Which screed suits which Canterbury home
Census 2021 recorded 55,107 people in the Canterbury built-up area. The city's buildings run from 16th and 17th century timber-framed buildings in the medieval core to housing built in the last few decades, and the right floor depends on where a building sits in that range.
Inside and just outside the city walls, many properties are listed or stand in a conservation area. A thick cement screed is often the wrong answer there. These floors usually need a breathable build-up and thin levelling, agreed with whoever advises on the building's consent, so the first step is advice rather than a price.
Wincheap, a conservation area since 1996, mixes 18th-century brick houses with Victorian terraces, and many of those terraces were built without a damp proof membrane. Once a terrace floor like that has failed outright and can be lifted, we rebuild it in layers: insulation, a fresh damp barrier, then a hand-laid screed for Canterbury's older houses that can be worked into cramped rooms and fiddly door thresholds.
Flats make up 29% of Canterbury homes. Large open floors in newer blocks, and wide rear extensions, suit a pumped liquid screed that settles flat in a single visit. Where a new-build specification names a calcium sulphate grade, the material has its own rules on laitance and moisture, and we explain those before the pour is booked.
Homes in Canterbury at a glance
The most common home in Canterbury is a semi-detached house (30%), ahead of flats at 29%. The largest group of homes here was built between 1945 and 1972 (26%), and a further 21% between 1973 and 1999.
| Homes in Canterbury | Share |
|---|---|
| Detached houses | 15% |
| Semi-detached houses | 30% |
| Terraced houses | 25% |
| Flats | 29% |
| Built before 1919 | 17% |
| Built 1919 to 1944 | 10% |
| Built 1945 to 1972 | 26% |
| Built 1973 to 1999 | 21% |
| Built since 2000 | 26% |
House types from Census 2021 (table TS044); building age from the Valuation Office Agency council tax stock of properties, 31 March 2026 (table CTSOP 4.1). Figures cover the Canterbury built-up area (E63005410).
Screeding services in Canterbury
- Liquid ScreedExtensions and newer flats across Canterbury suit pumped liquid screed: self-levelling, flat to SR2 and walkable in 24 to 48 hours.
- Sand and Cement ScreedVictorian terraces in Wincheap were often built without a damp proof membrane. We relay failed Canterbury solid floors in sand and cement.
- Underfloor Heating ScreedRetrofitting underfloor heating in a post-war Canterbury semi where height is tight, or heating an extension? We screed over the pipes.
- Anhydrite & Flow ScreedNew Canterbury flats and plots often name an anhydrite grade. We pour CA-C20-F4 to CA-C30-F6, sand the laitance and test moisture.
- Floor LevellingShop fits at Whitefriars, trade counters on Wincheap Industrial Estate and thin levelling for listed floors: floor levelling in Canterbury.
- Latex ScreedOld quarry tiles, overboarded timber and patchy concrete in Canterbury homes need thin latex screed before vinyl or LVT.
- Concrete Floor GrindingWincheap Industrial Estate units, Whitefriars shop fits and Canterbury garages: diamond grinding with dust extraction.
We also offer fibre reinforced screed, quick drying screed, high strength screed, bonded screed, floor preparation, screed repairs, concrete floor repair, screed pumping, insulation & membranes, commercial screeding and residential screeding in Canterbury.
Timing a Canterbury pour around the build
Screed is one of the middle trades, so its date is set by the jobs either side of it. Walls, windows and roof need to be in so the floor is protected from the weather, and any heating pipes must be laid and pressure tested first. Heating pipes going into the room? Read heated floor screeds for Canterbury first, as it covers the depth needed over them and the earliest date to warm the floor.
Access comes next. A liquid screed is pumped through a hose from a mixer at the kerb, so we need to know where that vehicle can stand and how far the hose must run. Inside the walled centre, and on Wincheap's terraced streets, settle parking arrangements with us at the quoting stage rather than on the morning of the pour. Sand and cement is barrowed in, which suits tight access but takes longer on a big floor.
Drying then sets the pace for the flooring fitter. Drying runs at roughly a day a millimetre through the first 40mm and slower beyond, so book the tiler or LVT fitter with those weeks counted in, not for the week after the pour. A solid old floor that is merely wavy may need nothing more than a skim of levelling compound.
Shop fits in the Whitefriars Shopping Centre and trade units on Wincheap Industrial Estate are priced under our commercial screeding service.
Screeding prices for Canterbury floors
Sand and cement £18 to £25 per m², liquid £24 to £31 per m², supplied and laid (MyJobQuote, August 2026). MyJobQuote does not say whether these figures include VAT. See our floor screeding cost guide.
Who lays your floor screed in Canterbury
K & B Screeding’s own team, led by director Donatas Bardisevicius. Founded 2019, company 12298780.
See what customers say in our Google reviews and on our testimonials page.
Reaching Canterbury
On the map, Canterbury sits east-south-east of Slough, about 76.5 miles from our base in a straight line (postcodes including CT1, CT2 and CT3), next to Whitstable (5.9 miles), Herne Bay (6.7 miles), Faversham (8.5 miles) and Ashford (12.8 miles). Neighbourhoods we cover in Canterbury include Hales Place, Northgate, Scotland Hills, St Dunstan's and St Martin's.
See our screeding services for every screed type we lay.