Hello everyone,
Our basement has a reinforced concrete ceiling, above which are the upper floor and the terrace. Since the terrace needs to be insulated, there is a height difference of about 25cm (10 inches) between the terrace and the adjacent living area (kitchen, dining room) on the ground floor. Steps at the doors leading to the terrace don’t look very good, so our builder is currently planning to fill this height difference with several layers of screed. Is this the most cost-effective option? For 225m² (2,423 sq ft) of surface area, the screed is currently estimated at 18,000 € (net); 115m² (1,238 sq ft) of that will have multiple layers. Do you maybe have cheaper alternatives? The house will be heated with underfloor heating. Thanks in advance.
Our basement has a reinforced concrete ceiling, above which are the upper floor and the terrace. Since the terrace needs to be insulated, there is a height difference of about 25cm (10 inches) between the terrace and the adjacent living area (kitchen, dining room) on the ground floor. Steps at the doors leading to the terrace don’t look very good, so our builder is currently planning to fill this height difference with several layers of screed. Is this the most cost-effective option? For 225m² (2,423 sq ft) of surface area, the screed is currently estimated at 18,000 € (net); 115m² (1,238 sq ft) of that will have multiple layers. Do you maybe have cheaper alternatives? The house will be heated with underfloor heating. Thanks in advance.
I have reviewed the drawing(s) several times.
I share the same opinion as "kbt09" expressed. Why?
Above the 25cm (10 inch) thick reinforced concrete slab, the continuous insulation layer and load distribution level were accounted for with 3.15m - 2.85m = 30cm (12 inches).
Turning to the interior, a 25mm (1 inch) impact sound insulation will be sufficient due to personal use, plus 4.5cm (1.75 inches) screed, totaling 7cm (2.75 inches) of available construction height inside. Here, 2cm (0.8 inch) lightweight leveling screed, PE covering foil, and 5cm (2 inches) cement screed are conceivable.
Now to the exterior:
Here we also have a 30cm (12 inch) build-up height, as I can see.
In addition to a waterproofing layer (approximately 3-5mm (0.1-0.2 inch)), we require 10cm (4 inches) of thermal insulation and still have about 20cm (8 inches) left for the surface covering with leveling.
If we assume a 4cm (1.5 inch) thick precast concrete slab set in a gravel bed, about 16cm (6.5 inches) remains for the covering (on top of the insulation) and the gravel bed.
That is always sufficient!
Therefore, I don’t understand why someone would fill a large area multiple times with screed, which in my view is completely illogical and impractical, and also involves structural considerations.
Am I perhaps mistaken?
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Regards, KlaRa
I share the same opinion as "kbt09" expressed. Why?
Above the 25cm (10 inch) thick reinforced concrete slab, the continuous insulation layer and load distribution level were accounted for with 3.15m - 2.85m = 30cm (12 inches).
Turning to the interior, a 25mm (1 inch) impact sound insulation will be sufficient due to personal use, plus 4.5cm (1.75 inches) screed, totaling 7cm (2.75 inches) of available construction height inside. Here, 2cm (0.8 inch) lightweight leveling screed, PE covering foil, and 5cm (2 inches) cement screed are conceivable.
Now to the exterior:
Here we also have a 30cm (12 inch) build-up height, as I can see.
In addition to a waterproofing layer (approximately 3-5mm (0.1-0.2 inch)), we require 10cm (4 inches) of thermal insulation and still have about 20cm (8 inches) left for the surface covering with leveling.
If we assume a 4cm (1.5 inch) thick precast concrete slab set in a gravel bed, about 16cm (6.5 inches) remains for the covering (on top of the insulation) and the gravel bed.
That is always sufficient!
Therefore, I don’t understand why someone would fill a large area multiple times with screed, which in my view is completely illogical and impractical, and also involves structural considerations.
Am I perhaps mistaken?
--------------------------------
Regards, KlaRa
The issue lies in the energy consulting or planning, as slope insulation with XPS is specified with an average thickness of 20 cm (8 inches), meaning a reduction from 24 to 16 cm (9.5 to 6.3 inches) is required. With a 24 cm (9.5 inches) insulation height on the house side, it becomes difficult to fit a covering and waterproofing layer underneath.
However, as already mentioned, using PIR insulation should make it possible without problems to reduce the thickness enough to make everything fit again.
However, as already mentioned, using PIR insulation should make it possible without problems to reduce the thickness enough to make everything fit again.
In the picture, we didn’t see any problem yet. Only when I got the quote from my general contractor for the screed at 18,000 euros net (about 220 sqm (2,370 sq ft) area), I wondered why it was so expensive. If I understood him correctly, he said that due to the height difference to the terrace, multiple layers of screed are needed.
The energy consultant included 6 cm (2.4 inches) of screed plus 13 cm (5.1 inches) of loose fill insulation. Does that have such a big impact on the costs?
I will also discuss again with my architect and energy consultant about using PUR insulation for the terrace to reduce the height level both outside and inside, and hopefully save costs. However, this would also lower the height level of the house; but I think a reduction of 5–10 cm (2–4 inches) might still be manageable without additional structural adjustments, right?
The energy consultant included 6 cm (2.4 inches) of screed plus 13 cm (5.1 inches) of loose fill insulation. Does that have such a big impact on the costs?
I will also discuss again with my architect and energy consultant about using PUR insulation for the terrace to reduce the height level both outside and inside, and hopefully save costs. However, this would also lower the height level of the house; but I think a reduction of 5–10 cm (2–4 inches) might still be manageable without additional structural adjustments, right?
Fritsch schrieb:
In the photo, we didn’t see any issues yet. However, when looking at the quote from my general contractor under the item screed with €18,000 net (about 220m² (2,370 sq ft) area), I wondered why it was so expensive.The question is justified. However, the screed alone cannot account for such a high amount. And why an area of 220m² (2,370 sq ft)? Even for 220m² (2,370 sq ft) of cement screed CT25-F4-S45, the cost should only be between 7,000 and 8,000 euros.Similar topics