Floor screed breaking up around edge of room - any solution?

RainbowsInTheSpray

Hi guys. I need to replace the fitted carpet in my living room... but I know from the last time this was done that the concrete screed around the edges of the floor is breaking up and cracking in places thanks to the attentions over the years of countless carpet fitters and their gripper rod hammering. This isn't the case all the way round but it's enough to worry me.

Is there any solution to this short of replacing the screed over the whole surface of the floor?

FreeBear

Dig out the loose bits with a hammer & chisel (or an old screwdriver if you must). Remove the dust with a vacuum. Give the affected area a thin coat of SBR or acrylic primer, not PVA. Then use a self leveling compound to fill the voids and bring the floor up to its original level.

When putting down new gripper rods, I'd suggest drilling and using rawl plugs & screws rather than nails - Cover the floor wall to wall with 5mm wood fibre boards before fixing the gripper rods. This will help to keep the floor warmer.

stuart45

If it's just a few patches around the edges you might be able to cut some out and replace. Worth adding some SBR to the mix. I have put SBR over a poor screed to harden it up before tiling in the past.

RainbowsInTheSpray

FreeBear said:

Dig out the loose bits with a hammer & chisel (or an old screwdriver if you must). Remove the dust with a vacuum. Give the affected area a thin coat of SBR or acrylic primer, not PVA. Then use a self leveling compound to fill the voids and bring the floor up to its original level.

When putting down new gripper rods, I'd suggest drilling and using rawl plugs & screws rather than nails - Cover the floor wall to wall with 5mm wood fibre boards before fixing the gripper rods. This will help to keep the floor warmer.

Hi. A few questions. Do you mean this stuff, which seems to come as tiles? https://www.diy.com/departments/diall-5mm-wood-fibre-laminate-solid-wood-flooring-underlay-panels-pack-of-15/1520621_BQ.prd

Does it actually give an insulating or warming effect? Is it stuck down with adhesive or just laid flat? Can gripper rods actually be applied to it..?

FreeBear

RainbowsInTheSpray said:

FreeBear said:

Dig out the loose bits with a hammer & chisel (or an old screwdriver if you must). Remove the dust with a vacuum. Give the affected area a thin coat of SBR or acrylic primer, not PVA. Then use a self leveling compound to fill the voids and bring the floor up to its original level.

When putting down new gripper rods, I'd suggest drilling and using rawl plugs & screws rather than nails - Cover the floor wall to wall with 5mm wood fibre boards before fixing the gripper rods. This will help to keep the floor warmer.

Hi. A few questions. Do you mean this stuff, which seems to come as tiles? https://www.diy.com/departments/diall-5mm-wood-fibre-laminate-solid-wood-flooring-underlay-panels-pack-of-15/1520621_BQ.prd

Does it actually give an insulating or warming effect? Is it stuck down with adhesive or just laid flat? Can gripper rods actually be applied to it..?

Yup, that's the stuff.

I used it on my floors here. Put a layer of aluminium foil down first (extra wide stuff) to act as a vapour control membrane and to reflect a bit of heat. The wood fibre boards on top, right up to the edge of the skirting boards. The gripper rods were then screwed down to the floor underneath with 25mm screws.

No good screwing or nailing to the wood fibre boards as it just isn't strong or durable enough.

GDB2222

What's the advantage of SBR for this, rather than PVA?

NSG666

GDB2222 said:

What's the advantage of SBR for this, rather than PVA?

Even when set if moisture is applied to PVA then it will go soft and would allow delamination in this application. SBR does not.

stuart45

Generally seen in the trade as a better product, although has similar properties to the school glue. If you have some fine sand, cement and SBR it can make a mix similar to the self levelling compound you buy, as this is a polymer modified cement based material. When SBR is used as a bonding agent it needs to be mixed with cement.