Understanding the rate
Screed Cost per Square Metre, Explained
A per-m² rate isn't one number — it's several stacked together. Here's what's actually inside it.
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Ask three installers for a price and you'll often get three different per-m² figures, even for what looks like the same job. That's usually because each rate bundles together a different mix of material cost, depth, mobilisation and labour — not because someone is padding the price.
Understanding the components lets you compare quotes properly instead of just picking the smallest number, which is often the one leaving something out.
This isn't a page of fixed prices — every job is priced from survey — but it is the honest mechanics of how that number gets built.
What's inside a per-m² screed rate
- Raw material cost — the screed itself, priced per m³ and converted to m² at your depth
- Pumping cost — plant hire, operator time and hose runs
- Labour — the crew laying, dappling, spike-rolling and finishing the pour
- Mobilisation — getting plant and crew to site, spread thinner on larger jobs
- Ancillaries — edge-strip foam, membrane taping, movement joint detailing if needed
Why depth changes the per-m² figure, not just the total
Material cost scales with volume (m³), not area (m²) — so a 75mm pour costs meaningfully more per m² than a 50mm pour of the same screed, even though labour and pump time barely change.
This is why comparing two quotes purely on a per-m² figure without checking the depth each one assumes is one of the most common ways people get caught out.
See how your job prices
Send us your floor area and target depth and we'll show you exactly how the figure is built, line by line.
Roughly how m³ scales with depth (indicative only)
| Depth | m³ per 100m² |
|---|---|
| 35mm | 3.5m³ |
| 50mm | 5.0m³ |
| 65mm | 6.5m³ |
| 75mm | 7.5m³ |
A per-m² price only means something once you know the depth, the product and what's included. Ask for all three before you compare anything.
— Exeter Liquid Screeders
Cost per m² Explained — questions we get asked
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See how your job prices
Send us your floor area and target depth and we'll show you exactly how the figure is built, line by line.