How much does floor screed cost?

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Reviewed by Spencer Warner, former BSI committee member. Established in 1987
CSC Screeding · Last updated 29 October 2026

We know that is not the answer you were hoping for. Most people searching this want a number per m². We have chosen not to publish one, and this article explains why, and gives you everything you need to understand a screed price, compare quotes properly and spot the quote that will cost you more later.

Key facts

• CSC has completed over 2,900 projects since 2010, from single plots to multi-block residential schemes.
• On average we lay about 120 m² a day of traditional sand and cement screed and about 400 m² a day of flowing screed. These are averages, not guarantees; your site sets the real figure.
• We can pump flowing screed up to 120 m and traditional screed up to 150 m.
• Accreditations: ISO 9001, Constructionline Gold, CHAS Premium, Builders Profile, Local Supply Chain and THSP. Isocrete (Flowcrete) Approved Contractor.

Why won't screeding contractors give a price per m²?

Because a rate per m² on its own tells you very little. Two jobs of the same size can cost very different amounts. A ground floor slab with lorry access to the door is a different job from the sixth floor of an apartment block with no storage and a 100 m pump line. A rate quoted without seeing the job either has a large risk allowance built in, or it will grow once the real conditions show up as extras.

Publishing a "typical" range also tends to anchor buyers on the bottom of it, which pushes the market toward quotes that leave things out. We would rather explain the factors and price your job properly.

What affects the cost of floor screed?

These are the factors that move a screed price most, roughly in order of impact.

1. Screed type: flowing or traditional

Flowing (liquid) screed and traditional sand and cement screed are priced differently. Material, labour, plant and laying speed all differ. Flowing screed usually costs more as a material but goes down faster, and can often be laid thinner. Traditional screed is labour-heavier but very flexible on small, broken-up or awkward areas. The right choice depends on the project, not the headline material cost. See Liquid screed vs traditional screed: the honest comparison.

2. Thickness

Thickness drives material quantity directly, and it also drives drying time, which has its own programme cost. The design (bonded, unbonded, floating, over underfloor heating) sets the minimum thickness. Varying levels across a floor plate, for example to bring different floor finishes to one finished floor level, add setting-out time.

3. Area and how it is broken up

Large open floor plates are efficient. Lots of small rooms, corridors, risers and returns mean more edges, more joints and more set-up per m². That is also why small areas carry a minimum charge: the crew, pump and travel cost much the same whether we lay a small area or a full day's output.

4. Access, pumping distance and height

How far and how high the screed has to travel is one of the biggest variables. We can pump flowing screed up to 120 m and traditional screed up to 150 m. Longer lines need more set-up and more people. Restricted city sites with no storage, limited delivery windows or a single pit lane change how the job is resourced. For flowing screed on tight sites, our Maverick batches flowing screed on site (it produces flowing screed only), which removes the reliance on ready-mix truck timings.

5. Underfloor heating

Screed over underfloor heating needs the pipes properly fixed, the right cover over the pipes, edge strip and movement joints in the right places, and a controlled heating-up procedure later. Flowing screed can float poorly fixed pipes, so the pre-pour check matters. These all affect labour and thickness.

6. Programme and number of visits

A screed price assumes a number of visits. If the programme splits the job into many small pours, each extra mobilisation adds cost. Night work, weekend work or working in a live building also change the price. The cheapest way to screed is usually in large, well-prepared areas on dates that actually happen.

7. Preparation and what state the floor is in

Who cleans the slab, fixes insulation and edge strip, seals service penetrations and checks levels? If the base is not ready on the day, the crew stands or leaves, and someone pays for it.

8. Specification and testing

A clear specification (screed type, thickness, surface regularity class, reinforcement, testing) lets every contractor price the same thing. A vague one leaves each contractor to make assumptions. It also makes it clear what testing and surface regularity class the floor has to meet.

9. Location and travel

Distance to site and parking all have a cost, especially on London sites.

10. Logistics and delivery method

Logistics can influence cost variance between quotes, depending on the delivery method: how the material gets to site (ready-mix trucks, bulk deliveries, or flowing screed batched on site by the Maverick), delivery windows, and where plant can sit.

How do you compare screed quotes like for like?

Put the quotes side by side and ask the same scope questions of each:

If one quote is much lower than the others, it is almost always because it is pricing a different scope, not because that contractor has found a cheaper way to lay screed.

Is flowing screed more expensive than traditional screed?

As a material, flowing screed usually costs more. As a job, it is often a different story. Flowing screed goes down faster (on average about 400 m² a day for our crews compared with about 120 m² a day for traditional), can often be laid thinner, and can reach floor-finish readiness on a more predictable timeline depending on the product. Traditional screed suits small, broken-up areas, falls, and jobs where flowing screed's need for sealed, tanked areas adds cost. Compare total cost including programme, not just rate.

Why do cheap screed quotes cost more later?

Because the real cost of a screed shows up after it is laid. A floor laid too thin, without joints, on a poorly prepared base or without proper curing can crack, curl, sound hollow or stay wet. Then the floor finish fails, the flooring contractor stands down, and the main contractor carries the programme delay. Remedial work means breaking out and relaying in a building that is now nearly finished.

When is CSC not the right fit?

If you need a very small area screeded quickly and price is the only factor, a local generalist may suit you better. Our minimum charge reflects the cost of sending a specialist crew and kit. We are a good fit when the programme matters, the area is large, access is difficult, or the floor finish is sensitive to moisture and level.

What does CSC need to price your job?

• Drawings with areas, and the revision number
• Screed specification (type, thickness, finish tolerance)
• Floor finish for each area
• Underfloor heating: yes or no, and where
• Programme and number of phases
• Access: distance and height from where the pump can sit
• Site address and any delivery or working-hour restrictions

Send these and we will price against them.

On site with CSC

On Ballymore's Brentford Waterside Phase 2a, the Maverick batches flowing screed on site, so the programme does not depend on ready-mix truck arrivals.