What Is Wearing Screed?

I’m Andy Parkin, Managing Director of the Multi-Award Winning Speed Screed. I’m here to talk about wearing screed.

Wearing screed, or granolithic screed is made for places that have heavy wear and tear. Designed for durability it is the toughest breed in screeds. These high-density toppings are suitable for those places which have heavy traffic. In such areas, a weaker material would wear much faster. All these factors make it the ideal choice for industrial floor projects.

Can the screed be used for domestic and general commercial uses?

Consisting of sand, cement, and crushed rock, in a 1:1:2 ratio. You will not need final floor coverings when it comes to this type of screeds because they have a much higher resistance to impact and are much less susceptible to abrasion. Even without floor coverings, wearing screed is great for a multitude of different industrial applications.

Wearing screed is often used in places where there’s a need for an inexpensive material. Some examples of such areas can be power stations, corridors, warehouses, plant rooms, weight lifting areas, etc.

These places require a material that is sound, hard wearing and can endure very heavy impact like that of a heavy dumbbell or multiple cars operating at the same time. The ideal material in such applications is wearing screed.

In the case of unbonded constructions

Wearing screed is not normally used. Instead of that, a new concrete slab may be used, generally with a minimum depth of 100 mm. It should be installed with screed laid monolithically on top of it.

This hardwearing screed can be considered as an option to use with underfloor heating.  When used in floating construction as with other sand and cement screeds curling may occur, and steps to minimise this should be taken (brick ties, or mesh across joints).

Site Batched Screed

Typically mixed on-site, and care needs to be taken. Incorrect mix promotions, inadequate mixing, and poor compaction of the wearing screed can lead to problems. Together they they make the wearing screed more likely to crack, curl or de-bond from the surface. To prevent such failures, one should make sure to work with screeders who know what they are doing.

This means that they must comply with the correct recommended cement-aggregate-water proportions, and practices highlighted in the British Standard. It is also urged to use the right mixing techniques which means that instead of hand mixing, forced action mixing should be used.

Wearing screed is one of the most durable materials. For industrial use, wearing screed is a great choice and will also save you from long term repair costs.

I hope this helps with your “wearing screed” questions.  Please contact us, we love to help!