This concerns a recently built garage. The floor screed was installed and decoupled from the wall using an insulating strip, as is common in residential construction. Now my question is, if the protruding insulating strip is cut off, there is a gap of about 1 cm (0.4 inches) between the screed and the wall. How is this gap usually sealed? I understand that in apartments this is not done because the gap is ultimately covered by baseboards.
However, in a garage, there are no baseboards, and furthermore, rain or snow can be brought into the garage, which could flow into this gap.
What is the standard procedure here?
Best regards
N
However, in a garage, there are no baseboards, and furthermore, rain or snow can be brought into the garage, which could flow into this gap.
What is the standard procedure here?
Best regards
N
ateliersiegel schrieb:
I don’t fundamentally doubt that, but it does surprise me.
As I understand it, a screed layer can expand, press against the walls, and cause damage. Why is it different in a garage compared to living spaces?Well, quite a few things are, to put it simply, mixed together here.Firstly, in residential construction, at least in Germany, we usually deal with screeds laid over insulation layers. These are the so-called “floating screeds.” Because they are applied over insulation layers, they require an edge gap to allow the impact sound insulation to work properly and to avoid sound bridges.
Secondly, there are heated screeds in residential buildings.
They also require an edge gap for soundproofing reasons, but additionally because they undergo dimensional changes due to thermal expansion.
However, in the case asked about here, we are talking about a screed in a garage.
In this case, the screed must withstand higher loads from vehicle traffic than in residential construction, impact sound insulation is not relevant, and thermal insulation usually isn’t either.
This means that - unlike screeds in residential buildings - the screed can be bonded directly to the concrete surface and installed with a thinner layer (25-35mm (1-1.4 inches)).
And since it is firmly connected to the slab, this type of screed does not move.
Therefore, an edge gap does not make sense.
By the way, thermal expansion of a cement-based component is really only relevant for heated screeds. In these cases, a 10mm (0.4 inch) joint width is usually installed purely for safety reasons—and this width is fully sufficient to avoid sound bridges at, for example, rising walls despite length expansion.
So, my answer does provide the correct guidance!
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Regards, KlaRa
ateliersiegel29 Oct 2022 09:33Thanks for the detailed explanation.
Especially the fact that a garage screed—unlike one in the living room—is not heated, makes perfect sense to me.
😎
Especially the fact that a garage screed—unlike one in the living room—is not heated, makes perfect sense to me.
😎
I also have a screed with a joint, which I sealed with acrylic shaped as a cove. After that, I applied a two-layer epoxy coating on the floor and extended it 10cm (4 inches) up the wall. Whether this is professional practice can certainly be debated, but it has held for years without any cracking or similar issues.
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