screed

Screeding is the process of laying the cement floor layer above the floor insulation and below the floor finished (rather than using a suspended timber floor).  It is usually a job for either a specialist floor screeding firm (see links for recommended company) or your plasterer.  As a general guide, it should take no more than five minutes to install one meter of  traditional sand and cement screed - so a 100m2 floor area should take about one to two days to screed.  The overall time taken is also affected by whether it's a large space or lots of small rooms. 

Screeding needs to be planned carefully into your schedule.  For standard screeds, setting times vary; however some fast-set mixes can set in less than 12 hours.  Drying times take longer - times also vary.  Sand and cement screeds take about nine weeks to dry out.

BS EN 1264 recommends that you limit the area to be screeded to 40m2, or 8m lengths in any one direction.  If you exceed this, you should separate the floors into bays divided by some flexible expansion material.  You can generally stop cracking by using mesh or adding fibres to the mix but on very large areas you may find that the screed has a tendency to lift up due to expansion.

Expect to pay in the region of £15/m2 including labour and materials.