Costs for renewing screed

Hello everyone,

we are currently having our house (built in 1961) completely renovated, which also includes the floors. Before the work on them was to begin, I was informed that the screed in the entrance area definitely needs to be completely renewed and that there are many cracks in the attic that need to be repaired. I do not doubt this opinion – especially in the entrance area the floor literally crumbled.

What does surprise me now, however, are the estimated costs, which is why I wanted to ask whether these could be plausible. The following results (always net prices):

Ground floor (8 m²)

[*
Mechanically remove screed, transport the resulting rubble away and dispose of it properly.
[LIST]
[*]Cost: 367.52 Euro


[*]Supply and install insulation boards, supply screed material, freshly apply and smooth. Screed layer thickness approx. 4 cm. Product: Sopro M5


[*]Cost: 1,418.32 Euro

Attic (18.00 m²)

[*
Cut open and clean screed cracks; insert screed clips; mix, fill, smooth and sprinkle with quartz sand 2k resin. 5.00 units
[LIST]
[*]Cost: 313.75 Euro


[*]Mill screed, clean and prime with SHP; supply fabric, cut and embed in Schönox SG. After drying, prime again with Schönox SHP.


[*]Cost: 1,337.04 Euro

The work is already being done by professionals – it’s not about haggling over the last euro now and good work should not be poorly paid. But the other costs per m² for the floor work were more in the range of 50 euros plus material (parquet); now for the screed it is over 220 euros per m². What do you think? Could that be correct?

Surcharges for mini areas. 120 sqm anhydrite screed 45 mm for 2,000 - 2,500€ net (just the laying with material - then it comes from the machine). With you possibly mixed by hand. With a sledgehammer, 2 hours of effort and a trip to the recycling center, you could at least manage the 8 sqm for 0€.

Hi,
I think the prices are about right, small areas, a lot of effort.
But these are all jobs one could do oneself.
Olli

The costs are plausible. The setup costs are similarly high for small areas as for large areas. Therefore, the price per square meter is higher. Imagine you drive 5 km to the supermarket and buy a soda. Your neighbor drives to the same supermarket and buys a crate of soda of the same kind. Who ultimately pays a higher price per liter when including the travel costs?

Of course, you are all right that smaller areas compared to large areas are always associated with higher effort for setup and machine cleaning.
BUT!
The dismantling of a floating screed with disposal (mixed waste) will be around €8 per m² (for dismantling) and another approx. €35/m³ (meaning per cubic meter here!) for the disposal of mixed construction debris.
And it was only 8 m² on the ground floor. Meaning: dismantling estimated at €65 to €70 and (8 m² x 0.05 m = 0.4 m³) another approx. €15; that would roughly be under €100 for the ground floor for the dismantling.
Now, with Sopro M5, we are not talking about an "anhydrite screed" (see NORDANNEY), which has been called "calcium sulfate screed" for about 15 years, but rather a cement-based fast screed! Personal note: Anyone who mixes the screed by hand will probably lose momentum after the first 5 m² of screed application. It won't work!!
I am unable to assess the cost of the insulation layer, as it will either be an impact sound insulation, but probably thermal insulation (in case of earth-contact construction).
So let's calculate without insulation material €65/m² at 4 cm installation thickness (with flexural tensile strength F6, this also fits for residential construction).
8 m² x €65/m² equals €520 (meant as a guideline value).
Then we would be at the dismantling and installation work at (€520 + €100 + €70) = €690.
Plus travel, fixed costs, etc.
The cost size of €1,785.84 (sum of your figures just for the ground floor) is thus very generously calculated!!
Regarding the attic:
What are "units" in connection with crack remediation?????
Crack repairs are billed per running meter.
If €8 per running meter had been stated, there would have been nothing to object to.
2 kg of EP resin costs about 2 x €15, so €30 for the contractor, which he would sell to you with a markup for, say, €60 to €70. If he does not bill per running meter.
€313.75 is already "hefty".
Milling:
Well, the difference between "milling" and "grinding" has actually become blurred with modern tools. In many cases, one can no longer clearly distinguish between the two preparatory measures.
But a surface fleece + Schönox SG only helps if the screed is to be rated as "critical". It may be that this was the case in your situation; of course, I do not know.
Only with the second primer with Schönox SHP above the described structure do I become attentive.
To be used on "non-absorbent substrates" for subsequent tiling work, as described in the product data sheet, the Schönox SG primer is not!
Long story short:
The total sum of €3,436.61 for the few square meters seems quite high to me.
But since the work has already been carried out, at the time of execution your willingness was undoubtedly present on the basis of some offer, right??
Otherwise, this is probably one of the many cases known from my professional experience where, as a client, you can only grind your teeth loudly; the effort necessary for a legal dispute to recover part of the cost is disproportionate to the risk of losing the case.
Sometimes you can only close your eyes, take a deep breath—and then devote yourself to a more pleasant matter ....
Best regards: KlaRa