ᐅ Drying of the screed with underfloor heating – airtightness test?

Hello,

I had the screed installed on January 24th, and up until today, February 13th, no heating program for the screed has been running. I am trying to dry it with a construction heater, but I think the heat pump’s heating program would be better suited for this purpose. My floor consists of insulation (polystyrene), then underfloor heating, and the screed on top.

My installer has not yet performed a leak test. Neither for the underfloor heating system nor for the water pipes. Is this allowed?

And what does your installer think about the screed already being in place?
How does he plan to detect any potential leaks?
Regarding the screed: What type of screed is it, and what does the screed installer say about the heating-up procedure?

This is an anhydrite screed. The screed installer said it could be heated up to 25°C (77°F) right away, but the heating engineer is delaying the process. The heating engineer had approved the date for the screed. He said he would easily finish by January 24th. However, he only completed the underfloor heating at the last minute.

Well, what’s impossible just can’t work.

You have surely informed the heating engineer about the obstruction with a proper deadline...
You do realize who will be responsible for the costs if a leak occurs now?

regnat schrieb:
Hello,

I had the screed installed on January 24th, and as of today, February 13th, no heating program for the screed has been started. I am trying to dry it using a construction heater, but I believe the heat pump’s heating program is probably better suited for this purpose? My floor consists of insulation (styrofoam), underfloor heating, and then the screed.

My installer has not yet performed any leak testing, neither for the underfloor heating system nor for the water pipes. Is that allowed?

It’s quite surprising that they haven’t done a pressure test yet... Do you know if they installed any connectors?

The screed should ideally cure for 27 days before starting to warm it up (concrete reaches full strength after 27 days). After those 27 days, you begin heating—starting at 20°C (68°F), then increasing by 5°C (9°F) daily up to 50°C (122°F). You maintain 50°C (122°F) for 2 days, then reduce the temperature by 5°C (9°F) per day. Note that the 5°C (9°F) increments refer to the temperature of the water flowing through the pipes, not the room temperature. (There are pipe thermometers available for this.) Some cracking may occur, which is normal. In that case, you can call the screed company—they usually seal the cracks free of charge. (That was my experience, at least.)