Rebuilding old solid floors in Selsey homes
When a ground floor has cracked, sunk or never had insulation, patching rarely lasts. Taking it out is the more lasting fix. Once the old slab or screed is removed, the base is made good, insulation boards and a damp-proof membrane are laid, and a new sand and cement screed goes on top.
Hand-laid screed suits this work because the rooms are often small and the shapes awkward. Hallways, bay windows, under-stair cupboards and narrow kitchens are easy to reach with a barrow and a straightedge. We can alter the mix from room to room, then tamp and float each one until it is firm and true.
How thick it goes comes down to the floor's construction. Laid floating on insulation, it is 65mm in a home and 75mm on commercial jobs. Stuck directly to sound concrete, 25 to 40mm will do, so a thinner bonded screed is handy where the old doors and thresholds leave little height to play with.
Sand and cement also accepts additives. Fibres reduce the risk of surface cracking and add about £1 to £3 per m², and rapid drying additives shorten the wait before flooring. Without additives, published 2026 UK figures give £18 to £25 per m².
What you give up is speed. At 65mm, a cement screed stays wet far longer than a liquid pour, and the build timetable needs room for it. The rule of thumb is set out in our screed drying time guide.
Wet rooms and garages along the Manhood Peninsula
Bathrooms are a common reason to choose sand and cement in a Selsey house. For a walk-in shower, the floor has to slope gently to the drain, and only hand work gives that shape. Since calcium sulphate does not belong under a floor that may stay wet, a cement screed is what goes beneath the tanking in a wet room.
Garages are the other case. When a Selsey garage becomes a study, bedroom or utility, its floor normally has to come up to the level of the house, with insulation and a membrane under the new screed. The step down from the house and the old garage slab both need dealing with, and our garage floor screed guide covers the build-up.
A workshop, or a room about to take heavy units, is another place for cement, because it can bear weight early. It can be strengthened or reinforced for that.
In a seaside town, salt air and damp make the membrane and the drying time worth getting right. A screed that is sealed under vinyl before it has dried can trap moisture and cause problems later. We test before flooring rather than going by the calendar. If an extension needs a wide, open floor rather than a set of small rooms, compare it with liquid screed for Selsey extensions.
Sand and Cement Screed prices in Selsey
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 Selsey
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 Selsey
As the crow flies, our yard in Slough is about 55.6 miles from Selsey, which lies to the south. Postcodes here include PO20, and Bognor Regis (6.4 miles), Chichester (7.2 miles), Emsworth (10.2 miles) and Havant (12.1 miles) are close by.
More on sand & cement screed, part of our screeding services.