Rebuilding old solid floors in Sudbury terraces
Around 15% of Sudbury's homes were built before 1919. Solid floors of that age were rarely laid over a membrane, and over the decades damp rises into them, breaks down the surface and lifts whatever covering sits on top. Patching the surface does not stop it.
Only taking the old floor out and starting again fixes it for good. A damp proof membrane goes down, insulation goes on top, and a floating sand and cement screed finishes the floor. In a home the screed is laid at about 65mm, mixed on site and compacted by hand before it is finished to a dense, level surface.
Hand laying suits these houses. Terraced rooms are narrow, doorways are tight and the finished level often has to match hallways, steps and thresholds that cannot move. A traditional screed can be worked around those, and small areas do not need a pump or lorry outside. The mix can also be adjusted room by room as the depth changes.
The interwar share is small, just 4% of homes, so most houses beyond the oldest streets date from after 1945. A later floor that is sound but uneven may need levelling rather than digging out.
If the old slab is cracked rather than damp, our concrete floor repair service may be the right place to start. The screed thickness guide explains depths in more detail.
Wet rooms, garages and falls in Sudbury
A wet room or walk-in shower in a Sudbury house wants a cement based floor, whatever age the building is. The screed there has to put up with water and usually slopes down to a drain. Those falls are formed by hand in sand and cement; a calcium sulphate screed that flows into place cannot hold a slope.
Garage conversions are another common fit. Garage slabs tend to sit below the house floor, so insulation and screed bring the new room up level with the hallway, and our advice on screeding a garage sets out each layer.
Where a floor must carry load early, or a screed has to bond straight to a sound concrete base, a bonded sand and cement screed from 25 to 40mm is an option. Mixing fibres in to help it resist cracking adds £1 to £3 per m².
A traditional Sudbury floor makes you wait for it. Each millimetre takes roughly a day to dry over the first 40mm, and the depth below that is slower again, so a 65mm Sudbury floor is left for several weeks before wood, vinyl or other moisture sensitive coverings go down. If that timescale is too long, a quick drying screed can shorten it.
Sand and Cement Screed prices in Sudbury
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 Sudbury
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 Sudbury
As the crow flies, our yard in Slough is about 68.7 miles from Sudbury, which lies to the east-north-east. Postcodes here include CO10, and Halstead (7.8 miles), Colchester (12.6 miles), Haverhill (12.9 miles) and Braintree (13.5 miles) are close by.
More on sand & cement screed, part of our screeding services.
