Own contribution: Determination of residual moisture

Hello everyone,

we will soon be building a turnkey semi-detached house. There are now options to reduce the purchase price by providing [Eigenleistungen].
For example, the packages "Bodenarbeiten in Eigenleistung" and "Fliesenarbeiten in Eigenleistung" include the following:

This includes determining the residual moisture of the screed using a suitable measurement method (e.g., CM measurement), pretreatment of the screed including cleaning, closing/resin treatment of shrinkage cracks, sanding or skimming the screed to level it.

Is determining the residual moisture problematic? Are there devices for this (which one can either purchase cheaply or rent)? What should one imagine by screed cleaning? Just vacuuming over it once?
Since it will be a solid new build, we do not expect many cracks in the screed, are we correct? Is skimming difficult?

Many greetings from Stuttgart!

So... determining the residual moisture is not difficult if a) you have the equipment and b) know where and how much to tap out of the screed. I had a look at it when our parquet fitter did it... No, I would neither want to buy the equipment for it nor do it myself. Since the screed can indeed form a glass-like surface, it may need to be sanded down, and then measured again a week later. And if the moisture is still too high then (and who says how high it may be for what?)...
Clean screed... sand it down!
New building... why should there be less tendency to crack than in old buildings?

From what we have experienced with us as well as with acquaintances: better let the professional do it. The potential for damage should not be underestimated. Laying tiles afterwards is almost child's play (although – it's hard work! The tilers here are not complaining about a shortage of young talent for nothing!). But even there... waterproofing in the bathroom should be done properly, otherwise the trouble is greater.

We are currently also fighting massively together with our tiler and the problem of residual moisture. I would ALWAYS leave this point in the hands of someone who knows how to handle it.

Thank you for the information. I will see if the company does that and we might just lay the floors ourselves (laminate + impact sound insulation; the tiles should be done completely by them).

If the company (whichever) lays the tiles, then they should also measure the residual moisture themselves beforehand. If only for liability reasons.

And I would install the laminate much later. Otherwise, it will mold away and you'll have to do it twice.