Polystyrene concrete floor screed – innovative solutions for comfort in your home

The efficiency and comfort of homes are being revolutionized by polystyrene concrete floor screed. This ground-breaking building material creates a floor screed with many advantages by fusing the strength of concrete with the insulating qualities of polystyrene. The use of polystyrene concrete screed can improve the overall comfort and energy efficiency of your living space, regardless of whether you’re building from scratch or remodeling an old home.

The superior thermal insulation of polystyrene concrete floor screed is one of its main benefits. Because polystyrene beads help to retain heat, traditional concrete can feel cold and uninviting underfoot. This helps to make your floors feel warmer. Because your heating system won’t have to work as hard to maintain a comfortable temperature, this can result in significant energy savings.

Polystyrene concrete floor screed has excellent thermal qualities in addition to being lightweight and simple to work with. Because of this, it’s the best option for a range of construction projects, including both residential and commercial structures. Because of the material’s low weight, the building’s structure will be under less overall load, which is especially advantageous for multi-story buildings.

Moreover, concrete screed made of polystyrene provides superior sound absorption. The concrete’s polystyrene beads aid in sound absorption, lowering noise levels between floors. This can improve the comfort of your house by making it quieter and more serene.

Overall, polystyrene concrete floor screed provides a modern solution for enhancing the comfort and efficiency of your home. Its combination of thermal insulation, lightweight properties, and soundproofing capabilities makes it a versatile and practical choice for any building project. By choosing polystyrene concrete screed, you can enjoy a warmer, quieter, and more energy-efficient living space.

Topic	Details
What is Polystyrene Concrete?	Polystyrene concrete is a lightweight material made with polystyrene beads mixed into the concrete. It helps reduce the weight of the concrete and improve insulation.
Benefits for Floor Screed	Using polystyrene concrete for floor screeds provides excellent thermal insulation and soundproofing. It also reduces the overall weight of the flooring system, making it easier to work with.
Innovative Solutions	Modern solutions include using polystyrene concrete in various floor screed applications to enhance comfort and efficiency. It helps maintain stable temperatures and reduce noise between floors.
Comfort Features	The insulation properties of polystyrene concrete contribute to a more comfortable indoor environment by keeping floors warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.

What is polystyrene concrete

What is a coating that goes by such an enigmatic name? Everything about this material is incredibly simple; in fact, its name sums it all up.

• It consists of 85% granules of primary or secondary foam, replacing fillers in the form of sand and crushed stone.

• Portland cement grade 400 or 500 is used as a binder.

• Sometimes washed sand is added to the mixture to increase strength, but it is worth remembering that the energy efficiency of such concrete will decrease proportionally.

• A plasticizer is also a mandatory component, which is primarily needed for good wettability of the foam – to prevent it from floating on the surface of the water, and to improve the mobility of the mixture.

Advice: When making such concrete at home, liquid detergents can be used as plasticizing mixtures.

The proportions of the primary elements of the concrete solution are displayed in the table above. As we can see, the recipe is given three different indications based on the final density, which is chosen based on the location of the screed’s use. Specifically, a polystyrene concrete screed (top line in the table) can have a minimum density of D200.

Upon breaking down the recipe into its component parts, we arrive at the following:

• Water – 0.5 parts;
• Cement – 1 part;
• Foam – 4 parts;
• Well, and a plasticizer, which is added according to the manufacturer"s instructions.

That’s interesting to know! It is preferable to use concrete with a density of D 300 if the screed will be used in public areas.

Expanded polystyrene concrete is generally suitable for use in more substantial constructions; for instance, it can be used to create wall blocks or pour the foundations of low-rise buildings. In certain aspects, it is far better than the foam and gas blocks that are currently very popular.

Advantages of polystyrene screed

Creation of polystyrene concrete screed on a solid foundation, which, by the way, is a prerequisite

So let’s discuss all the advantages and disadvantages of this approach to determine when it makes sense to use it and when it doesn’t.

• Due to its low thermal conductivity, this floor does not require additional insulation.
• The mass of such a mixture (with the same volume) will be much less than that of classic concrete. This means less load on the foundation and floors of the building.
• Polystyrene-based concrete practically does not shrink, which means it is quite resistant to cracks and deformations.
• Polystyrene foam, especially secondary foam, is an inexpensive raw material that will help save on construction. It is easier to deliver to the site, and lifting it to a height will not be a problem at all.

• Despite the fact that polystyrene foam burns and melts perfectly, when it gets into the concrete mixture, it becomes invulnerable to fire, due to the cement layer. You can see this with your own eyes by looking at the test result in the photo below.

The polystyrene concrete granules have remained entirely intact, as you can see, which is definitely pleasing.

Flaws

Although they are few in number, some people might find them to be important.

1. Firstly, the material has a fairly low strength and is not able to withstand serious mechanical loads, which is why it is necessary to construct a rough base made of ordinary concrete under such a screed.
2. Secondly, the surface is easily abraded, and a finishing coating is required for both floors and walls. This disadvantage can be called conditional, since any screeds are finished from above.

Accordingly, these coatings can only be installed in public and residential spaces—not in industrial or production settings.

It is necessary to arrange a topping—pouring a concrete surface hardening mixture—on top in areas with heavy traffic. These mixtures also have cement as their foundation, to which different fillers—such as metal particles, quartz, and corundum fillers—are added. Additionally, the composition contains a variety of chemical additives that enhance the material’s performance.

On a cement basis, a bulk floor can be distinguished as the most straightforward topping solution. The finished surface will be extremely smooth, even, and durable.

Counseling! If tiles are placed on top of the screed, tile glue will provide extra protection, negating the need for topping.

Ironing is the process of applying special compositions after the solution has partially set, and it is advised to strengthen the surface of polystyrene concrete. Usually, dry cement is used for this; it is sprinkled on top and thoroughly rubbed with the aid of an ironing room to create a thick, glossy layer on the surface.

Production of polystyrene concrete

Let’s now discuss a little bit about creating these mixtures by hand and pouring them.

• So, polystyrene for construction markets is supplied in bags of 420 and 170 liters, which is very convenient for transportation.

• There is also acquired SDO (tarry tarry), which serves as an aeronautic supplement. If it was not available, then it is possible to prepare concrete, but the mixture will turn out to be more severe and dense, which will affect its thermal conductivity. However, she will still be much warmer than ordinary concrete. With the addition of soda, a screed of polystyrene concrete foam will be already obtained.
• The mixture can be prepared in a concrete mixer or manually. The first method is preferable, since the components are mixed much better.

The following order is how the work is completed.

• A measured amount of water is poured into the concrete mixer drum;
• Next, the plasticizer is poured, after which, if desired, SDO is poured;
• The concrete mixer is started and polystyrene foam is loaded into it in portions;
• As a result, you will get a mass of stuck lumps, to which cement is then added.
• The mixture is mixed, in general, for about 10 minutes, until a homogeneous mass is obtained.

Since this type of solution won’t take long to set, you must begin laying as soon as you mix it.

Screed device

Because polystyrene concrete floor screed is made with the same technology as regular concrete, it can be poured with ease. Furthermore, it will be much simpler to extract the mixture because of its small mass. Here are detailed instructions in steps.

• First, the floor surface is cleaned of dust with a brush or vacuum cleaner.

• Then beacons are installed on the floor. Do this in any way convenient for you, but we praise the method using steel rolled rectangular pipes, under which it is enough to simply put something so that the beacon takes a horizontal position. The wide furrow left behind can easily be sealed with the same polystyrene concrete mixture.
• Next, the surface is primed using cement laitance or water. You shouldn’t go through it all at once, since we have to work “wet on wet” (the primer should not dry out) to ensure sufficient adhesion of the surfaces.

• The space between the beacons is filled with concrete mixture so that it protrudes slightly beyond their boundaries.
• Next, the polystyrene concrete is leveled using a rule to remove excess. As we already wrote, such a mixture will be easier to stretch. If the composition of the solution does not contain a plasticizer, then before drawing it will additionally have to be slapped on top to compact it – completely unnecessary manipulations, so do not skimp and complete the composition completely.
• Do not tilt the rule too much so that it does not bend and select too much.
• Removal of beacons and filling of traces from them is carried out 24 hours after pouring. Do not do this with a regular cement-sand mortar under any circumstances – the composition of the mixture should be the same.
• No matter how you mix polystyrene concrete, it is impossible to make it homogeneous. For this reason, it is very difficult to stretch this coating to zero, especially if secondary foam plastic was used, the particle fraction of which can reach 10 millimeters, therefore, a base layer up to 3 centimeters thick is made of polystyrene concrete.
• The already stretched screed must be covered with polyethylene film, and this must be done simultaneously with the passage of the floor area.

The first four to five days are when the film gains strength. After that, it can be finally removed, and the floor can be left to dry for up to two weeks. The last tile or leveling can only be completed after the allotted amount of time.

Shop option

If you prefer not to hunt down individual ingredients in stores and follow the recipe, you can also buy pre-made Knauf Ubo mixture from a reputable manufacturer, or other comparable options. When working with this material, all you have to do is combine it with clean water in a container. Although this solution has excellent thermal insulation qualities, it does not meet SNiP requirements because it cannot withstand compression of more than 10 Pa.

As a result, these combinations are limited to use in prefabricated screeds as a leveling layer and thermal insulation. Furthermore, keep in mind that the cost of this coating will be significantly more than it would be if you prepared the concrete yourself.

Additionally, the coating layer’s thickness is limited to three centimeters. You can lay a cement-sand screed reinforced with steel or fiber mesh on top of it. If you don’t have any extra insulating layers, DIY polystyrene concrete flooring makes sense. Watch the video on this page to get more tips on pouring. Best wishes!

The concrete floor screed made of polystyrene offers a novel and inventive way to improve comfort in your house. Its special formula, which combines concrete and polystyrene beads, produces a material that is not only lightweight but also has superior insulating qualities. This greatly enhances the overall comfort of your living area by enabling your floors to remain warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

Polystyrene concrete floor screed is well-known for its ability to insulate sound in addition to its thermal benefits. For multi-story homes or apartments where noise reduction is a top concern, this makes it a great option. Enjoy a more tranquil and quieter setting without being bothered by the sounds of footsteps and other commonplace noises.

Furthermore, polystyrene concrete floor screed installation is a simple and effective procedure. Its ease of handling and lightweight design lessen the load on your home’s structure and enable quicker application. This can result in labor and material cost savings, making it a viable choice for a lot of homeowners.

In the end, deciding on polystyrene concrete floor screed is a step toward a calmer, more comfortable, and energy-efficient house. It stands out as a superior option for contemporary flooring solutions because of its easy installation and combination of thermal and acoustic insulation. Purchasing this cutting-edge material will increase the longevity and value of your living area in addition to improving comfort.

Concrete floor screed made of polystyrene provides a cutting-edge, contemporary way to improve comfort in your house. This flooring option offers excellent thermal insulation and noise reduction, combining the strength of traditional concrete with the lightweight, insulating qualities of polystyrene to create quieter, more energy-efficient living spaces. Polystyrene concrete floor screed is an excellent option for homeowners looking to upgrade the comfort and efficiency of their homes with state-of-the-art materials because it is both eco-friendly and simple to install.

Video on the topic

The floor in the house made of polystyrene concrete, you have never seen anything like this, the entire process of preparation and pouring

TRANSFORMATION OF THE SITE – a mobile FIRE FIRE ZONE WITH YOUR OWN HANDS | Coziness at the dacha

POLYSTYRENE FOR SCREED AND FLOOR INSULATION

Polystyrene concrete screed.

Polystyrene concrete leveling screed

My review and conclusions about polystyrene concrete floor screed. Foam chips.