Tiling

tiling onto sand & Cement screed floor (drying time)

Anonymous user 16/03/2024 - 2.40 PM

Hi i have had an extension built with concrete base, 100mm Insulation, UFH and 60-75mm sand & cement (dry mix) screed. It has been drying out for about 2 weeks, 1st 7 days kept the windows shut to try to slow the curing process since then have introduced some heat into the room and opened the windows regularly. we have some minor cracking (to be expected i believe). I am planning to have the floor tiled with 90*60cm tiles. i can't get a clear answer as to drying time, i read the easi-mix (screed supplier) concrete advice and it seemed to indicate 3-4 weeks drying for tiles and approx 90-100 days for wood/laminate. I am assuming that tiles of the grout are slightly porous so the water must continue to escape with tile and hence you can tile significantly earlier that other final floorings? It also seems liquid screed needs more time to dry than the dry mix (sand & cement) ? Am just trying to work out timings as i can fit the kitchen units before tiling but my preference is to tile 1st (i feel it will be a better finish), however 100 days is a long time without a kitchen. Seems a lot of info on the web about drying screed but not always specific regarding the different types of screed. Any advice or thoughts welcome & appreciated Andy