Rebuilding old solid floors in central Chatteris
After fires in 1706 and 1864, Chatteris lost most of its medieval and Georgian buildings, so the older houses near the centre date mostly from the late Victorian period onwards. Pre-1919 houses account for 14% of Chatteris homes. Several older buildings show a Dutch influence linked to the draining of the Fens, but under the old floor finish the problem is usually simpler: a solid floor laid on the ground, with nothing to stop damp rising and nothing to keep heat in.
When a floor like that cracks, sinks or stays cold and damp, patching rarely lasts. A lasting repair means going down far enough for every layer: hardcore and blinding where needed, a damp membrane, rigid insulation board, then screed on top. As a floating layer on insulation, a home takes 65mm of it. Laid bonded on good concrete, that drops to 25 to 40mm.
Sand and cement suits this work because it is mixed to suit each room and laid by hand, so narrow hallways, stepped thresholds and small back rooms are no obstacle. It also suits floors that need a cement substrate or have to take load early.
The trade-off is drying. Hand-laid floors dry more slowly than pumped ones, so give that time a place in the programme. Fibres can be added for crack resistance, and fibre reinforced screed is worth considering on a floor over insulation. Clearing and readying the base before any of this is covered by our floor preparation service.
Chatteris wet rooms, garages and narrow rooms
Some rooms want cement screed no matter how old the house is. Wet rooms and walk-in showers top that list. Damp that lingers weakens calcium sulphate, which is why a floor sloping to a drain goes down in sand and cement, the falls trowelled in by hand. The tanking goes on top once it has cured.
Garages are the other common one. Converting a garage into a room in a Chatteris house usually means raising the floor to meet the rest of the house, adding a membrane and insulation, and screeding over. For the levels involved, see how to screed a garage floor.
Terraced houses account for 21% of homes in the town, and narrow rooms with tight access often favour a mix barrowed in over one pumped from the road. Pressed for time, a faster drying version of the sand and cement mix shortens the wait.
For a big open-plan extension, compare this page with pumped liquid screed in Chatteris before deciding. The two methods differ in price per m², drying time and how they cope with small spaces, and the right answer depends on the room.
Sand and Cement Screed prices in Chatteris
Sand and cement screed: £18 to £25 per m² supplied and laid (MyJobQuote, August 2026), so £450 to £630 for 25 m². MyJobQuote does not say whether these figures include VAT. See our floor screeding cost guide or screed calculator.
Who lays your sand and cement screed in Chatteris
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.
Sand and Cement Screed from Slough to Chatteris
Chatteris is about 70.5 miles north-north-east of our Slough base as the crow flies, with postcodes including PE16. The nearest towns to it are March (6.5 miles), Ely (9.9 miles), Whittlesey (10.1 miles) and St Ives (10.6 miles).
More on sand & cement screed, part of our screeding services.
