What is a pumped floor screed and their advantages?

Modern pumped floor screeds primarily come in two varieties: anhydrite and liquid cement. Anhydrite is the more popular material and makes up around a quarter of the screed market.

Anhydrite screeds are made of calcium sulphate, an anhydrous or dry substance that, when combined with water, creates gypsum, a substance that is extensively utilised in the building industry, primarily as a bonding agent in place of cement.

Pumped screeds are superior to regular screeds in that they cure and dry significantly more quickly, typically within 24 to 48 hours. Additionally, they may be laid significantly quicker and in much thinner layers (around 45mm).

They are also self levelling which is a huge time saver compared to traditional screeds and also suffer less from shrinkage over time meaning less cracks.

However, installing pumped screeds is a professional job that should only ever be done by a firm or someone who is fully knowledgeable in the process; otherwise, it could cost a lot of money to fix.

You must precisely determine how much liquid screed you will need when ordering or booking a liquid screed pour because of their cost, which is about 50% higher than traditional screed. This can be challenging if the surface being laid on is uneven or employs modern beam and block that can undulate.

One of the popular pumpable screeds in the UK is Mapei Topcem.