ᐅ Proper Installation of Cement Screed as a Leveling Compound?
Created on: 13 Jun 2022 11:20
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delacreemD
delacreem13 Jun 2022 11:20Hello dear community,
I urgently need support in assessing the work carried out on my house.
Initial situation:
Due to a low structural height, I chose a floor heating system from Schlüter (Bekotec-Therm).
For this, the old covering including screed was removed.
Unfortunately, the floor was not level enough, so a leveling layer had to be applied to ensure the floor heating could be installed properly and to prevent any stress.
Surface height differences of 0-40mm (0-1.6 inches) were evened out. Because of the height differences, the screed installer decided to use cement screed.
The floor is now level, but in areas where no height adjustment was needed, the surface was naturally left untreated. In these spots, there was an attempt to level the screed to zero. The surface structure is probably not designed for this and it is crumbling in these areas.
The following steps still need to be carried out:
I would like to make sure that everything has been done correctly before proceeding with the next steps.
What do you think?
Thanks in advance.
I urgently need support in assessing the work carried out on my house.
Initial situation:
Due to a low structural height, I chose a floor heating system from Schlüter (Bekotec-Therm).
For this, the old covering including screed was removed.
Unfortunately, the floor was not level enough, so a leveling layer had to be applied to ensure the floor heating could be installed properly and to prevent any stress.
Surface height differences of 0-40mm (0-1.6 inches) were evened out. Because of the height differences, the screed installer decided to use cement screed.
The floor is now level, but in areas where no height adjustment was needed, the surface was naturally left untreated. In these spots, there was an attempt to level the screed to zero. The surface structure is probably not designed for this and it is crumbling in these areas.
The following steps still need to be carried out:
- 5mm (0.2 inches) impact sound insulation will be laid on the leveled floor
- Floor heating will be installed
- Self-leveling screed will be poured
I would like to make sure that everything has been done correctly before proceeding with the next steps.
What do you think?
Thanks in advance.
Hello questioner.
Leveling layers must bond firmly to the substrate!
There are absolutely no exceptions or MAYBEs or BUTs.
If the layers have detached, everything must be sanded down again.
Simply placing an impact sound insulation layer on top is professionally incorrect and outright WRONG!
We only need the system components from Becotec Therm, no additional underlay membranes (regarding the topic of "5mm impact sound insulation").
Regards: KlaRa
Leveling layers must bond firmly to the substrate!
There are absolutely no exceptions or MAYBEs or BUTs.
If the layers have detached, everything must be sanded down again.
Simply placing an impact sound insulation layer on top is professionally incorrect and outright WRONG!
We only need the system components from Becotec Therm, no additional underlay membranes (regarding the topic of "5mm impact sound insulation").
Regards: KlaRa
D
delacreem13 Jun 2022 12:35Hello KlaRa,
Thank you for the feedback.
We only require the system components from Becotec Therm, no additional underlay membranes (regarding the topic of "5mm (0.2 inch) impact sound insulation").
--> Which specific system components are you referring to?
I assume you work for Schlüter.
In that case, impact sound insulation here would be pointless. Can I find this information somewhere on the manufacturer’s website, or is there a recommended type of substrate?
Leveling layers must firmly bond with the substrate!
The screed is only loose in the areas where it was leveled down to almost zero. Everything else is firmly bonded.
Thank you for the feedback.
We only require the system components from Becotec Therm, no additional underlay membranes (regarding the topic of "5mm (0.2 inch) impact sound insulation").
--> Which specific system components are you referring to?
I assume you work for Schlüter.
In that case, impact sound insulation here would be pointless. Can I find this information somewhere on the manufacturer’s website, or is there a recommended type of substrate?
Leveling layers must firmly bond with the substrate!
The screed is only loose in the areas where it was leveled down to almost zero. Everything else is firmly bonded.
D
delacreem13 Jun 2022 12:39delacreem schrieb:
Hello KlaRa
Thank you for the feedback.
We only require the system components from Becotec Therm, no additional underlay membranes (regarding the topic of 5mm impact sound insulation).
--> Which system components are you referring to exactly?
I assume you work for Schlüter.
In that case, impact sound insulation would be pointless here. Can I find this information somewhere on the manufacturer's website, or is there a recommended substrate?
Levelling layers must bond firmly to the substrate!
The screed is loose only in areas where it has been levelled down to nearly zero thickness. Everything else is securely bonded.
What would you recommend here as a levelling material?
Hello "[B]delacreem".
No, I am not an employee of Schlüter-Systems KG, but an entirely independent, officially certified expert for floor constructions.
All loose parts of the screed must be checked for proper adhesion by gently tapping with a medium hammer.
Where the screed layer breaks off, it should be re-primed and leveled with a suitable filler. Since screeds work with a maximum grain size of 8mm (0.3 inches), such mortar can never be smoothed out completely flush ("to zero").
In any case, check the surface flatness yourself (even though this may not be your responsibility) with a sufficiently long spirit level or a distortion-resistant metal L-profile.
The system components of Beotec-EN 2520 consist of the screed studded panel BEOTEC-EN and a plastic-modified leveling compound.
The studded panel is usually installed on an already existing, often old load distribution slab.
This means that in residential construction, the actual impact sound insulation is installed below the screed.
In my opinion, any additional underlayment layers added afterwards should not be described as "impact sound insulation."
However, this would go beyond the scope here to explain in detail.
Best regards and good luck,
KlaRa
No, I am not an employee of Schlüter-Systems KG, but an entirely independent, officially certified expert for floor constructions.
All loose parts of the screed must be checked for proper adhesion by gently tapping with a medium hammer.
Where the screed layer breaks off, it should be re-primed and leveled with a suitable filler. Since screeds work with a maximum grain size of 8mm (0.3 inches), such mortar can never be smoothed out completely flush ("to zero").
In any case, check the surface flatness yourself (even though this may not be your responsibility) with a sufficiently long spirit level or a distortion-resistant metal L-profile.
The system components of Beotec-EN 2520 consist of the screed studded panel BEOTEC-EN and a plastic-modified leveling compound.
The studded panel is usually installed on an already existing, often old load distribution slab.
This means that in residential construction, the actual impact sound insulation is installed below the screed.
In my opinion, any additional underlayment layers added afterwards should not be described as "impact sound insulation."
However, this would go beyond the scope here to explain in detail.
Best regards and good luck,
KlaRa
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