ᐅ Level differences in various rooms

Hello everyone,

The screed installer will start work in the house the week after next.
I will have tiles in all rooms except the bedrooms/kids’ rooms, which is fine.

Question for you:

What types of flooring have you had good experiences with in bedrooms? What would you recommend? I’m especially uncertain about the kids’ room.

To what extent do I need to consider the floor covering when preparing the screed?
For tiles including tile adhesive, the thickness is around 13–14mm (about 0.5 inches), vinyl depending on the manufacturer is 8–9mm (about 0.3 inches); of course, I could make it thicker here, but:
What if I want to use a different floor covering in the bedrooms later on?
Does it even make sense to adjust the screed by these 5–6mm (about 0.2 inches)?

Thanks a lot.
Best regards

P.S. Underfloor heating is installed.

Good to hear that progress is being made. It definitely makes sense to consider the floor covering when deciding on the screed thickness to avoid any uneven steps. Adjusting it later might be necessary if changes occur, but I would find it odd to skip this adjustment from the start.

We decided not to make any adjustments and compensated for the difference with thicker impact sound insulation.

Hello questioner.
For ceramic tiles planned as the floor covering, the greater installation height should actually be taken into account already during the screed installation.
In the other rooms (which are now lower due to a different covering), the screed is normally smoothed before the floor covering is installed.
The 5–6mm (0.2–0.25 inches) you mentioned is not excessive, and a good transition profile would technically bridge this without any problems, but the rule is that height differences of 4mm (0.16 inches) or more can pose a tripping hazard.
Please also keep in mind (to reassure you) that surfaces with applied or built-up leveling compounds are never set in stone!
So, if in the lower room a ramp-shaped leveling compound were applied over about 50cm (20 inches) in front of the door, this would be perfectly acceptable from a technical point of view.
If the top floor covering is changed in the future and this "ramp" turns out to be bothersome, the excess could simply be sanded down to the required transition height.
This approach complies with standards and therefore is not a serious problem for a floor installer!
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Good luck with your project: KlaRa

KlaRa schrieb:

Hello questioner.
When using ceramic tiles as the planned flooring, the greater installation thickness should indeed be taken into account already during the screed installation.
In the other rooms (which are now lower due to a different flooring), the screed will in any case be levelled before laying the floor covering as standard procedure.
The 5-6mm (0.2-0.24 inches) you mentioned is not excessive, and a good transition profile would technically bridge this without any problem, but the rule is that a height difference of 4mm (0.16 inches) or more can pose a tripping hazard.
However, please note (to reassure you), that surfaces that are leveled on or over the screed are never set in stone!
So if in the lower room an area of about 50cm (20 inches) in length in front of the door were ramped up with leveling compound, that would be technically perfectly fine.
If the top covering is changed in the future and the "ramp" turns out to be inconvenient, the excess could simply be sanded down to match the required transition height.
This approach complies with regulations – and therefore it’s not a real problem for a floor installer!
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Good luck with your project, KlaRa

Hey KlaRa,

Thank you very much for the valuable advice.
Should I inform the screed installer about this? Best regards and thanks
Piotr

Piotr1981 schrieb:

Should I tell the screed installer anything?

Well, screed installers are excellent craftsmen. At least all the ones I know professionally.
But not a single one of them is a clairvoyant.
Therefore, it’s advisable that the screed installer already knows during the planning phase (before preparing their quote) that they need to adjust the floor levels accordingly.
They should also be able to assess how much extra effort is needed for the thicker screed, whether the door heights will still be correct, and so on.
There is quite a “ripple effect” of necessary planning involved.
Simply making the screed thinner where tiles are going to be installed might seem like straightforward logic, but it overlooks important considerations.
The minimum thickness (to ensure structural strength) must be maintained.
And if the screed is simply applied thicker, the height dimensions (based on the reference level) will no longer be correct, which impacts the following trades.
The easiest approach is actually to install everything at the same height and then level up at the door areas in rooms without tile flooring!
Best regards, KlaRa