Screeding kitchen floor in winter?

Flamingo_2

Hello
We are hoping to tile our kitchen floor in February. However, we'll need to screed the floor first (then lay underfloor heating followed by tiles) and I've been warned that if the room is too cold the screeding won't set properly & may even crack - is this true?
Currently there is no heating source in the kitchen (and it's pretty cold in there!) hence needing the underfloor heating.
Would you suggest we leave it until the weather improves or can we just crack on
Thanks in advance

LillythePink

Who is screeding it for you? Is it you or are you getting someone in to do it?

If it's you then.....according to my OH, it shouldn't be laid in less than 4c and if it's going to get frosty overnight, then it shoudl be covered with a hesian (sp) sheet.

Flamingo_2

Thanks very much for the reply
My husband is going to do the screeding - please say thank you to your OH for the info.

wallbash

As its a (inside) kitchen , in a house than been livid in ?
Would have thought leaving interior kitchen door open would easily raise temp above 4.

batman2

The temperature should be 5 deg C or above in the room where the screed has been laid as below this temperature the water in the screed can expand by up to 9%. To speed up the drying process you can used a fast drying additive, can recommend FlexiDry which will dry the screed in as little as 3 days, so you wont have to wait for a long time for the screed to dry before completing the floor.

Kiran

3 degrees and rising is the minimum. Anything less than that the chemical reaction in the cement will not take place. Anything below -3 and you get ice crystals in the mix and the screed will turn powdery.

You can do other things to mitigate but you should take advice on this.

Are you talking about screeding in an existing kitchen connect to your house? If sothen you can heat the area with somthing like a holgen heater, do not use an electric fan heater type appliance as this can prematurely dry out the mix.

HTH

andyhop

How thick is the screed, Huge difference in a 3mm screed to a 75mm screed

If its just a levelling screed less than 10mm you should have no problems, just leave the heating on and i will set within hours

Kiran

andyhop wrote: »

How thick is the screed, Huge difference in a 3mm screed to a 75mm screed

If its just a levelling screed less than 10mm you should have no problems, just leave the heating on and i will set within hours

As the cementitious reaction is exothermic the thicker screed would actually generate more heat. Screeds laid thinly are more likely to crack at low temperatures.

If it is in an existing kitchen with windows and doors then you will definitely have sufficient frost protection. As for the temperature, I would guess its higher than 3 degrees, but as said in previous posts, your domestic heating would take care of that.

danofessex

i would recommend speaking to Bal's helpline and your underfloor heating supplier.
Green screed from Bal will help you.