Floors & Screeds
212 sources in the library on floors & screeds, 19 on this page cited in a published note. Each one says what the document covers and what it is good for. Name a source to see which document it is and where to read it. One at a time. Page 2 of 6.
- supplier figure RN-Z0VXBA cited
Flooring Superstore
A Flooring Superstore product page for engineered oak herringbone, the Ashbury range in a brushed and lacquered frosted oak. Held as a supplier's own published price for engineered herringbone board, which is what the note uses it for: the supply-only rate per square metre before fitting. A retail price from one merchant, so real but not independent.
- supplier figure RN-76S1AS cited
Flooring Superstore
Flooring Superstore, Richmond Herringbone Sunrise Oak Brushed & Lacquered Engineered Wood Flooring. Held in the cost register as a price source for "Engineered oak herringbone parquet flooring, supply only"; the passage quoted against it reads: £39.99 m2 £29.99 m2 ... 10MM BOARD THICKNESS ... 3MM TOP LAYER ... 1 Pack will cover 1.92 m2 ... Add 1 Pack - £57.58
- supplier figure RN-Y521PZ cited
Flooring Superstore
Flooring Superstore, Unfinished Light Oak Herringbone Parquet Solid Wood Flooring. Held in the cost register as a price source; the passage quoted against it reads: £49.99 m2 £39.99 m2 ... 10MM BOARD THICKNESS ... 1 Pack will cover 2.16 m2 ... Add 1 Pack - £86.38
- supplier figure RN-11C1L7 cited
Jablite (EPD Insulation Group)
The maker's data sheet for EPS floor insulation laid over a slab with a screed finish. Its grade table rates EPS 70 for domestic floors and EPS 100 and 150 for offices and public buildings.
Cited in Floor Insulation Materials & Build-ups.
- supplier figure RN-CIMOVV cited
Knauf Insulation
The maker's datasheet for its glass mineral wool rolls. It confirms that glass wool rolls have a thermal conductivity of 0.040 to 0.044 W/mK, the upper end of the quoted range.
Cited in Floor Insulation Materials & Build-ups, Loft Insulation Guide: Types, Costs & Recommended Depth, Loft & Roll Insulation: Types, Depth & U-values, Rockwool vs Other Mineral Wool: Which to Use.
- supplier figure RN-M2EJRF cited
NMBS
A merchant buying society's explainer on structural timber strength classes; it confirms C16 and C24 are the two main structural softwood classes used in the UK.
Cited in Suspended Timber Floors: Joists, Boards & Ventilation.
- supplier figure RN-SZOCQ3 cited
Selco Builders Warehouse
A builders' merchant product page for 2400 x 600 mm CaberFloor P5 T&G chipboard in 18 and 22 mm. It gives the board price from which the per square metre supply cost is worked out.
- supplier figure RN-5EVKJ2 cited
SOPREMA UK (Celotex)
PIR insulation board with aluminium foil facings on both sides, boards 2400 x 1200 mm. Declared thermal conductivity (lambda D) 0.022 W/mK. Thickness range 50 mm to 100 mm. Compressive strength 140 kPa. BBA Certificate 25/7318 covers pitched roof, dry lining and floor insulation. Fire: SOPRATHERM GA4000 achieves a reaction to fire classification of Euroclass F in accordance with BS EN 13501-1.
Cited in External Wall Insulation (EWI) Systems & Finishes, Floor Insulation Materials & Build-ups, Loft Insulation Guide: Types, Costs & Recommended Depth.
- supplier figure RN-KF8M5H cited
Tarmac
Tarmac's product guidance for a polymer-modified sand-cement levelling screed, following BS 8204-1. It gives 25 mm bonded, 50 mm unbonded, 65 mm floating, 75 mm floating with heating pipes and 25 mm minimum cover over conduits.
Cited in Floor Screed Types: Sand-Cement vs Liquid Anhydrite.
- supplier figure RN-Z83W9H cited
Tarmac
Tarmac's product page for its calcium sulphate liquid screed. It states the daily output a pumped liquid screed can achieve, up to 1,200 square metres.
Cited in Floor Screed Types: Sand-Cement vs Liquid Anhydrite, Screed Flooring.
- supplier figure RN-TOS2R5 cited
Thermafleece (Eden Renewable Innovations Ltd)
High density sheep wool rich insulation slab, 75% wool with recycled fibres, 20 to 25% recycled content. Density 31 kg/m3. Thermal conductivity 0.035 W/mK. Slabs 1200 mm long in 390 and 590 mm widths, thicknesses 50, 70 and 90 mm with a plus or minus 5 mm tolerance. Published thermal resistance (m2K/W): 50 mm 1.43, 70 mm 2.00, 100 mm 2.86, 140 mm 4.00, 190 mm 5.43, 240 mm 6.86. Fire Classification EuroClass E; flammability and smoulder resistance to BS 5803-4 pass. Vapour resistivity 9 MNs/gm. Specific heat capacity 1800 J/kgK. Water absorption at 100% RH 24% w/w. Sound reduction Rw 41 dB, NRC 1.10 at 90 mm. Dimensional stability to EN 1604 pass, EPD registration S-P-04468. Cradle to gate A1-A3 carbon 0.05 kg CO2e per functional unit. Thermafleece states UltraWool is not suitable for use as a cavity barrier.
Cited in Best Loft Insulation: Materials Compared, Loft Insulation Guide: Types, Costs & Recommended Depth.
- supplier figure RN-TE2WZ1 cited
Timloc Building Products
The maker's datasheet for the Timloc 1201 plastic airbrick (215 mm, brick coursing), stating an equivalent area of 6,170 mm² per airbrick.
Cited in Suspended Timber Floors: Joists, Boards & Ventilation.
- supplier figure RN-4TS29G cited
Unilin Insulation (formerly Xtratherm)
Rigid extruded polystyrene board, 1250 x 600 mm, thicknesses 30, 40, 50, 60, 80, 100, 120, 140 and 160 mm. Thermal conductivity 0.033 to 0.035 W/mK. Compressive strength CS(10Y) 300 kPa. Reaction to fire: Euroclass E. Published R-values (m2K/W): 30 mm 0.90, 40 mm 1.20, 50 mm 1.50, 60 mm 1.80, 80 mm 2.25, 100 mm 2.85, 120 mm 3.40, 140 mm 4.00, 160 mm 4.25. The range is also available in 500 kPa and 700 kPa grades.
- supplier figure RN-EU83FU cited
Warmup
An underfloor heating maker's technical training page on insulation below UFH. It gives the BS EN 1264-4 minimum of 0.75 m2K/W over a heated room and 1.25 m2K/W over unheated rooms.
Cited in Floor Insulation Materials & Build-ups.
- supplier figure RN-KVV2EG cited
West Fraser
A UK P5 chipboard maker's product page: the four-edge T&G flooring board removes the need for intermediate noggings.
- supplier figure RN-JH5DGX cited
West Fraser
West Fraser's installation sheet for P5 chipboard flooring, asking for boards to be conditioned to the room for 48 hours before laying.
- supplier figure RN-COWMQ0 cited
West Fraser
A UK OSB maker's FAQ, confirming OSB3 to EN 300 is certified for load-bearing use in humid conditions.
Cited in Chipboard, OSB & Plywood Flooring Compared, Raised Loft Boarding & Loft Legs: Why They Matter, Timber Merchants: What They Stock & How to Buy.
- secondary RN-T952XS cited
BookaBuilderUK
BookaBuilderUK's guide to screed types: thicknesses, drying times and UK costs, with sand-cement at £20 to £40 per m2 including labour.
Cited in Floor Screed Types: Sand-Cement vs Liquid Anhydrite.
- secondary RN-3SU12U cited
MyJobQuote
MyJobQuote's floor screeding cost guide: installed prices per m2 for standard, fast-drying and flowing screed, and labour-only rates.
Cited in Floor Screed Types: Sand-Cement vs Liquid Anhydrite.
- very strong RN-IU4DJS
Building Control Northern Ireland
Sets out the legal status of Northern Ireland's Technical Booklets, which differs from how Approved Documents are often described. Under Article 3 of the Building Regulations (NI) Order 1979 the Department of Finance makes the regulations, and it publishes Technical Booklets as guidance in support of them; there is no obligation to follow the methods or standards in the booklets, and any form of construction may be adopted provided the applicant can demonstrate to the district council that the requirements are met. The page also hosts free information sheets on converting an attic, alterations to conservatories, radon in dwellings, exemptions, ventilation, energy conservation, regularisation of unauthorised work, and the BCNI Construction Details updated November 2023.
- very strong RN-2ZSOFV
Department of Finance (Northern Ireland)
Northern Ireland's floor build-up rules, October 2012, guidance to Part C of the Building Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012. Paragraph 5.4 gives a ground supported floor as: a well compacted hardcore bed not greater than 600 mm deep, because a deeper bed risks excessive settlement and cracking and a suspended slab is then advised, of clean broken brick or similar inert material free of water soluble sulfates (BRE Digest 276); concrete at least 100 mm thick to mix ST2 in BS 8500-1, or ST4 where there is embedded reinforcement; and a DPM above or below the concrete or insulation, continuous with the wall damp proof courses. Where sulfates could contaminate the hardcore the membrane goes at the base of the slab (BRE Special Digest SD 1). Paragraph 5.5 fixes the membrane below the concrete as polyethylene sheet at least 300 micrometres thick, that is 1200 gauge, with sealed joints on a bed that will not damage it; paragraph 5.6 allows the same sheet above the slab without bedding, or three coats of cold applied bitumen solution, protected by a screed or floor finish. A DPM on the warm side of the insulation also acts as a vapour control layer. Radon: no protection below 1 per cent probability, Zone 1 measures (radon membrane) at 1 to 10 per cent, Zone 2 measures (membrane plus subfloor depressurisation such as a sump and stub duct) above 10 per cent.
- very strong RN-4NEHSE
Department of Finance (Northern Ireland)
The impact sound numbers that decide what a flat's floor build-up has to be before any floorcovering is chosen. Table 1a sets the performance standards for separating floors and stairs with a separating function in Northern Ireland: for new dwellings, airborne insulation of at least 45 dB DnT,w + Ctr for both walls and floors, and impact sound of no more than 62 dB L'nT,w for floors and stairs; for dwellings formed by a material change of use, at least 43 dB DnT,w + Ctr and no more than 64 dB L'nT,w. Table 1b sets separate values for rooms for residential purposes. Paragraph 1.11 contains the trap most refurbishments fall into: impact sound insulation tests must be carried out without a soft floor finish such as carpet or foam backed vinyl, so a floor that only passes with the carpet down does not pass. The definitions section defines a floating floor as a floating layer resting on a resilient layer, defines the resilient layer as the thing that isolates the floating layer from the base floor, and defines Delta Lw as the measured improvement in impact sound insulation gained by installing a floor covering or floating floor on a test floor.
- very strong RN-FXA893
Department for Communities and Local Government
The official answers to the questions Part E raises on a flat conversion or a floor upgrade, March 2016, ISBN 978-1-4098-4806-6. It confirms that pre-completion sound testing is required except where robust details have been used, and that organisations carrying out the testing should preferably hold UKAS accreditation or a European equivalent, or be members of the Association of Noise Consultants registration scheme; when testing was introduced in 2003 there were too few such bodies, but there are now over 50 UKAS/ANC test organisations, and clients should be told early that they must employ one. It draws attention to paragraph 1.8 of Approved Document E, which advises that sound insulation testing should not be carried out between certain spaces because results may be unreliable, and notes reduced accuracy when measurements are made in small rooms, while confirming that separating walls and floors subject to requirement E1 must always meet the standard whether or not they will be tested. It also covers noise from neighbours, care homes, houses in multiple occupation and reverberation in common internal parts.
- very strong RN-78SSH6
Department of Finance (Northern Ireland)
NORTHERN IRELAND, giving a fourth set of U-values distinct from England, Wales and Scotland. Table 2.2 sets limiting area-weighted average U-values in W/m2.K with a maximum permitted at any point in brackets: wall 0.18 (0.60), floor 0.18 (0.60), roof 0.16 (0.30), party wall 0.00 (0.60), and windows, roof windows, glazed rooflights, curtain walling and pedestrian doors 1.40 (3.00). Where the space heating source is underfloor heating the maximum floor U-value tightens to 0.15. Compare Wales at 0.13 for roofs and Scotland at 0.12, against NI's 0.16. Paragraph 2.43 limits the extent of external doors and glazed openings in a dwelling to no more than 25 per cent of the dwelling's floor area, and the limiting air permeability is 10 m3 per hour per square metre at 50 Pa, looser than the Welsh 8.0. U-values are calculated to BRE Report BR 443. A swimming pool basin must achieve not more than 0.25.
- very strong RN-Z55Y2I
Historic Environment Scotland
Free HES guidance on how a traditional house was designed to breathe, useful whenever a note explains why blocking air bricks or sealing a chimney causes damp. Published 1 October 2008 by Historic Scotland (now HES), INFORM Guide, 653 KB PDF, audiences Planners and Owners and Conservation and Heritage enthusiasts. Scope stated on the page: the importance of ventilation in a traditionally built structure, then the various ways ventilation is provided, specifically SUB-FLOOR VENTILATION and CHIMNEYS, and issues surrounding masonry walls and plastered surfaces. Cite it alongside Approved Document F when a note covers suspended timber floors, chimney capping or draught-proofing an older house.
- very strong RN-8Y875H
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
The list of test standards common across product families that UK approved bodies use when assessing construction products, published 27 January 2021 and last updated 21 May 2025, in force from 1 January 2021. Names the specific test methods behind fire performance claims a product data sheet will quote, so a note can verify what a rating actually measures: TS 1187 external fire exposure to roofs; EN ISO 1182 non-combustibility test; EN ISO 1716 gross heat of combustion or calorific value; EN 13823 the single burning item test for building products excluding floorings; EN ISO 11925-2 ignitability under direct flame impingement, the single-flame source test; EN ISO 9239-1 burning behaviour of floorings using a radiant heat source; EN 1365-3 and EN 1365-4 fire resistance of loadbearing beams and columns; EN 1634-1 and EN 1634-3 fire resistance and smoke control for door and shutter assemblies and openable windows; and the EN and ENV 13381 series for applied protection to composite, hollow steel, timber and steel structural members. The latest versions of the standards themselves are on the BSI website.
- very strong RN-QAE4YS
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
The canonical landing page for Part E of the Building Regulations in England, hosting the 2015 edition published 4 March 2015, 3.74 MB, ISBN 978 1 85946 616 2, and the citation to use when the question is which edition of Part E governed a conversion. Its stated scope is sound insulation requirements in dwelling-houses, flats, rooms for residential purposes and schools, which are requirements E1 separating walls and floors between dwellings, E2 internal walls and floors within a dwelling, E3 reverberation in common internal parts, and E4 acoustic conditions in schools. Earlier editions are held at the National Archives rather than on this page, which matters when checking what applied to a flat conversion carried out before 2015. The page also records that since April 2023 the Building Safety Regulator reviews building standards for all buildings in England. The dB performance values themselves, the floor treatments FFT1 and FFT2 for a material change of use, and the pre-completion testing regime sit in the linked PDF and in the separate Part E FAQ.
- very strong RN-TCQ74D
Scottish Government
The Scottish trigger for building a radon barrier into a ground floor, which is the point at which a floor build-up stops being a free choice. Standard 3.2 sets the action level at 200 becquerels per cubic metre, the level above which UKHSA (formerly Public Health England) recommends radon in homes be reduced. Protective measures are required where a dwelling sits in a designated radon probability area, defined as ground where 1 per cent or more of existing dwellings exceed 200 Bq per cubic metre, or in ground where radon is known to exist. The measures themselves are not restated in the handbook: it directs the designer to BRE publication BR 211 Radon: guidance on protective measures for new buildings, with BRE Good Building Guides GG 73 and GG 74 for extensions and dwellings, and to the Indicative Atlas of Radon in Scotland for the mapping. UKradon.org is cited for postcode-level checking. Note the level is an action level, not a limit, and it applies to the annual average rather than a spot reading.
- very strong RN-P8YSU2
Scottish Government
The Scottish build-up rules for a ground floor before any floorcovering goes down. Standard 3.4 requires that moisture penetration from the ground threatens neither the building nor the health of occupants. For a ground-supported concrete floor the guidance gives a hardcore bed at least 100 mm thick of clean broken brick or other inert material free from fine material and water-soluble sulphates, a concrete slab at least 100 mm thick, and a damp proof membrane placed above the slab, below it, or sandwiched, jointed and sealed to the damp proof course following CP 102:1973 Section 3. For a suspended timber floor the site covering is either a DPM to CP 102, or 50 mm of concrete on 0.25 mm polyethylene sheet, or 100 mm of concrete, with a dpc under the wall plates and a ventilated void of at least 75 mm from the site covering to the wall plates and 150 mm to the joists. Suspended concrete floors need a 150 mm ventilated void to the underside of the slab or beams with ventilators in opposite external walls. BS 8102:1990 is cited for below-ground walls and basements.
- very strong RN-1H8UHK
UK Health Security Agency (UKradon)
Gives a floor-type and concentration decision table for remediation. For a solid floor under 500 Bq per cubic metre the recommended solutions, best first, are a radon sump or positive ventilation; for a solid floor over 500 the answer is a radon sump. For a suspended floor under 500 it is natural under-floor ventilation or positive ventilation; over 500, mechanical under-floor ventilation or natural under-floor ventilation. Warns explicitly that simple actions such as sealing around loft hatches, sealing large openings in floors and extra ventilation do not reduce radon levels on their own, and that completely sealing floors is difficult and can cause rot in wooden floors. Names an active radon sump fitted with a fan as the most effective method, working best under solid floors and under suspended floors where the ground is covered with concrete or a membrane. Advises contacting UKHSA for levels above 1000 Bq per cubic metre, and the local council Environmental Health Department for advice.
- very strong RN-6PQK9U
UK Health Security Agency (UKradon)
UKHSA recommends that radon levels be reduced in homes where the average exceeds 200 becquerels per cubic metre, the Action Level, and states that this recommendation is endorsed by Government. The Action Level refers to the annual average concentration, so a valid measurement uses two detectors, one in a bedroom and one in a living room, left in place for three months to average out short-term fluctuations. Separately defines a Target Level of 100 Bq per cubic metre as the ideal outcome of remediation in existing buildings and of protective measures in new buildings, and advises that where a result falls between the Target and Action Levels action to reduce the level should still be considered, especially where a smoker or ex-smoker lives in the home. Radon is described as a colourless, odourless radioactive gas formed by decay of naturally occurring uranium in rocks and soils.
- very strong RN-B3IMK7
UK Health Security Agency (UKradon)
UKHSA's routing page into radon guidance written for the four audiences a renovation note serves, and the place to send a builder who needs the building regulations position on radon protective measures in a new floor. It separates guidance for householders, covering radon and house sales, health risks and how to measure; for employers, covering the health and safety duty to test a workplace; for professionals, explicitly including builders who need building regulations guidance and solicitors handling property transactions; and for local authorities and housing associations, including how to check whether housing stock sits in a radon Affected Area. It also carries the address search and the domestic and workplace measurement packs.
- very strong RN-UHBO2G
Welsh Government
The Welsh energy efficiency guidance, first published 14 June 2016 and last updated 7 April 2026. It carries volume 1 for dwellings and volume 2 for other buildings as current PDFs, and a new Approved Document L volume 1 for dwellings that takes effect on 4 March 2027. Any note quoting fabric U-value targets for a floor, wall, roof or a conservatory's thermal separation should state which nation the figure belongs to, since Wales publishes its own Part L with its own commencement dates rather than adopting the English edition.
- strong RN-QITUKE
British Board of Agrément
The body behind the BBA Agrement certificate that manufacturers of insulation, membranes, adhesives and flooring systems quote, with a searchable MyBBA certificate database covering products, people certification and product testing. Carries an important current caveat a note should not miss: on 26 February 2026 the BBA was notified that UKAS had instigated a temporary suspension of its accreditation status following a change in corporate structure in 2025, meaning it is at present unable to deliver accredited testing, inspection and certification activities, with UKAS confirming the suspension covers all activity to BS EN ISO/IEC 17020, 17021, 17025 and 17065. Advice to look for a BBA certificate should be checked against that status.
- strong RN-PMJ7YM
BSI
The workmanship half of the screed rules, the companion to the design recommendations in BS 8204. Published 7 November 2003 and still current. It gives recommendations on laying cementitious levelling screeds and wearing screeds, and guidance on basic workmanship for conventional building work. The current edition fixed the naming that still confuses specifications: a screed is a levelling screed where it will receive a final flooring and a wearing screed where it forms the finished surface. Other changes it records: bases carrying rigid insulation boards under a floating screed must be levelled by filling depressions so the boards cannot rock on high spots; material specifications were updated to the European cement types and standard strength classes; cements with slag content above 35 per cent and equivalent combinations are excluded from levelling screeds for lack of experience; cement bags were halved to 25 kg so mix calculations were restated; slurry bonding of the edges of day work joints is recommended before laying fresh screed to reduce curling at butt joints; and the items to be checked during progress and on the finished screed are listed. Curing where cement is below strength class 42.5 N follows BS 8204-1 and BS 8204-2.
- strong RN-OQLJWC
BSI
BS 8201:2011, published 31 October 2011, committee B/543, current; it supersedes BS 8201:1987. Clause 1 gives recommendations for laying board, pre-assembled board, strip, mosaic, overlay, parquet, block, end grain, multi-layer and wood-based panel flooring. It expressly does not cover the protection given to a floor by floor coverings or surface finishes, nor floors for temporary structures or floors intended for limited use. This is the standard to cite for acclimatisation, subfloor moisture, expansion gaps and fixing method when comparing solid to engineered wood, and for laying chipboard, OSB and plywood floor decks.
- strong RN-OUKOVE
BSI
The code for a polished or power-floated concrete floor left as the finish rather than covered, published 22 December 2003 with amendment A2 in 2011 and current. BS 8204-2 gives recommendations for constituent materials, design, work on site, inspection and testing of in situ concrete direct finished base slabs, and covers concrete used as the wearing surface plus wearing screeds, formerly called high strength concrete toppings and granolithic toppings. It applies to both ground-supported and suspended floors and expressly leaves structural design to BS 8110-1, so it is the surface quality reference, not the structural one.
- strong RN-CSZQP4
BSI
The missing fifth part of the BS 8204 screed series, and the one that governs mastic asphalt where it is used as a flooring underlay or wearing surface, which is how many older solid floors and damp-proofing sandwiches were built. Published 20 September 2004, amended A1 in 2011, current, ISBN 978 0 580 74252 1, committee CB/300, ICS 91.060.30 Ceilings, Floors, Stairs. Its scope makes recommendations for the types and grades of materials, design, work on site, protection, inspection and testing, maintenance and repair for in situ mastic asphalt applied as a wearing surface or underlay, incorporating waterproof membranes where required. It applies to mastic asphalt applied hot to concrete bases, screeds and concrete suspended floors, and is written to be read together with BS 8204-1 which covers the concrete base and cementitious levelling screed beneath. Descriptors include floor beds, membranes, underlays, suspended floors, grades, repair and drainage.
- strong RN-ZE4TM2
BSI
The product standard for a natural stone floor tile, published 31 March 2015 and current. It specifies requirements for flat modular tiles of natural stone made for internal use, including enclosed public transport premises, and external use as floorings, stairs and wall and ceiling finishes, covering the characteristics that must be declared: dimensions and tolerances, flatness, water absorption, flexural strength, abrasion resistance, slip resistance, frost resistance and petrographic description. Two exclusions matter for a renovation: it does not cover mineral aggregates or artificial agglomerated stone material, which fall under the agglomerated stone standards, and it does not cover installation, which is BS 5385-3's job. Cite it when a stone floor is being specified or a delivery is being checked, because the declared values under this standard are what a supplier is contractually bound to, and it is the only fair basis for comparing a limestone against a granite or a porcelain.
- strong RN-S7S46B
BSI
The source of the design strength and stiffness figures behind an OSB or chipboard floor deck, published 30 September 2025. BS EN 12369-1 gives characteristic values of mechanical properties and density for use with EN 1995-1-1, covering OSB/2, OSB/3 and OSB/4 to EN 300, particleboard grades P4, P5, P6 and P7 to EN 312, hardboard HB.HLA2 to EN 622-2, medium board MBH.LA2 to EN 622-3 and MDF.LA, MDF.HLS and MDF.RWH to EN 622-5. It confirms that P5 is the moisture-resistant structural chipboard grade used for domestic flooring and OSB/3 its OSB equivalent.