Specifying anhydrite for Runwell Road style apartments
Read the floor schedule for a block of flats and you will find a code such as CA-C25-F5. It is a European classification. After the C sits the strength in compression, and after the F the strength in bending, each given in N/mm2. CA-C20-F4 is meant for houses with light foot traffic, CA-C25-F5 suits the bulk of homes, flats and offices, while harder wear calls for CA-C30-F6.
On a block like the Runwell Road proposal, the engineer picks the grade, not us, and we pour exactly that. A specification may swap in alpha hemihydrate instead when the build programme is short or the available floor depth is tight. Depth and drying then come from the manufacturer's sheet for that product, and we follow it.
The acoustic build-up comes first. Apartment floors like those proposed on Runwell Road sit over a resilient layer that stops footfall noise travelling to the flat below, and the screed floats on top. The layer has to be continuous, with its edges turned up at the walls, or sound finds a way round. Those sound and insulation layers come under our preparation, insulation and membrane service.
Because the material barely shrinks while it cures, one flat's floor can often go down in a single bay. Any joints, whether at a threshold or where one heating zone meets the next, are marked out with the site team in advance. For more on what anhydrite is and how it behaves, read our guide to anhydrite screed.
Sanding and testing anhydrite floors in Wickford
Flats make up 13% of Wickford's homes, and 10% of all homes were built between 2000 and 2014. In a flat or a house of any age, a calcium sulphate floor follows one rule before flooring: the surface skin, called laitance, must be removed before any covering goes down.
Laitance forms as the screed dries. Tile adhesive and smoothing compound will not hold to that skin. Once the screed is dry enough to work on, we sand the crust off and prime the surface with a product meant for calcium sulphate. Skipping this step is a frequent reason for tiles or LVT lifting later.
Moisture testing matters just as much. Dryness is checked, never guessed. Flooring manufacturers tend to set a tighter moisture limit for calcium sulphate than for cement, so a figure that would pass on cement can still rule an anhydrite floor out. Our hygrometer gives the answer. If the flat or house has heating pipes in the floor, running them from about 7 days usually speeds the drying along.
Keep anhydrite out of rooms that will be wet. If a Wickford flat is having a wet room or a new shower put in, that floor is poured with a flowing cement mix instead, or sand and cement laid by hand.
Anhydrite & Flow Screed prices in Wickford
Liquid flowing screed (which includes anhydrite): £24 to £31 per m² supplied and laid (MyJobQuote, August 2026), so £960 to £1,240 for 40 m². MyJobQuote does not say whether these figures include VAT. See our floor screeding cost guide or screed calculator.
Who lays your anhydrite and flow screed in Wickford
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.
Anhydrite & Flow Screed from Slough to Wickford
As the crow flies, our yard in Slough is about 50.5 miles from Wickford, which lies to the east. Postcodes here include SS12 and SS11, and Rayleigh (4.1 miles), Basildon (4.2 miles), Billericay (4.5 miles) and South Woodham Ferrers (4.9 miles) are close by.
More on anhydrite screed, part of our screeding services.
