Concrete Screed

At Shaw Contractors, we provide high-quality concrete screeding services, ensuring smooth, level, and durable surfaces for both residential and commercial projects. Whether you need a solid foundation for flooring or a seamless finish for industrial spaces, our expertise guarantees superior results tailored to your needs.

What is Concrete Screed?

Concrete screed is a thin, top-layer mixture of cement, sand, and water, applied over a subfloor or concrete base to create a smooth, even surface. It serves as a foundation for tiles, wood flooring, carpets, or industrial coatings, ensuring long-lasting durability and a flawless finish.

Why screed matters

Most problems with a finished floor start underneath it. Tiles that crack or sound hollow, lippage between large-format tiles and wooden floors that move can often be traced back to an uneven or poorly prepared base. In Maltese buildings, the slab typically carries electrical conduits and plumbing runs before the floor goes down, and screed is what covers these services and brings the whole floor to a consistent level. Getting it right first time saves money and disruption later, because a floor that has to be lifted and relaid costs far more than one prepared properly.

Where we use it

• Apartments and maisonettes: levelling floors throughout before tiling or other finishes.
• Villas and penthouses: large open-plan areas, terraces laid to falls and floors with underfloor heating.
• Offices: preparing floors for carpet tiles, vinyl or resin finishes.
• Retail and hospitality: durable bases for heavily used shop floors, restaurants and hotel areas.

Types of screed

Not every floor needs the same build-up. The main options are:

• Bonded screed: bonded directly to the concrete slab, suited to thinner layers and areas carrying heavier loads.
• Unbonded screed: laid over a separating layer, such as a damp-proof membrane, and therefore laid thicker.
• Floating screed: laid over a layer of insulation, the usual choice with underfloor heating or where thermal or acoustic performance matters.

We recommend the right type for each area based on the slab, the services beneath, the planned floor finish and any heating system.

Our process

1. Survey: we check the slab, confirm finished floor levels and agree any falls required for drainage.
2. Preparation: the base is cleaned, services are checked and secured, and any insulation or heating pipes are fixed in place.
3. Setting levels: reference levels are established across the area so the screed finishes flat and at the correct height.
4. Laying and finishing: the screed is placed, compacted and finished to a smooth surface.
5. Curing: the screed is protected while it cures, and its condition is checked before the floor finish is installed.

Why choose Shaw Contractors

Screed is the stage that every other floor trade depends on, so it pays to have it carried out by a contractor who also understands what comes next. We handle tiling and underfloor heating as well, which means levels, heating pipes and floor finishes are planned together rather than by separate firms. Where an existing floor needs a very flat finish, we can also offer self levelling screed.

We carry out residential and commercial work across Malta, from shell to furnished. Our clients have noted our attention to detail, our commitment to meeting deadlines and the care we take to keep sites clean and tidy.

Need a level base for your next floor? Contact us to discuss your project.