If you are pricing up a new floor, an extension or underfloor heating, screeding is one of those costs that is hard to pin down from a quick search. Prices vary a lot depending on the type of screed, how thick it needs to be and how easy the job is to get at. This guide gives you honest ranges and explains what actually moves the number up or down.
As a broad guide for 2026, a traditional sand and cement screed laid by hand usually comes in somewhere between £15 and £30 per square metre for labour and materials, at a standard 65 to 75mm thickness. Liquid anhydrite or cement based flowing screeds are typically £18 to £35 per square metre, with the pump and material delivered by a specialist supplier such as a local concrete plant.
Those figures assume a reasonable sized ground floor with clear access. Very small areas, such as a single bathroom or a porch, often cost more per square metre because there is a minimum charge to cover travel, setting up and the pump or mixer hire. Expect a minimum of roughly £400 to £700 for a small job regardless of area.
Thickness is the biggest factor after the screed type. A 40mm liquid screed over underfloor heating pipes uses far less material than a 75mm sand and cement bed, so the per metre cost can be lower even though the product is dearer by the tonne. Going deeper to make up levels on an uneven slab adds material and time.
Preparation matters too. If the base needs a damp proof membrane, insulation boards, edge insulation strip or a levelling compound before the screed goes down, those are extra items. Underfloor heating pipes need clipping or fixing before the pour, and a good screeder will usually allow time to check the pipes are pressure tested before covering them.
Location and access play a part. In Bolton and the wider North West, prices tend to sit in the middle of the national range. First floor or upper floor screeds where material has to be pumped or carried up will cost more, as will terraced properties with no rear access for a mixer or pump lorry.
Sand and cement is the traditional choice and works well for solid floors, wet rooms and areas where you want to fall the floor towards a drain. It is mixed on site, so there is no delivery minimum, but it is slow going and needs to be laid in bays with joints.
Liquid screed flows around underfloor heating pipes with no air pockets, which is why most installers prefer it over heating. It is quicker to lay, self levels, and can be walked on within 24 to 48 hours. The trade off is the material has a minimum load size, usually around 6 cubic metres, so you pay for what the lorry brings. On a larger extension or a whole ground floor it often works out cheaper per square metre than hand laid screed once labour is factored in.
Screed has to dry before floor coverings go down, and this affects your timeline more than your invoice. A rough rule for sand and cement is one day per millimetre up to 40mm, then slower after that, so a 75mm bed can take eight to ten weeks in a cool house. Anhydrite liquid screed dries at a similar rate but can be forced dry using the underfloor heating once it has cured for a week, which most screeders will give you a commissioning schedule for.
If time is tight, fast drying screeds exist that can take tiles in a few days. They cost more per square metre, but on a project where the kitchen fitter or tiler is booked for a fixed date, that premium is often worth paying rather than delaying everyone else.
Ask every contractor to quote against the same specification: type of screed, thickness, area in square metres, and exactly what preparation is included. A cheap headline price that excludes insulation, membrane and pump hire can end up dearer than a fuller quote once the extras are added.
Check the quote states the drying and curing advice, whether the screed is suitable for the floor finish you have in mind, and who is responsible for pressure testing heating pipes before the pour. A quote from a company that does screeding, underfloor heating and flooring together can simplify this, because one firm carries responsibility for the whole build up rather than three trades blaming each other if something goes wrong.
Per tonne it usually is, but liquid screed goes down thinner and much faster, so on medium and large floors it often comes out similar or cheaper per square metre. On very small areas the minimum delivery load makes sand and cement the more economical option.
Liquid screed is typically 45 to 55mm total over heating pipes, giving around 25 to 30mm of cover above the pipe. Sand and cement over heating usually needs 65 to 75mm, which is why it takes longer to dry and heat up.
Small unheated areas are possible for a competent DIYer, but getting a flat, level, properly compacted bed is harder than it looks. Once underfloor heating is involved or a large floor needs to take tiles or wood, the cost of fixing a failed screed far outweighs the labour saved.