Rebuilding terrace floors in Plumstead and Charlton
A failed ground floor in an older terrace usually shows itself slowly: tiles that lift, a floor that sounds hollow, damp at the skirting. The dependable fix is to break out the old floor, lay a damp proof membrane and insulation, and screed over the top at the right depth.
Sand and cement is well suited to that. A floating domestic screed over insulation goes down at about 65mm, while commercial floors are usually laid at about 75mm. It is mixed at the house, so each room can take its own depth, and it copes with the steps, recesses and back additions that older houses tend to have.
The screed is compacted and then power floated or trowelled to a dense finish. On a narrow terraced street, materials are barrowed through the front door, so we need to know where a delivery can be dropped and how far it is to the back room.
Where only the top of a sound concrete floor has broken down, a bonded screed of 25 to 40mm fixed to the prepared slab can save height. The concrete may need floor preparation or shot blasting first to give a good key.
Drying is slower than with pumped screed. A day per millimetre for the first 40mm is the usual rule, so a 65mm floor is a matter of weeks. If the programme cannot absorb that, a fast drying screed mix at £20 to £28 per m² can shorten the wait.
Wet rooms, falls and garages in Greenwich homes
Calcium sulphate screeds are not the right choice where water is part of daily life, so wet rooms, walk-in showers and utility areas are laid in sand and cement. A walk-in shower floor has to run down towards its drain too, and only a screed laid by hand can be trowelled to that slope; a self-levelling one settles flat.
Garages follow the same logic. A garage conversion usually means raising a low slab to the height of the house floor with insulation, a membrane and a screed, and a cement screed can take early load and knocks during the build. Our guide to screeding a garage floor walks through each layer.
A sand and cement floor also accepts extras. Mixing in fibres to cut cracking adds roughly £1 to £3 per m², and a stronger mix can be specified for floors that will take heavier use.
With 27% of homes in the borough terraced, many floors sit in narrow houses where a pump would be more trouble than it saves. For the open extension at the back of the same house, though, liquid screed for Greenwich extensions is worth comparing. Planning heating pipes under it? Hand-laid, the screed then has to sit roughly 45mm above them.
Sand and Cement Screed prices in Greenwich
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 Greenwich
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 Greenwich
Greenwich is about 30.8 miles east of our Slough base as the crow flies, with postcodes including SE2, SE9, SE3 and DA16. The nearest towns to it are Bexley (3.6 miles), Newham (3.7 miles), Lewisham (4.3 miles) and Tower Hamlets (5.2 miles).
More on sand & cement screed, part of our screeding services.
