Traditional Sand & Cement Screed · Devon
Traditional Sand & Cement Screed — Lynmouth, Devon
Deep make-up floors in Lynmouth, especially where the sub-base has been dug out or old floor coverings stripped back to an uneven slab, are still best served by a traditional sand and cement screed built up in layers.
Get a fixed price for Traditional Sand & Cement Screed — Lynmouth, Devon
30 seconds. We'll come back same-day with a fixed price and next available date.
Or call our landline on 01392 237700
Deep make-up floors in Lynmouth, especially where the sub-base has been dug out or old floor coverings stripped back to an uneven slab, are still best served by a traditional sand and cement screed built up in layers.
We mix a semi-dry sand and cement screed on site or bring it in via a screed pump, lay it to string lines or laser-set pins in bays, then compact and trowel it to a flat, dense surface. It is slower than a liquid pour, roughly a day of drying time per millimetre of depth once you get past the first 50mm, but it tolerates a much wider range of site conditions.
Most of our Lynmouth jobs sit within 30 minutes of base, so site visits stay simple and pour days run to time. Lynmouth sits Barnstaple (18 mi), and we work the surrounding villages on the same week's diary.
Local facts that shape every Lynmouth pour
County
Devon
District
North Devon
Postcode
EX35
Nearest city
Barnstaple (18 mi)
Nearest motorway
M5 (J27, ~58 mi)
Primary A-road
A39
Local industries
tourism lets, harbour trades
Common builds
seafront apartments, 1930s coastal semis
Common briefs across Lynmouth
- Seafront apartments — a regular brief in Lynmouth
- 1930s coastal semis — a regular brief in Lynmouth
- Harbourside conversions — a regular brief in Lynmouth
- Guest-house retrofits — a regular brief in Lynmouth
- Tourism lets — a regular brief in Lynmouth
Traditional Sand & Cement Screed in Lynmouth — how it works
Unlike a self-levelling liquid screed, sand and cement is placed and compacted by hand, so we control the fall towards a drain, form an upstand at a threshold, or feather it into an existing floor level in a way a pumped pour cannot.
Sand and cement screed is laid in bays with day joints, which we set out to avoid future cracking at natural stress points such as doorways and changes in depth. It is a more labour-intensive process than liquid screed, but it is proven, robust and unaffected by moisture the way calcium sulphate screeds can be.
Specifications suited to Lynmouth builds
Sand and cement (typically 4:1 or 5:1 mix)
Semi-dry, hand-compacted mix ratio adjusted to depth and loading.
SBR bonding agent
Slurry-brushed onto the substrate for bonded screeds under 40mm.
Polypropylene fibre reinforcement
Added to reduce shrinkage cracking on larger bays.
DPM and separating membrane
For unbonded or floating screeds over insulation.
Falls formed to drain outlets
Built into the screed thickness for wet rooms and balconies.
Edge and movement joints
Set at bay lines, doorways and around columns.
Recent work near Lynmouth
Other areas we cover near Lynmouth
Trust points for a Lynmouth brief
- 01Cemfloor-certified, fully insured, CDM-aware
- 02Coordinated with most South West UFH installers
- 03Pre-start meeting standard on every commercial job
- 04Local knowledge — we know the M5 (J27, ~58 mi) access window and A39 traffic patterns
FAQs from Lynmouth clients
Will the screed crack?+
Bay joints and fibre reinforcement control shrinkage cracking. We set bay sizes and joint positions at doorways and depth changes to minimise the risk on any Lynmouth job.
What SR rating do you achieve on a trowelled screed?+
We finish sand and cement to SR2, within 3mm under a 2m straight edge, which is suitable for most tiled finishes. If you need SR1 flatness for large-format tile or resin, liquid screed is usually the better route.
How is sand and cement screed different from liquid screed in Lynmouth?+
Sand and cement is a semi-dry mix, hand-laid and trowelled in bays, whereas liquid screed is pumped and self-levels. Sand and cement suits deep fills, external areas and wet rooms; liquid screed suits large flat internal floors that need to dry quickly.
Do you use a screed pump for sand and cement in Lynmouth?+
On larger jobs, yes, a screed pump can deliver the semi-dry mix into the building, which speeds up placement while keeping the hand-trowelled finish.
Can you match an existing sand and cement floor level?+
Yes, we set datums off your existing finished floor level and build the new screed to match, allowing for whatever covering goes on top.
How long does a sand and cement screed take to dry in Lynmouth?+
Roughly a day per millimetre of depth once past the first 50mm, so a 65mm floor is typically ready for coverings in around six to eight weeks, depending on ventilation and site conditions.
From site visit to final trowel pass, our Lynmouth sand and cement jobs are quoted as one fixed price, with drying time explained up front so nobody is caught out.
Book a bay-laid screed in Lynmouth
Hand-trowelled screeds take longer to schedule around drying and access. Get your Lynmouth job in the diary early.
Ready to get a price?
Tell us the rough size and location — we'll come back with a fixed quote today.
Or call our landline on 01392 237700
Related on this site