Pipe cover and depth in Colchester heated floors
The screed over underfloor heating does more than cover the pipes. It spreads the heat evenly and gives a strong, flat base for the finish. To do that it needs the right depth and full contact with every pipe.
With a pumped liquid screed over heating pipes, cover must be at least 25mm above the top of the pipe, giving 45 to 50mm in total. Liquid screed flows under and around the pipes, leaving no air pockets. With sand and cement, cover is about 45mm, so the finished screed is thicker, heavier and slower to dry.
Newer homes are often built with this in mind, but 26% of Colchester's homes date from 1973 to 1999, and houses of that age were rarely built with heating in the floor. When one of those homes is extended, the new heated floor has to meet the existing one at the same level. Planning the insulation and screed depth before anything is ordered avoids steps and awkward thresholds.
Detached houses account for 23% of the city's homes, and with larger floor areas, the choice between liquid and sand and cement can change the drying time and cost noticeably. Published 2026 rates for liquid screed over underfloor heating run from £20 to £35 a square metre.
K & B does not install the heating pipes. Your heating engineer lays and pressure tests the circuits, and we pour while they are still under pressure.
Commissioning heated floors in Colchester Garrison conversions
After the pour, the heating cannot simply be switched on. The first heat-up follows the material and must be gradual.
Calcium sulphate screed can usually be warmed from about 7 days after pouring. Sand and cement needs at least 21 days. Start at a low water temperature, increase it a little each day, hold at working temperature, then reduce it again before flooring goes down. Moving too quickly can crack the screed or cause flooring to fail later.
In a converted building, the heat-up has a second benefit: it helps dry the screed ready for flooring, which matters on a tight programme. For calcium sulphate floors, the anhydrite drying and laitance advice explains what happens before the finish goes on.
In any room, the screed near an outside wall may dry at a different rate from the middle, so moisture readings should be taken in several places, not just one.
We leave written commissioning guidance on the day, so your heating engineer and flooring fitter work to the same plan. The same service is available for underfloor heating in Witham and other nearby towns.
Underfloor Heating Screed prices in Colchester
Liquid screed over underfloor heating: £20 to £35 per m² supplied and laid (trade2base, June 2026), so £700 to £1,230 for 35 m². trade2base gives these figures excluding VAT. See our floor screeding cost guide or screed calculator.
Who lays your underfloor heating screed in Colchester
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.
Underfloor Heating Screed from Slough to Colchester
On the map, Colchester sits east-north-east of Slough, about 70.8 miles from our base in a straight line (postcodes including CO1, CO3, CO2 and CO4), next to Halstead (12 miles), Sudbury (12.6 miles), Witham (12.7 miles) and Clacton-on-Sea (12.9 miles).
More on underfloor heating screed, part of our screeding services.
