Which floor screed is better: wet, dry, semi-dry or self-leveling

Which floor screed is better for concrete floor slabs and wood flooring? In the process of construction and repair work very often there is a need to replace old wooden creaking floors with new reliable and durable ones. To do this without a screed device is not so easy. There are several different types of device for this leveling base floor.

Which floor screed is better: wet, dry, semi-dry or self-leveling

What are the types of screeds

Many have heard of such a concept as a floor screed, but not everyone knows its purpose. In the construction literature, it is defined as a leveling cement-sand layer, laid on the floor, on which the topcoat is laid. Today, not only cement and sand are used for screeding. There are other, more modern materials. Which floor screed is better – everyone can understand for themselves only by studying the characteristics of all its types.

Which floor screed is better: wet, dry, semi-dry or self-leveling

In addition to leveling the surface for laying the final coating, the screed has several other functions:

  • increased surface hardness;
  • the creation of hydro and thermal insulation;
  • the organization of the necessary bias for water drainage if it is required by purpose of the room;
  • masking of engineering and electrical networks and communications.

Consequently, any kind of it must have all the qualities necessary to perform the above functions. Which floor screed is better to choose? Builders distinguish 4 types of screed: wet, semi-dry, dry and self-leveling. The choice dictates the type and purpose of the room in which it is planned to make the screed.

Which floor screed is better: wet, dry, semi-dry or self-leveling

This type of screed owes its name to the fact that there is a large amount of water in the solution. Among the components of the solution are present: cement brands from M200 and above, fine-grained sifted sand, water. Then the surface of the screed is processed using special solutions that give strength to the monolith.

Floor screed: how to do the various methods available.  Methods, types and technology devices for floor screed. Wet, dry and semi-dry types of floor screeds. Properties of different types of screeds.

Consider in more detail the composition of the mixture to perform wet screed for the floor. Which is better to choose the proportion, see below. Guaranteed a good screed will, if you take the Portland cement brand M300 or M400, mixed with sand and dilute with water in the ratio of 1 to 3.

Better screed is obtained by adding plasticizers that bind particles of cement and sand into a solid monolith. The thickness of the layer during casting should be at least 2 cm. Otherwise, the surface will crack.

Which floor screed is better: wet, dry, semi-dry or self-leveling

This is a classic version of the device do-it-yourself floor screed on beacons Videos of exactly this technology prevail in the network. It is suitable for any finishing coatings and for creating a “warm floor” system. The disadvantages include: the complexity of installation, the presence of wet work with a large amount of water, long (up to 3 weeks) drying of the surface, the need for constant wetting in order to avoid cracking.

Helpful advice! When constructing an electric underfloor heating under a concrete tie for fastening the heating elements to the fixture, you can use plastic fastening clamps. They are easy to cut and hide under the concrete base.

Which floor screed is better: wet, dry, semi-dry or self-leveling

From the title it is clear that in semi-dry technology, the use of water is greatly reduced or very limited. There is a lot of sand in the solution, which allows the concrete to harden very quickly, but unfortunately, to the detriment of strength. Most often, semi-dry screed is used in apartments.

Deciding which floor screed is better, you need to know more about the completely dry method of the device screed. In this case, water is not used at all. The overlaps are covered with dry mixes, which are leveled and coated on top with sheet materials such as plywood or gypsum fiber. This screed has a small mass, which allows it to be successfully used in a private house on wooden floors.

Which floor screed is better: wet, dry, semi-dry or self-leveling

Helpful advice! The device of a wet coupler is more justified in non-residential premises: garages, industrial buildings, trade pavilions. It is more durable and can withstand heavy loads. Dry screed methods are used in apartments and private homes.

This is a new modern way to create a flat surface in the room for laying the topcoat. Self-leveling mixture is also called self-leveling floors. They can be based on cement-sand mixture with the addition of polymers or fully polymeric.

The main feature of self-leveling floors is the ability to spread over the surface in a thin layer under the action of gravity. The solution fills all the irregularities, and its surface becomes absolutely parallel to the level of the horizon.

Which floor screed is better: wet, dry, semi-dry or self-leveling

A self-leveling floor does not need any assistance in spreading it across the substrate. It is enough only to roll it with a studded roller to remove air bubbles. This becomes possible due to the high fluidity of the solution itself. Another advantage is that the self-leveling floor has a thickness of from 35 to 100 mm, which makes it easy.

The floor of self-leveling compounds is most often used not as an independent screed, but as an additional coating on a concrete base. All this thanks to its perfectly smooth surface.

Which floor screed is better: wet, dry, semi-dry or self-leveling

Having considered several options for the device leveling surface, you need to determine for yourself which floor screed is better. It is impossible to answer this question unequivocally, since the choice of the type of leveling depends on the room in which it is done.

You can not make a dry screed in bathrooms, toilets and bathrooms, as in these rooms there is always a risk of flooding, which will lead to damage to the entire layer with the appearance of mold and fungus in it. The use of wet screed in residential premises is also not justified, since it entails large financial and labor costs. The time of its complete drying is very long, and laying the topcoat on a not completely dried base is dangerous.

Which floor screed is better: wet, dry, semi-dry or self-leveling

On the contrary, the use of a wet screed in garages and other non-residential facilities is simply necessary, since none of the other screeds possess such density and hardness. Indeed, in the industrial premises on the floor often moves heavy machinery and install bulky and massive equipment on it.

Dry screed is very good for wooden floors of private houses. It does not use water, which is so negative for wood. Absolutely dry installation ensures durability of all wooden structural elements.

Which floor screed is better: wet, dry, semi-dry or self-leveling

Helpful advice! Experienced builders use a combination of two types of screeds in the manufacture of repair and construction works. Most often, a wet or semi-dry screed is combined with a self-leveling floor, which makes the surface much smoother.

Thus, it is possible to determine which floor screed is better only in the context of understanding which room will be covered by it and for what purposes it will be used in the future.

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