If you are looking to hire floor sanding machines in Hertfordshire – or for that matter anywhere else in England and Wales – then you need to look no further than UK Screeds.
As a company that spends all day and every day installing liquid screeds on projects throughout both countries – despite all the restrictions of Coronavirus – and also installing underfloor heating, we know only too well that liquid screeds produce laitance, and that it must be removed before beginning to install the final flooring on any project. In fact, the production of laitance is the only disadvantage that our liquid screeds have when compared with the traditional sand and cement screeds. Other than that, there is no comparison.
Yes, we know that we have to remove the laitance from the surface of the liquid anhydrite (gypsum) screed once it has dried. For those new to the idea of liquid screeds, laitance is a layer of particles that will form on the surface of a liquid screed as it dries, and it needs to be removed before the final floor surface is applied. This is most important when using any form of adhesive – for instance to attach tiles to the screed. If the laitance is not removed it will have a deleterious effect on the adhesive and in turn will affect the stability of the flooring.
At UK Screeds, we remove laitance by the fairly straightforward method of using industrial floor sanding machines. This needs to be done between 7 and 10 days after the liquid screed has been poured and left to dry. Any longer than that, and the laitance will become harder and more difficult to remove.
When we say that using industrial floor sanding machines is fairly straightforward, they do require a certain amount of expertise, like anything else. The laitance needs to be removed and the floor vacuumed afterwards in order to ensure that every last speck of it has gone. To do this properly takes experience.
Nevertheless, we do receive a number of enquiries from contractors who prefer to undertake the floor sanding themselves, and if this is your preference, we are happy to rent our floor sanding machines to you. They are first-class sanding machines, and far superior to anything you could hire from your local tool hire shop. Our friendly team will be happy to explain the best way to use them in order to get the results that you want.
Aside from the fact that our liquid anhydrite screeds produce laitance, ordinary sand and cement screeds bear no comparison to them.
To begin with, sand and cement screeds are often mixed on site in a cement mixer and this means that one batch will be different from the next. There is no consistency of mix. This can be overcome today by using ready-mixed sand and cement screeds which are delivered to site and have additives in them which will enable them to be worked all day.
However, laying a sand and cement screed means that you need to use a labourer who is on hands and knees levelling the screed with a hand trowel. Apart from any other consideration, this is extremely labour intensive. By contrast, our liquid screeds are also delivered to site ready mixed, but, being in liquid form, are pumped into position with a pump and a hose. Our teams can lay liquid screed up to 20 times faster than anyone can lay a sand and cement screed by hand, and on any contract, time is money.
That is only the beginning. When you are installing underfloor heating, which is being used much more often in new build properties, you need to get the best from it. Sand and cement screed often leaves pockets of air where the screed does not touch the heating pipes. This has a detrimental effect on the thermal conductivity of the system and can mean that the heat in the room is not even.
Liquid screed, on the other hand, being in liquid form, will automatically cover all the pipes and leave no gaps. There are other benefits too, such as the difference between the thermal conductivity of the two materials.
For more details and information, by all means contact us with any questions that you may have.
Meanwhile, if you wish to carry out floor sanding of screeds yourself and need the best equipment, just click on the Contact Us link at the top of the page.
