Screed vs. Fast-drying Screed

Hello people,

the topic of screed is slowly coming up for us as well and I wanted to ask you for your opinion. Screed is to be poured at the beginning of December and there are two options. In both options, the LWWP is used for heating.

Option1: "normal" screed, ready to cover after about 4 weeks. No additional costs but longer heating phase. But better because it can dry longer?

option2: fast-drying screed (chemical). Ready to cover after about 2 weeks, additional costs 1000-2000€. I could then use the Christmas period for the painting work. In the new year, tiling is done directly, which means I could only do that after handover, ergo move-in later.

Does anyone have experience with fast screeds? I couldn't find anything bad about it health-wise. Are there any other advantages?

Thank you very much!

Does anyone have experience with quick screeds? Health-wise, I couldn’t find anything bad about them. Are there any other advantages?

The only advantage is speed – my screed was ready for covering after a good week. So about 1.5 months faster than classic cement screed (which usually takes three weeks before the heating program starts – that also takes at least another two weeks).

And time is money – less dual housekeeping = less rent, commuting, etc.
However, 1.5 years ago it only cost 400€ for 120sqm of screed.

No, you can just mix the screed with less water, which shortens the drying time. My expert said that you can still use the two-week stuff, but he had bad experiences with the seven-day or even less stuff.

Ok great thanks to you. Then we will take the 2 weeks option I think.

We also had a fast-drying screed in the first house, it was included in our standard. Had nothing to complain about. I once read somewhere that it would cup more, but is that true? We had relatively few problems with it. Sure, in the corners it cupped a bit, then you have to redo the silicone joints where it was tiled. But I think that is relatively normal.

If it's only about painting, I would save the money. You can already walk well on the normal screed after a week. And the more time you give the screed, the better it will be (because of the cupping, after about 6-9 months the screed has reshaped).