---
title: Self-Compacting Screed Contractor | No Late Working
description: Self-compacting screed that places and levels without power floating, on precast plank decks and ground floors alike. No late working. Nationwide.
image: https://www.trentcs.com/hubfs/OG%20images/og-screeds-self-compacting.png
---
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[Home](https://www.trentcs.com/) / [Screeds](https://www.trentcs.com/screeds) / Self-compacting screed
Screeds
# Self-compacting *screed.*
Trent Construction Services installs self-compacting screeds for main contractors across the UK: systems that place and level without power floating or late working, keeping the method clean and the programme tight.
Who it's for
Main contractors and clients on commercial projects. We don't take on domestic or self-build work.
Project size
Around £15,000 to £2m and beyond
Standards
Surface regularity to BS 8204 (SR1, SR2 or SR3 as specified). Screed materials to BS EN 13813.
Typical output
400 to 800m² a day, up to around 1,500m² on a large deck
Typical depth
Typically around 40 to 100mm
Drying
Light foot traffic the next day. Full loading after 7 to 28 days, depending on the screed. Floor coverings once the screed passes its moisture test.
Plant and people
Our own operatives and plant, including concrete line pumps and track-mounted placing booms
Accreditations
Constructionline Gold, ISO 9001, ACIFC member, Cyber Essentials Plus, Avetta, SSIP, Nuclear Industry Association
Offices
Burton on Trent (head office) and Aldermaston, Berkshire. Working nationwide.
The work
## No late working, no power floating
Self-compacting screed flows and consolidates under its own weight, so there is no need for the late power floating that traditional methods demand. That removes evening and night working on many sites.
The material is pumped into place, spread and levelled, and then left. No finishing crew has to come back at nine in the evening when the surface has stiffened enough to work. On a site with restricted hours, that single fact is often the difference between a method that is permitted and one that is not.
It is a strong fit for live environments where the method has to be clean and predictable, and for upper decks where getting a finishing gang and their plant back onto the floor late in the day is an access problem in its own right.
On site
## One visit, one crew, *one shift.*
Fresh screed placed across a steel-frame upper deck.
The problem
## The problem this actually solves
Power floating a screeded deck is a two-stage job separated by hours. The screed goes down in the morning, the surface becomes workable in the late afternoon or evening, and it has to be floated then, not the next day. That means a crew on site into the evening, plant on the deck, lighting, and a site that stays open.
Plenty of buildings will not allow that. Hospitals, [schools](https://www.trentcs.com/sectors/education), occupied offices, secure facilities and sites in residential areas all have restricted working hours, and a method that needs a night shift either gets refused or gets priced with the cost of arguing for it. Self-compacting systems remove the second stage entirely: one visit, one crew, one shift, finished when they leave.
Scoping
## The decision you are actually making
### Do the site hours permit late working?
If they do not, the choice is largely made for you. If they do, the comparison is genuinely open.
### What surface do the follow-on trades need?
Self-compacting gives a clean, level surface for follow-on trades. Power floating gives a dense, hard-wearing surface that can be trafficked directly. Both achieve the specified tolerances when carried out properly.
### Is it a screed or a structural topping?
Self-compacting is used both as a [screed](https://www.trentcs.com/screeds) over a deck and as a topping on precast units. The depth, the bond and the specification differ.
### What is the deck?
On precast plank and hollowcore, self-compacting works well and avoids the access difficulty of returning plant to an upper floor. See [screeds on precast planks](https://www.trentcs.com/screeds/precast-plank).
### What is going on top, and when?
Drying to the moisture content the floor covering requires is a programme item, the same as with any pumped screed, and should be planned rather than assumed.
The comparison
## Self-compacting versus power floated
These are not competing versions of the same thing. One removes late working on a screeded deck; the other produces a dense, hard-wearing industrial floor that takes traffic directly. We deliver both, so there is no incentive here to push you either way.
- **Choose self-compacting** where the surface is a base for a floor covering, where site hours are restricted, where the deck is at height, or where a clean, predictable single-visit method matters more than surface hardness.
- **Go for power floated** where the concrete is the finished floor, where forklifts and racking loads run on it directly, and where abrasion resistance is the point. See [power floated floors](https://www.trentcs.com/concrete-flooring/power-floated).
- **The full comparison**, with the trade-offs set out properly, is at [self-compacting versus power floated](https://www.trentcs.com/knowledge/self-compacting-vs-power-floated).
Standards
## Tolerances and standards
Screed surface regularity is normally specified to BS 8204, measured as the maximum deviation under a 2m straightedge:
| Class | Maximum deviation | Typically used for |
| --- | --- | --- |
| SR1 | 3mm | High specification floors and demanding floor finishes |
| SR2 | 5mm | The general default for most commercial projects |
| SR3 | 10mm | Utility areas and floors taking a thick applied finish |
Screed materials are separately classified by binder type under BS EN 13813.
Self-compacting systems achieve these tolerances consistently when the deck is prepared correctly and the pour is properly set out. Consolidation under self-weight removes the operator variability that hand finishing introduces, which is one of the quieter arguments for the method. We survey the finished screed against the class specified and issue the results.
Capability
## Plant and crews, self-delivered
Our own operatives, our own pumps, our own placing booms.
Placing is the part that decides whether this method works on a difficult site. We run our own concrete line pumps and track-mounted placing booms, rare kit in this country. They deliver screed across upper decks and into restricted spaces without craning plant up.
That combination is the reason the method holds together. A self-compacting system removes the need to return to the floor late in the day, and our placing plant removes the need to get plant up there in the first place. Together they make an upper deck in an occupied building a normal job rather than an exceptional one.
Programme
## Output, programme and constraints
Pumped self-compacting screed covers ground quickly, and because there is no second finishing visit the programme is simpler to hold: one shift per area, and the area is done. The constraint is usually the deck rather than the screed, so we programme from the ready date backwards and tell you at tender if the preparation will not be complete when the programme says.
- **Restricted site hours.** The main reason clients choose this method. No power floating means no evening or night shift.
- **Occupied buildings.** Clean, contained, single-visit work in hospitals, schools and operational facilities. See [healthcare flooring](https://www.trentcs.com/sectors/healthcare).
- **Upper decks.** Placing booms deliver screed at height, and self-compacting removes the need to bring finishing plant back up later.
- **Phased programmes.** Screed delivered in sections around other trades, with day joints designed to suit.
- **Sites with noise or access limits.** A single pumped visit is easier to fit into a constrained window than a two-stage operation with a gap in the middle.
Proof
## Evidence and documentation
- Surface regularity survey against the specified BS 8204 class
- Delivery tickets and batch records
- Pour records: area, depth, date and conditions
- Manufacturer's declaration of performance for the system installed
- Moisture readings before floor coverings where we are asked to take them
- RAMS issued and agreed before mobilisation
- Sign-off pack at handover
Constructionline Gold registered. ISO 9001 certified. ACIFC member. Cyber Essentials Plus, Avetta and SSIP accredited. Member of the Nuclear Industry Association.
FAQs
## Common questions
What is the advantage of self-compacting screed?
It consolidates under its own weight, so there is no power floating and no late or night working on site. One visit, one crew, one shift.
When would I choose it over power floated concrete?
Self-compacting suits a clean, fast screed on a deck, particularly where site hours are restricted or the deck is at height. Power floated suits a hard-wearing industrial floor surface taking traffic directly. We advise which fits.
Does it work on precast decks?
Yes. It is a strong fit for precast plank and hollowcore upper floors, where returning finishing plant to the deck late in the day is an access problem.
Does it really remove night working?
On most projects, yes. That is the main commercial reason it gets specified. Where a project still requires late working for other reasons, we will say so.
What tolerance can it achieve?
The BS 8204 surface regularity class the specification names, surveyed and recorded. Self-compacting achieves the specified tolerances consistently when the deck is prepared and the pour is set out properly.
Is the surface hard enough to traffic?
It is a screed, not an industrial floor. It gives a clean, level surface for follow-on trades and floor coverings. If the concrete is the finished trafficked floor, you want a power floated slab instead.
How much can you lay in a day?
Typically 400 to 800m² a day, and up to around 1,500m² on a large deck, depending on supply, depth and access. Screeds are typically around 40 to 100mm deep.
Related
[Sector**Healthcare***→*](https://www.trentcs.com/sectors/healthcare)[Service**Flowing screed***→*](https://www.trentcs.com/screeds/flowing-screed)[Service**Precast plank screed***→*](https://www.trentcs.com/screeds/precast-plank)
Guides and case studies
[Guide**Self-compacting screed vs power floated concrete***→*](https://www.trentcs.com/knowledge/self-compacting-vs-power-floated)[Guide**Precast plank screeds: programme and follow-on trades***→*](https://www.trentcs.com/knowledge/precast-plank-screeds-programme-and-follow-on-trades)[Guide**Screed on beam and block and hollowcore decks***→*](https://www.trentcs.com/knowledge/screed-on-beam-and-block-and-hollowcore-decks)
## Got a flooring or screed *project coming up?*
Send us the drawings and the specification, and we'll tell you straight whether we can deliver it, and how.
[Discuss your project](https://www.trentcs.com/contact)
Specialist concrete flooring and screed subcontractor. Our own teams and plant, finished to specification. Nationwide.
 Certificate No. 292582018
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Contact
- **Head office**
Trent House, Bridge Park,
Wetmore Road, Burton on Trent,
DE14 1PW
- **Aldermaston**
Suite 1 Calleva Business Centre,
Calleva Park, Aldermaston,
Berkshire, RG7 8UA
- [01283 480110](tel:01283480110)
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