Screed has been laid 20mm too high.

[Peter11m]

I am feeling defeated. I have dug out the old concrete floor in my house. Laid a new concrete floor, dpm etc, then installed wet ufh pipes on celotex. At this stage i thought i would shell out and get a floor screeding specialist to put the final finish on. After showing him what height the finished floor should be he has done his own thing and left me with a finished screed 20mm too high.

I have called the chap and he refuses too even come back and look at the job. Now he just keeps hanging up on me. Can anyone advise whether i can get over this with a floor grinder/sander and if so what type? Obviously if it wasn't for the underfloor heating pipes i would just dig it up. Thanks in advance.

 

[Notch7]

What a nightmare for you.

I cant see any other solution than removing screed and redoing.

If its still quite green, it should come quite easily.........

 

[Peter11m]

Hi thanks for the reply. To be honest it was before Christmas and digging it up worries me with regards to the heating pipes. I was hoping i could grind the screed down in some way.

 

[Keithmac]

Is there no way you can work around the 20mm difference?.

 

[dazlight]

What type of screed did he do?

 

[Doggit]

It should grind down, but the longer it's left, the harder it'll set; but it'll make a lot of dust, and then you'd need to lay self levelling compound afterwards. Do you know how far down the heating pipes are, as you could use an sds drill very carefully I short bursts, preferably slanted. But you need to do a letter to the installer first giving him the opportunity to correct the issues, otherwise you reserve the right to reclaim all costs necessary to correct the issues - which may require the UFH coming up and being reinstalled from scratch.

You may need to seek legal advice over this.

 

[upcreek123]

Hi thanks for all the replys. I have called and called the guy and no answer. I have sent him an email and no reply. I could go to small claims court and win but that doesn't mean I will get any money out of him.

I laid the rest of the floor and installed the pipework myself so it is time and hard work I have lost. That is not to say I haven't lost money I have but material costs only. Only I say, it's still enough.

I know how far the pipes are down but was hoping to avoid digging it all up. Obviously digging it up without damaging anything is one thing but cleaning around the pipes is another. I could relay all the pipework if it was damaged but then everytime you reclip the pipe work you are puncturing the celotex etc..

I was hoping sanding/grinding might have been the best option.

I can live with the 20mm everywhere but the stairs. Now the bottom step is going to be all but an inch shorter than the rest. I don't know how to get around it?

Thanks again to everyone trying to help.

 

[Notch7]

I suppose you could try cutting a row of grooves just over 20mm deep using an electricians wall chaser

Like one of these:

https://www.screwfix.com/p/titan-tt...gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CO7I1sqjudgCFc7jGwodTpICdw

The screed wont be fully cured yet, so it will break up easier than something thats been down for years.

My worry would be the fact it is a floating screed with many rows of pipes. Theres a high risk of cracks propagating if you start using a hammer and bolster to chip away.

If you decide to break up and start again, I would consider laying new underfloor heating pipe. It isnt much money against the risk of using pipes that may have got damaged.

I cant think of much of a solution for the stairs, only this:

If it is stairs that are to be covered in carpet, could you add a dummy tread on the top of each existing stair tread? Make each a different thickness, IE, the first 18mm, the second 16mm the third 14mm........that way each rise will be just 2mm different.

If you are under building regs, I dont think you would get away with 20mm difference on 1st rise.

 

[Doggit]

As you've got cellotex under the screed, then I'd rescind the idea of using an SDS drill, and go back to grinding it. But putting in more clips into the cellotex won't do it any harm. The wall chaser will give you an exact depth (go in about 5mm deeper, and then you can level it back up afterwards. You may not get your money back via the small claims court, (but you can always threaten to put a charge on his property, and you'd then get it when he sells), but it's a threat you need to make to him before you start any work, as you wouldn't get anything if you don't give him the chance to correct his mistake.

20mm lost from the first tread height may not be an issue, and if you are under a building control notice, then they may accept it as a genuine mistake, but you need to have a chat with them. You could look at putting in some wood slivers that raise the height on each succeeding thread. Have a chat with your local wood yard, and see what they can provide. They might be able to knock you up some 5mm thick sheets the size of the treads, and you put 3 on the first tread, 2 on the second, and 1 on the 3rd etc.

 

[WabbitPoo]

OP did you pay the guy yet?

 

[cdbe]

I have a house with a similar situation, but it's at least 30mm. I spent a long time worrying about it and considered layers of hardboard to gradually build up subsequent steps etc but can honestly say that in use no-one has ever noticed or had issues with it (and neither did I one I stopped worrying about it). I imagined people having a "hard landing" as their brain expected their foot to go down a bit further but it's never happened. It may be worse in reverse, i.e a bigger drop than the brain expects.