ᐅ How should a new cement screed be treated or coated to improve its durability?

Hello everyone!

First of all, I/we are complete beginners and have very limited knowledge about screed.
So please excuse me/us if any statements or information seem amateurish.

We want to coat a cement screed to make it more abrasion-resistant and durable.
It is a room that will regularly be used as a hobby workshop.
For cost reasons, a tiled floor is not an option.
The cement screed is basically a "budget solution."
Here are some brief details about the initial situation:

The cement screed is new and almost unused

• The building was constructed before 1970.
• The floor inside the building is approximately 80cm (31 inches) above the outside ground level.
• Underneath the screed is compacted, jointless rubble and sand. I cannot say how deep this layer is.
• Between the rubble and the screed is a vapor barrier/PE foil.
• Edge insulation strips around the perimeter.
• The screed is approximately 80mm (3 inches) thick.
• The cement screed is a CEM I type according to the cement standard DIN EN 197-1.
• The screed was installed by a professional company.

Now my question:
What type of floor coating/paint would be suitable here?
I am wondering whether the paint needs to be vapor-permeable so that the screed can stay ventilated,
or if this is not necessarily required since the screed is 70-80cm (28-31 inches) above ground level and there is a vapor barrier underneath.
The craftsman from the company that installed the screed recommended a vapor-permeable coating but did not specify a particular product or type of paint.
Since I am not familiar with this, I cannot assess whether this advice is correct or if the permeability of the paint does not matter.
However, it is clear that the cement screed will generate dust and wear during regular use if left untreated (according to the craftsman who installed the screed),
so it cannot remain untreated.

Could anyone recommend specific types of paint/products suitable for this purpose and possibly also suggest an application procedure?

I would be very grateful for any professional advice.

Best regards.

waldwiese9 schrieb:
Can anyone ... recommend products

Tiles for 3-5€ per square meter (0.3-0.5 per square foot) from a hardware store.

Otherwise, something like this

However, any coating will be about as expensive as tiles and will generally perform worse, especially if you have heavy use. The example shown is actually not suitable for workshops or similar spaces, but it is cheap. I also can’t tell you if the floor requires any pretreatment. A high-quality coating will definitely exceed your budget.

Thank you for your reply, Nordanney.
I find your suggestion quite affordable.
According to the specifications, the large container (2.5L (2.6 quarts)) covers 26 m² (280 sq ft) at a price of 36€.
You probably won’t find anything cheaper.
The potential issue I see is that this plastic paint is not vapor-permeable at all.
The craftsmen who installed the cement screed recommended that we use a vapor-permeable product.

waldwiese9 schrieb:
The potential issue I see here

is, YGWYPF. So a cheap solution that isn’t really intended for your purpose. It might work, but I wouldn’t use it in a workshop. I expect the coating to get scratched or worn off quickly. As mentioned, it’s really only suitable for rooms with light use (just walking over it occasionally).

Trial and error. Sticking tiles over it should always work.

YGWYPF. So it's a cheap solution that isn't really intended for your purpose

You are absolutely right.
The desire for a one-size-fits-all solution at a very low cost (cheaper and less effort than a tiled floor) might not be realistic.

Unfortunately, due to circumstances and reasons I don’t want to go into, the cost of a tiled floor isn’t feasible, and a cheaper solution is necessary.

What matters most to us is that the floor is treated in some way to prevent the cement from wearing down extensively from foot traffic.
Whether the floor gets stains from liquids or has some larger scratches, dents, or small chips here and there is less of a concern for us.
The floor does not need to look nice.
The room is not small either, with an area of about 50 m² (540 sq ft) — I forgot to mention the size in my first post. Well.

So if you don’t have around 10-15 EUR/m² (per square meter) for tiles from the hardware store, plus some tile adhesive and grout... then I might just leave it.
For a 15m² (160 ft²) room, that comes to about 250 EUR in costs, including tile adhesive and grout?