Flooring and tiling
Screeding and levelling
Whether this needs a licence in Ireland
No licence required
Taken from the statute below; not yet reviewed by a lawyer
Screeding and levelling: what the job involves
Laying a sand-cement or flowing (anhydrite) screed over insulation or underfloor heating pipes, or a self-levelling compound over an existing floor, so the finished floor goes down flat. Screed is laid in a day but has to dry for weeks before most floors can go on it.
Also asked for as: floor screed · liquid screed · self levelling floor · screeding contractor · level a floor
How the job is usually done
- Check the base, insulation and any underfloor heating pipes, which must be pressure-tested before screeding.
- Fit edge strip round the walls and a membrane over the insulation, and set levels across the room.
- Lay the screed: traditional sand-cement compacted and floated, or flowing screed pumped in and dappled level.
- Form joints where the screed needs them, such as at doorways and in large areas.
- Protect it from drafts and fast drying for the first days, then ventilate.
- For flowing screed, sand off the surface laitance after a few days.
- Test the moisture before the floor covering is laid, and run the heating up gradually where there is underfloor heating.
Screeding and levelling: what is included
Usually included
- Setting levels and edge strip
- Laying and finishing the screed or levelling compound
- Joints where needed
Usually not included — agree it separately
- Floor insulation and underfloor heating pipes, unless quoted
- Pressure-testing and commissioning underfloor heating, which the heating installer does
- Moisture testing before the final floor, unless agreed
- Sanding laitance from flowing screed, unless agreed
Materials and who supplies them
- Sand-cement, anhydrite flowing screed or self-levelling compound
- Edge strip, membrane and primer
- Pumped screed is usually delivered and pumped by a specialist
How long it takes
Laid in a day; drying takes weeks, roughly a day per millimetre for the first 40 mm of traditional screed, so a typical screed is not ready for wood or vinyl for well over a month without forced drying.
When to book
Screed as early in the job as possible, because drying time sets when every floor finish can go down.
Screeding and levelling: the rules in Ireland
What the official sources say, checked against them on the date shown. A summary, not legal advice — follow the link to read the rule itself.
Where a ground floor is being replaced, the new floor generally has to meet the insulation standard for the floor; this normally means insulation under the screed.
Applies to: the homeowner and the designer
Building Regulations Part L (Department of Housing) · assets.gov.ie · Checked 9 October 2026
Whoever pays for construction work at home must appoint competent people for it, and where there is more than one contractor or a particular risk, project supervisors are required.
Applies to: the homeowner
Health and Safety Authority — Construction Regulations 2013 · hsa.ie · Checked 9 October 2026
Building work on a home is charged at the reduced VAT rate of 13.5%, but where the materials come to more than two-thirds of the price, the goods rate applies to the whole job; ask how a supply-and-fit quote is charged.
Applies to: the contractor
Revenue · revenue.ie · Checked 9 October 2026
What screeding and levelling costs, and why
What jobs on Talqero came to
Not enough comparable jobs yet to publish a range here. Talqero shows a price range only once at least five comparable jobs, agreed prices or offers exist — a range from fewer would describe a handful of jobs, not the market. Post your job and compare the offers you get.
What affects the price
- Area and depth
- Traditional sand-cement, flowing screed or a thin levelling compound
- Underfloor heating pipes and insulation below
- Access for a screed pump or barrows
- Laitance removal, moisture testing and force-drying
- VAT: building work on a home is charged at the reduced rate of 13.5% by a VAT-registered business — unless the materials come to more than two-thirds of the price, when Revenue’s two-thirds rule applies the goods rate to the whole job. Ask whether a quote includes VAT.
Paperwork to ask for at the end
- The screed type, mix and depth, and the date laid
- Moisture readings before the floor covering goes down
- Underfloor heating pressure-test and first heat-up record, from the heating installer
Safety
- Cement and screed burn skin; wear gloves and keep children and pets off wet screed.
- Do not turn underfloor heating up fast on new screed; it cracks. Follow the screed supplier’s heat-up schedule.
- Laying wood, vinyl or tiles on screed that is still wet leads to failed adhesive, cupped boards and mould.
Screeding and levelling: before you hire
Questions to ask a tradesperson
- Traditional or flowing screed, and why for my job?
- How long before tiles, wood or vinyl can go down?
- Will you test the moisture, or should the floor fitter?
- Who removes the laitance on flowing screed?
What you can do yourself
Thin self-levelling compound over a small, well-prepared area is possible for a careful DIYer; full screeds need experience and often a pump.
What to put in your task
- Roughly how many square metres?
- What is the job?
- Roughly how deep does it need to be?
- What floor will go on top?
- When does the finished floor need to go down?
Photos that help
- The floor area as it is now
- Any underfloor heating pipes or insulation laid
- The thresholds and doorways, where levels must meet
- Access from the road to the room
Screeding and levelling by county
Choose your county for screeding and levelling close to home.
- Screeding and levelling in Dublin
- Screeding and levelling in Cork
- Screeding and levelling in Galway
- Screeding and levelling in Kildare
- Screeding and levelling in Limerick
- Screeding and levelling in Meath
- Screeding and levelling in Tipperary
- Screeding and levelling in Donegal
- Screeding and levelling in Wexford
- Screeding and levelling in Kerry
- Screeding and levelling in Wicklow
- Screeding and levelling in Mayo
- Screeding and levelling in Louth
- Screeding and levelling in Waterford
- Screeding and levelling in Clare
- Screeding and levelling in Kilkenny
- Screeding and levelling in Westmeath
- Screeding and levelling in Laois
- Screeding and levelling in Cavan
- Screeding and levelling in Offaly
- Screeding and levelling in Sligo
- Screeding and levelling in Roscommon
- Screeding and levelling in Monaghan
- Screeding and levelling in Carlow
- Screeding and levelling in Longford
- Screeding and levelling in Leitrim
Flooring and tiling
Need screeding and levelling? Describe the job.
Post it once, free. Professionals near you reply with their own price and when they could start. You choose, and pay them directly.
Questions about screeding and levelling
Does screeding and levelling need a licence in Ireland?
No licence is required for this work in Ireland (source: www.cru.ie). Ask instead for references and photographs of similar jobs.
How long does screed take to dry?
As a rough guide, traditional sand-cement screed dries at about a day per millimetre for the first 40 mm and slower after that. Flowing screeds and fast-drying products can be quicker. A moisture test, not the calendar, decides when a floor can go down.
Can I use underfloor heating to dry the screed?
Only after the screed supplier’s minimum wait, and then gradually, following their heat-up schedule. Turning it up early or fast cracks the screed.
Traditional or flowing screed?
Flowing screed is quick to lay, very flat and usually thinner over underfloor heating, but needs laitance removed and suits some floor finishes better than others. Traditional screed is robust and widely used, and takes longer to lay and dry.