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elVincent24 Mar 2016 09:12Hello,
Does anyone have experience with how long it roughly takes to install insulation under a screed by yourself? It will probably go quite quickly on the open area, but how does it work when ventilation ducts need to be integrated?
The reason I’m asking is that we will soon receive an offer for a bonded screed fill for the entire house, and I would like to estimate how much time could possibly be saved.
Our house will have ventilation ducts under the screed on the ground floor and first floor, covering an area of about 240m² (2583 square feet) across all three levels. I would appreciate it if anyone could share experience on this topic.
Best regards
Holger
Does anyone have experience with how long it roughly takes to install insulation under a screed by yourself? It will probably go quite quickly on the open area, but how does it work when ventilation ducts need to be integrated?
The reason I’m asking is that we will soon receive an offer for a bonded screed fill for the entire house, and I would like to estimate how much time could possibly be saved.
Our house will have ventilation ducts under the screed on the ground floor and first floor, covering an area of about 240m² (2583 square feet) across all three levels. I would appreciate it if anyone could share experience on this topic.
Best regards
Holger
Hi elVincent,
We installed the screed insulation ourselves throughout the entire house and basement (about 230 sqm (2475 sq ft)). However, we didn’t have ventilation pipes on the floor, only electrical conduits and water pipes. We used expanded polystyrene boards for the insulation and surrounded the pipes with a loose fill material.
It was quite a bit of work because cutting out the spaces for the pipes took a lot of time and careful measuring. I think it took us about three weeks in total, working after hours and on Saturdays. (But not every evening, as we had other tasks to take care of at that time.)
We installed the screed insulation ourselves throughout the entire house and basement (about 230 sqm (2475 sq ft)). However, we didn’t have ventilation pipes on the floor, only electrical conduits and water pipes. We used expanded polystyrene boards for the insulation and surrounded the pipes with a loose fill material.
It was quite a bit of work because cutting out the spaces for the pipes took a lot of time and careful measuring. I think it took us about three weeks in total, working after hours and on Saturdays. (But not every evening, as we had other tasks to take care of at that time.)
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Sebastian7924 Mar 2016 10:05We spent almost 9 full days installing insulation over nearly 250 sqm (2690 sq ft) across three levels. We used very little loose-fill insulation, instead cutting a lot by hand, and laid a full surface vapor barrier in the basement.
There is one layer of insulation in the basement and two layers on the other two floors.
It was an extremely demanding job that I never want to do again... but no screed installer would do it more carefully than this, 100%.
There is one layer of insulation in the basement and two layers on the other two floors.
It was an extremely demanding job that I never want to do again... but no screed installer would do it more carefully than this, 100%.
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elVincent24 Mar 2016 10:32These are already very helpful answers. The installation of the bound fill material offered to us seems to be relatively quick, so I hope that the labor costs will not be too high.
Hello "elVincent".
I just hope you are not confusing something here.
Insulation layers – true to their name – provide thermal insulation, but they are also often used as (more expensive) height compensation when the local situation requires it.
With bonded screeds or leveled fills, their primary task is to create a uniform surface by compensating for uneven spots, which cannot be easily handled with insulation layers alone.
There are several products on the market presented as combination solutions for height compensation, thermal insulation, and impact sound insulation.
However, in practice, this only works to a limited extent!
If installations are laid crisscross on the raw concrete slab (they must be fastened, by the way), you cannot avoid height compensation like a bonded screed or fill. Unfortunately, with this construction layer, you also get unwanted free moisture (since the layer must dry out if no dry compensation was used), which in many cases has led to floor covering damage after several months. By the way, a dry fill that locks together due to its shape is also considered a "bonded screed."
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You now have to decide which method is more suitable for your home.
Dry fills must be leveled with screeds and should be compacted from about 6cm (2.4 inches) installation thickness onwards.
Whether this actually saves labor compared to installing insulation layers is really questionable.
If cables or ventilation ducts have been properly installed on the raw concrete slab, then the solution using insulation layers is probably the most reasonable and economical option.
-----------------------
Best regards, KlaRa
I just hope you are not confusing something here.
Insulation layers – true to their name – provide thermal insulation, but they are also often used as (more expensive) height compensation when the local situation requires it.
With bonded screeds or leveled fills, their primary task is to create a uniform surface by compensating for uneven spots, which cannot be easily handled with insulation layers alone.
There are several products on the market presented as combination solutions for height compensation, thermal insulation, and impact sound insulation.
However, in practice, this only works to a limited extent!
If installations are laid crisscross on the raw concrete slab (they must be fastened, by the way), you cannot avoid height compensation like a bonded screed or fill. Unfortunately, with this construction layer, you also get unwanted free moisture (since the layer must dry out if no dry compensation was used), which in many cases has led to floor covering damage after several months. By the way, a dry fill that locks together due to its shape is also considered a "bonded screed."
--------------
You now have to decide which method is more suitable for your home.
Dry fills must be leveled with screeds and should be compacted from about 6cm (2.4 inches) installation thickness onwards.
Whether this actually saves labor compared to installing insulation layers is really questionable.
If cables or ventilation ducts have been properly installed on the raw concrete slab, then the solution using insulation layers is probably the most reasonable and economical option.
-----------------------
Best regards, KlaRa
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