Liquid screed laid over underfloor heating pipework, denser, void-free and thermally tuned so every watt your boiler produces ends up warming the room, not the foundation.
Underfloor heating screed is a liquid (flowing) screed pour engineered specifically for use over UFH pipework. Calcium sulphate or specialist cementitious slurry flows around every pipe, eliminating the air voids that wreck UFH performance with traditional sand-and-cement.
Anyone specifying wet underfloor heating in new-build, extension or refurbishment. Critical for homeowners paying for premium UFH systems, and for housebuilders selling 'low-running-cost homes' where the heating bill backs up the marketing.
Always. Sand-and-cement screed over UFH is a compromise, slower to respond, more energy wasted, hotter-set boiler, higher bills. Liquid screed over UFH is the design intent. If the system was specified to perform a certain way, this is the only screed that lets it.
UFH screed combines three skills: substrate prep, pipework pressure management, and screed pouring. Get any one wrong and the system underperforms for the building's life. Our crew has poured over UFH on hundreds of South Wales sites, from small extensions to multi-storey commercial.
An expensive UFH system in a badly-screeded floor performs worse than a cheap radiator. Here's why.
Sand-and-cement screed leaves voids around pipework. Voids don't conduct heat. The homeowner gets a striped floor, warm where the pipes are, cold between them, and a complaint they never escape.
Thick, low-conductivity screed takes hours to reach temperature. The thermostat is permanently chasing the room, the boiler is permanently running, and the bill is permanently high.
Unrestrained pipes that lift during a careless pour can be displaced above the screed surface, leaks waiting to happen, weeks or years after the floor is finished.
Pipework should be tested by the UFH installer or competent crew before pour, with pressure held during the pour. Many cheap screeders skip both. We don't.
Standard sand-and-cement is the wrong product over UFH. Specify liquid screed from the start, retrofitting later means lifting the entire floor.
Liquid screed over UFH requires a controlled commissioning heat cycle starting at 21 days. Skip this and the floor finish goes down on a slab that hasn't been heat-cycled, risking later cracking and finish failure.
Call us with postcode, area and timing. We give you an indicative price on the spot, often within minutes.
For local jobs we visit, measure, and confirm specification for your underfloor heating screed at no charge. Charges may apply for surveys further afield, agreed up front.
Written quotation in your inbox within one working day of the survey, confirming m² rate, mix design and a firm pour date. All quotes subject to site survey.
Our crew arrives on time with kit, pumps and labour. Continuous flow, level checks, and a clean handover at the end of shift.
Moisture testing on request and after-care guidance so the next trade can start with confidence.
Dense, void-free screed conducts heat far better than sand-and-cement. Rooms reach temperature faster, the boiler cycles less, bills drop.
Self-levelling slurry flows around every millimetre of pipework, even, predictable heat across the entire floor.
Better thermal output means a lower boiler setpoint to achieve the same comfort. Lifetime savings dwarf the up-front cost difference.
Properly poured UFH screed performs identically in year 20 as in year 1.
We pressure-test pipework before the pour and hold pressure during it. Any pour-time damage shows immediately, not when the finished floor is heated.
We hand over with a written commissioning heat cycle so the UFH installer can start the floor on the right schedule.
Pouring screed over UFH is a different job from pouring a plain slab. Here's what we do differently, and why.
Calcium sulphate (anhydrite) liquid screed has roughly twice the thermal conductivity of standard sand-and-cement. Combined with its self-levelling void-free flow, it's the European standard for UFH overpour. Lower thermal mass means faster room response, lower running setpoint, and meaningful savings over a 20-year boiler life.
30mm minimum cover above the highest point of pipework for floating screed over insulation. Total pour depth typically 50–65mm including pipework. We measure pipework set-out before the pour and check minimum cover at multiple points during the pour to guarantee compliance.
Pipework pressurised to 6 bar before pour. Pressure held during pour. Pipework clipped at maximum 300mm centres and at every turn. Penetrations restrained against floating. If a leak appears mid-pour, we know immediately and can isolate that loop before the screed sets around it.
Liquid screed over UFH requires a controlled first-heat sequence starting at 21 days minimum. Begin at 25°C flow, raise by 5°C per day to maximum design flow, hold for 72 hours, then ramp back down. Floor finish goes down only after the full cycle completes. We hand this schedule to the UFH installer as a written document on completion.
Residential UFH typically 70–200m² per plot, fast turnaround, focus on flatness for tile or LVT finish. Commercial UFH (offices, leisure, retail) typically 500m²+ per pour, with structural loading, joint detailing and trade integration. Our crew handles both, and we mobilise the right size of pump and wagon for each.
Real photos from recent South Wales underfloor heating screed jobs, pump set-ups, pour days and finished floors.
Typically £22–£30 per m² installed including liquid screed, edge insulation and pipework restraint, excluding the UFH pipework system itself. Quoted firm within 24 hours of survey.
Total pour depth typically 50–65mm with a minimum 30mm cover above the highest pipe. We confirm exact depth on the survey based on insulation depth, pipework centres and floor finish requirements.
Minimum 21 days from pour before first commissioning heat cycle. Full cycle typically takes 7–10 days to complete safely. Floor finish then goes down after moisture testing.
Yes, common in refurbishment. We assess existing pipework condition, pressure-test before pour, and confirm compatibility with the existing system.
Yes, liquid screed is compatible with all major UFH systems (Nu-Heat, Polypipe, Uponor, Continal, JG Speedfit). We work to the manufacturer's commissioning schedule.
Significantly. Roughly twice the thermal conductivity, no void formation around pipes, faster response and lower running costs over the system's life. Sand-and-cement is the wrong product over UFH.
We pressure-test pipework before the pour, hold pressure during it, and follow the manufacturer's commissioning schedule. UFH system performance is covered by the system manufacturer's warranty; a properly installed screed is the prerequisite for that warranty to deliver.
Yes, we routinely co-ordinate with all major South Wales UFH installers. We handle the prep, the pressure-testing protocol, and the pour; they handle commissioning. One project, two trades, zero finger-pointing.
Tell us the postcode and the m². We give an indicative price on the call and firm it up in writing after a site survey.
From Blackwood, we pour daily in:
