ᐅ Concrete slab without a screed layer on the upper floor/attic – what to do?

Created on: 21 Feb 2022 23:31

Hello everyone,

In our house (new build, precast concrete), there is only screed on the ground floor. What is the best way to prepare the subfloor for the parquet?

Most neighbors are applying mainly a primer plus leveling compound. Then they use some kind of underlayment for impact sound insulation and install vinyl flooring. So, most are having a floating floor installed.

However, some parquet installers had concerns and were unsure how this would work without screed. They said that without screed, it might not be feasible due to sound insulation and residual moisture in the precast concrete elements.

As far as I understand, the height from the floor to the door lintel is not sufficient for screed either. Maybe the doors would need to be shortened.

How would you proceed? Would you still have screed installed (despite the high costs and the effort with the doors)? Or is a leveling compound enough?

We would like to install parquet everywhere. Do we need to consider anything specific if we don’t have screed underneath?

Thanks in advance for your help!

christophen25 Feb 2022 19:41

#13

11ant schrieb:

A forum is not a private specialist consultation in a single room: I and many other advisors here never write answers solely for the individual person currently asking the question, but always also for the dozens of silent readers who are virtually “attached” to that visible questioner (and who can certainly be given a timely hint).

So why should it be “too late” here to settle for a suitable floor covering for the house?

Yes, I believe most readers have already understood the idea after a few posts, just not me as the question asker 😉

By “too late” I mean looking for something different. Of course, we are open to other opinions. Previous options:

Concrete +
- Primer + adhesive + hardwood flooring
- Leveling compound + primer + adhesive + hardwood flooring (since the house is basically new, some parts of the leveling compound might probably be removed?)
- Low-height screed? + primer + adhesive + hardwood flooring (although this significantly affects the total height)…
- The construction with battens recommended above + insulation + hardwood flooring (floating)

Here, we just have to get the best cost/benefit balance out of it…

christophen25 Feb 2022 19:53

#14

christophen schrieb:

Yes, I think most readers have already understood the idea over the last few posts—just not me as the original questioner 😉

By "late" I mean looking for something else. Of course, we are open to any other opinions. So far, the options considered are:

Concrete +
- primer + adhesive + parquet flooring
- leveling compound + primer + adhesive + parquet flooring (the house is actually new, so maybe the leveling compound can be partially removed?)
- thin screed? + primer + adhesive + parquet flooring (although this would significantly affect the total height)
- the construction with battens, as recommended above + insulation + floating parquet flooring

Here, we simply need to get the best cost/benefit ratio out of it.

Maybe as a reference, the ceiling height (from the concrete) is 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in). The doors are 198.5 cm (78 in) high, and the distance from the unfinished floor surface to the bottom edge of the door frame is about 11 mm (0.4 in). I hope this helps to visualize the situation. Unfortunately, we don’t have any more details yet.

hanse98725 Feb 2022 20:04

#15

I wouldn’t base it solely on the door height, but also on the staircase. How high can the floor structure be so that the last step is the same height as the other steps?

Overall, you will find very few people here with your type of floor structure. Almost everyone has a screed, with very few exceptions, mainly because of underfloor heating.

christophen25 Feb 2022 20:23

#16

hanse987 schrieb:

I wouldn’t base everything solely on the door height, but also consider the staircase. How high can the floor build-up be so that the last step has the same height as the other steps?

Overall, you will find very few people with your particular setup here. Almost everyone has a screed layer, with very few exceptions, mainly because of underfloor heating.

Here I have 2 pictures from their website (although with laminate instead of parquet), one looking downward (where we don’t have a ‘last step that must be flush with the floor’), and one looking upward (here there is roughly an estimated 20–30cm (8–12 inches) up to the metal edge). I hope this helps somewhat.

PS: In the upper floor/double house, we don’t have underfloor heating.

Bright hallway with open doors on the left, picture frames on the wall, window at the end.

Interior view of a staircase: wooden steps, white walls, railing

hanse98725 Feb 2022 20:34

#17

The staircase will have already been installed by your builder. Each step on a staircase has the same height. If you choose a floor construction height that does not match the step height, you will create a significant tripping hazard.

christophen25 Feb 2022 20:42

#18

hanse987 schrieb:

The staircase should already have been installed by your builder. Each step in a staircase has the same rise. If you choose a floor buildup height that doesn’t match the step height, you'll end up with a serious trip hazard.

I see.. isn’t it possible to place something under the steps so that all (really all) steps are slightly higher? We were planning to close off the lower opening of the stairs anyway..

ᐅ Concrete slab without a screed layer on the upper floor/attic – what to do?

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