Screed drying times?

Cristy

Our garage is being converted to a study and the floor will need 50mm screeding to raise its level to be the same as the rest of the house. We are installing laminate flooring in the new room. Our builders think that a week drying time is sufficient, but everywhere on the internet says that you shouls allow 1 week per cm up to 4cm, and 2 weeks for the extra cm = 6 weeks in total!

Would waiting that long be overkill? There would be a damp proof membrane placed on top of the screeded floor. I am leaning towards waiting anyway, just to be sure, but are there any plasterers or builders on here with a different perspective at all?

Thank you!

Alan_M_2

If it were being tiled building regulations state 5 weeks before tiling commences, I'd want to leave it the same time for laminate, you don't want it sweating underneath and warping the flooring.

Lord_Gardener

When we had our garage floor done it was 1 week for 2" and an extra week for each 1/2" increase in depth - we waited 3 weeks. It was summer and drying time will of course depend on temperature and humidity. I guess your builders are keen to get on with the job!

nelly_2

It really does depend on the atmosphere in the room, you have got something like a bathfull of water there that has to evaporate leave your windows open as long as possible vented position at night if their upvc.

Alan_M_2

Lord_Gardener wrote:

When we had our garage floor done it was 1 week for 2" and an extra week for each 1/2" increase in depth - we waited 3 weeks. It was summer and drying time will of course depend on temperature and humidity. I guess your builders are keen to get on with the job!

I think you might be confusing a concrete base with a sand/cement screed - two different things.

Cristy

nelly wrote:

It really does depend on the atmosphere in the room, you have got something like a bathfull of water there that has to evaporate leave your windows open as long as possible vented position at night if their upvc.

Patio doors will remain open all day every day since I work from home. Have decided to wait the full 6 weeks... sigh.

top_banana

Cristy wrote:

Our garage is being converted to a study and the floor will need 50mm screeding to raise its level to be the same as the rest of the house. We are installing laminate flooring in the new room. Our builders think that a week drying time is sufficient, but everywhere on the internet says that you shouls allow 1 week per cm up to 4cm, and 2 weeks for the extra cm = 6 weeks in total!

Would waiting that long be overkill? There would be a damp proof membrane placed on top of the screeded floor. I am leaning towards waiting anyway, just to be sure, but are there any plasterers or builders on here with a different perspective at all?

Thank you!

Hi there I work as a technician for a national building material company.
We recomend that standard sand : cement screed has a drying time of 1mm per day.
Also, once the screed has been laid, ensure that for the first 3 to 5 days, that the screed is covered with polythene, this will keep the moisture in within the screed and will help prevent any premerure moisture loss and help against any shrinkage cracks.

## Drying times will depend on what type of screed the builders are using, and if any 'ad-mixes' are being used in the mix to speed up drying.

Cristy

Thanks everyone for your replies. The plasterer ended up using more screed in places than anticipated - some places as much as 80mm! :eek:

Unfortunately we haven't got the luxury of time to wait three months before putting the floors down, so they will need to go down after 6 weeks as anticipated. Would the use of a de-humidifier help things along? Let's hope that the laminate doesn't get ruined...