Replacing timber ground floors in Harpenden
Suspended timber floors sit over a void, and after many years the joists and boards can be tired, uneven or cold underfoot. Replacing them with a solid floor gives a stable base for tiles and stone and room for proper insulation. That makes it more work than simply changing the floor covering, and the layers have to go in correctly.
In outline, the timber comes out, a solid base is formed beneath, a damp proof membrane and insulation go down, and then the screed is laid. We lay sand and cement at 65mm floating over the insulation, reinforced with fibres to resist shrinkage cracking. Published figures put fibres at £1 to £3 per m² extra, and more detail is on our fibre reinforced screed page.
Harpenden also has older houses: 12% of homes were built before 1919 and 16% between the wars. In houses of that age the new solid floor also has to meet any timber floors that remain in other rooms, and the finished level at each door has to match. We work that out before setting the depth.
Hand-laid screed is forgiving on awkward work. It can be mixed to different depths across one floor, taken into bay windows and alcoves, and compacted around pipes and thresholds. It dries more slowly than a pumped mix, at about a millimetre a day until 40mm, so expect a 65mm Harpenden floor to need weeks before flooring. The thickness guide sets out depths by use.
Wet rooms, garages and small Harpenden rooms
A cement screed tolerates water where a calcium sulphate one does not. So for a wet room or walk-in shower, where the floor is shaped by hand to run down to a drain, a cement mix is what we lay. Even where a Harpenden ground floor is poured in anhydrite, the shower room or utility usually needs a cement screed beside it.
Garage conversions are another fit. Garage floors usually sit lower than the rooms next to them, so converting one takes insulation, a membrane and enough screed to lift it to the house level. The layers and depths for that job are in our guide to screeding garage floors.
Sand and cement also suits floors that must take load early, need a cement base for a specific finish, or are simply small. A single cloakroom or porch does not justify a mixer lorry and pump, and hand-laid screed is cost effective at that scale. Expect £18 to £25 per m² on MyJobQuote's August 2026 figures, or £20 to £28 for a fast drying mix.
Where a Harpenden job runs to a tight timetable, quick drying screed brings the flooring date forward.
Sand and Cement Screed prices in Harpenden
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 Harpenden
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 Harpenden
Harpenden is about 23.2 miles north-north-east of our Slough base as the crow flies, with postcodes including AL5 and AL3. The nearest towns to it are St Albans (4.5 miles), Luton (5.1 miles), Welwyn Garden City (6.5 miles) and Hemel Hempstead (6.6 miles).
More on sand & cement screed, part of our screeding services.