28 days!! The different guys I was talking to said they could polish after 3 days but would prefer to wait for 5 days! Are you saying that the guys that did your job waited for 28 days before polishing and that this was required from a quality perspective? I'll have to go back with this point and see what reaction I'll get..

I recently polished a slab that was about 50 years old.
Just for reference.

creedp

Why do you think polishing before exteranl doors are in would be a problem. The slab goes in bfore the doors. You simply polish before you install doors.

Its a problem when your builder wont pour finished floor before all else is done including the internal plastering/skimming. I was told that was the norm although I tried initially to go with a single pour floor at beginning which he argued against since he claimed it wouldn't be strong enough. However it was perfectly strong enough for the garage floor which now won't be insluated as it wasn't installed before single floor poured. [When I questioned him about lack of insulation he just said 'ah sure you can through that in yourself later if you feel its necessary - yea raise the ffl by 80 to 100mm for insulation and a further 80mm for screed is no problem for door thresholds!!) Why its strong enough for a garage floor and not a domestic house floor I don't know.

I recently polished a slab that was about 50 years old.
Just for reference.

I understood there is no time limit for polishing concrete however my surprise was that you should wait for 28 days after pouring before polishing. The guys I spoke to all mentioned waiting 5 days before polishing and didn't say anything about the fact that waiting longer was a good idea.

Sorry for keeping this thread going for so long but I appreciate all the comments posted.

Thanks

kboc

creedp wrote: »

Its a problem when your builder wont pour finished floor before all else is done including the internal plastering/skimming. I was told that was the norm although I tried initially to go with a single pour floor at beginning which he argued against since he claimed it wouldn't be strong enough. However it was perfectly strong enough for the garage floor which now won't be insluated as it wasn't installed before single floor poured. [When I questioned him about lack of insulation he just said 'ah sure you can through that in yourself later if you feel its necessary - yea raise the ffl by 80 to 100mm for insulation and a further 80mm for screed is no problem for door thresholds!!) Why its strong enough for a garage floor and not a domestic house floor I don't know.




I understood there is no time limit for polishing concrete however my surprise was that you should wait for 28 days after pouring before polishing. The guys I spoke to all mentioned waiting 5 days before polishing and didn't say anything about the fact that waiting longer was a good idea.

Sorry for keeping this thread going for so long but I appreciate all the comments posted.

Thanks

Tell the builder the customer is always right. If you say jump, he asks how high, especially in the current climate.

Don't let any man, woman, child or beast polish that floor until the concrete has sat for at least 28 days. I waited 6 weeks for mine.

creedp

kboc wrote: »

Tell the builder the customer is always right. If you say jump, he asks how high, especially in the current climate.

Don't let any man, woman, child or beast polish that floor until the concrete has sat for at least 28 days. I waited 6 weeks for mine.

Definitely bear that is mind .. its news to me!! Like a lot of other issues which have arisen during this build process Im glad to find out useful information before its too late!!

Thanks again

creedp

Sorry to resurrect this thread again. It was suggested to me that a solution to the edge insulation would be to place a 25mm PIR edge board against wall which would be 150mm high of which 100mm would be above floor insulation level, thereby covering the full height of the screed. Then add a second 25mm thick edge board but this one would only be 50mm above floor insulation level. This would leave you with a screed that has 50mm edge insulation for the 1st 50mm of the screed and a 25mm edge board for the last 50mm of the screed.

Given what was said earlier regarding the brutal nature of the polishing process would the last 50mm of screed be likely to crack when polished?

I hope this description is not too convoluted to understand

Thanks

lumlavinlad

hi iam just wondering could u email me contact details of peiple that do the polished concrete floors cheers

creedp

The floors have been poured with 35N concrete for 2 weeks now and the polishing guys advised that the floor should be regularly watered while the concrete is curing to mitigate against cracks. Just wondering how long this watering should continue for. I don't have a problem watering per se but I also I don't want to prolong the drying process. The screed is 100mm thick and by the book should be given 100 days to dry fully. However, if at all possible I need to be in house by end August (have kids who will be starting in new school over 40 miles from current house!) which doesn't give me the 100 days to play with. Unfortunately Im over 8 weeks behind schedule at this point and suffering as a consequence!

Also although I know I shouldn't force the drying process would it be disastrous to turn on UFH after say 4-6 weeks at a low temp (am using HP) in order to speed up process?

Also planning to turn on the UFH upstairs from wk 4 onwards as don't have to worry about cracks upstairs and want to start with flooring as asap.

Any and all comments greatly appreciated

creedp

creedp wrote: »

The floors have been poured with 35N concrete for 2 weeks now and the polishing guys advised that the floor should be regularly watered while the concrete is curing to mitigate against cracks. Just wondering how long this watering should continue for. I don't have a problem watering per se but I also I don't want to prolong the drying process. The screed is 100mm thick and by the book should be given 100 days to dry fully. However, if at all possible I need to be in house by end August (have kids who will be starting in new school over 40 miles from current house!) which doesn't give me the 100 days to play with. Unfortunately Im over 8 weeks behind schedule at this point and suffering as a consequence!

Also although I know I shouldn't force the drying process would it be disastrous to turn on UFH after say 4-6 weeks at a low temp (am using HP) in order to speed up process?

Also planning to turn on the UFH upstairs from wk 4 onwards as don't have to worry about cracks upstairs and want to start with flooring as asap.

Any and all comments greatly appreciated

For the 2nd time today I apologise for doing this but I have a linked query. Due to signiifcant delays in putting in the screeds I am under pressure to get a move on with internal works, joinery/tiling, and now that the screeds are in for 3 weeks I am tempted to turn on the HP at a low temp (20c) upstairs to help with the drying process, possibly building up the UFH temp to 35c over a period of 2 weeks.

The real Q I have now is how do I know when the screeds are dry enough to lay a semi-solid floor. Is there a meter I could purchase/hire which would give me an accurate reading? Similarly with the wood is there a meter I can buy which would give me a similar reading.

Thanks

galwaytt

creedp wrote: »

For the 2nd time today I apologise for doing this but I have a linked query. Due to signiifcant delays in putting in the screeds I am under pressure to get a move on with internal works, joinery/tiling, and now that the screeds are in for 3 weeks I am tempted to turn on the HP at a low temp (20c) upstairs to help with the drying process, possibly building up the UFH temp to 35c over a period of 2 weeks.

The real Q I have now is how do I know when the screeds are dry enough to lay a semi-solid floor. Is there a meter I could purchase/hire which would give me an accurate reading? Similarly with the wood is there a meter I can buy which would give me a similar reading.

Thanks

You can buy a meter from Instrument Technology in Dublin.

I've used them for years for meter's, gauges (pressure & vacuum) etc.

No connection, other than as a customer.

creedp

galwaytt wrote: »

You can buy a meter from Instrument Technology in Dublin.

I've used them for years for meter's, gauges (pressure & vacuum) etc.

No connection, other than as a customer.

Thanks Galwaytt. I had a quick look at their website and I think their equipment may be a bit steep for a once-off purpose. On a main contractor build where the contractor is required to lay the wooden floors is the contractor responsible for testing the moisture content of the floors? Does it have to be more scientfically robust that 'when the screed goes white its ready':)