If you're planning an extension, a kitchen refit or underfloor heating in Bolton, you'll need to budget for screeding, and the quotes you get can look very different from each other. This guide covers the realistic price ranges, what the money pays for, and what to check before you agree to anything.
Most screeding is priced per square metre, but the per metre rate only tells you so much. A small area costs more per metre than a large one because some costs stay the same whatever the size: getting materials and equipment to site, setting up, and the minimum charge for a pump if you're having liquid screed. As a rough guide for homes in and around Bolton, these are the sort of figures you can expect for supply and lay:
Two jobs of the same size can come out at very different prices. The things that make the most difference are usually:
Drying time isn't on the invoice, but it affects your whole project. As a rule of thumb, sand and cement screed dries at about 1mm a day for the first 40mm and slower after that, so a 65mm floor can take two to three months to dry fully in a cool, damp Bolton winter. Liquid anhydrite screed can often be force dried using the underfloor heating after about a week, which can save weeks before your floor fitter can start.
Laying flooring on screed that isn't dry enough is one of the most common causes of lifting tiles and failed LVT. A good installer will test the moisture before any final flooring goes down rather than just going by the calendar.
A proper quote should come after someone has looked at the space, either on site or from clear photos and measurements. Check that it says which type of screed is being used, how thick it will be, what preparation is included, and whether insulation, membrane and edge strip are part of the price.
If one quote is much cheaper than the others, check whether the depth is thinner or the preparation has been left out. It's usually cheaper to get the floor right first time than to grind out and relay a screed that has cracked or come loose.
Per square metre it is often slightly more, but on larger areas like open plan extensions the gap narrows or disappears because it's laid much faster. On small rooms, traditional sand and cement screed is usually the cheaper choice.
Laying is quick: a typical domestic extension can be screeded in a day, and liquid screed can cover over 100m² in a few hours. The drying time afterwards is what takes weeks.
Often yes, as long as the existing floor is sound, clean and properly prepared, though the screed thickness and any bonding or membrane will depend on what's there. An installer should check the condition before quoting.