Floating screed

What is a floating screed?

A floating screed is a flooring system that is placed on top of an existing floor without making direct contact with the underlying structure. It is often used for sound insulation, applying the mass-spring principle to reduce sound transmission. This method helps to reduce both impact noise and airborne noise, creating a more acoustically quiet environment.

Why a floating screed?

In older houses, floors often do not meet modern sound insulation standards. This results in audible sound with every contact with the floor, especially if it is not floating, which can be heard throughout the house and sometimes even by the neighbours.

A floating floor is most effectively created by using vibration isolation and adding mass beneath the screed. While mass is not necessary for absorbing impact noise, it does contribute to reducing airborne noise. This combination reduces the transmission of sound.

Creating a floating floor

For the floating floor, you use EASYbond vibration isolation, a resilient high-density plate. This plate is made of recycled polyurethane foam and has a varied colour that can differ per production, which is why it is also known as flock foam. EASYbond creates a sound-insulating underlay. For the floating floor, you use the 10mm variant.

You simply place the EASYbond directly onto the load-bearing subfloor and then lay the finishing floor on top, such as parquet or laminate, making it float. If you choose a softer finishing floor, first lay a rigid base plate (such as MDF) on the EASYbond.

For extra airborne sound insulation on an upper or attic floor, you can add extra mass on top of or beneath the EASYbond, for example, using the product EASYmass. By placing a layer of EASYbond and EASYmass under your wooden floor, you can create an excellent homemade acoustically insulated floor.

It is essential to keep the floating floor clear of the walls. The screed should not make direct contact with the wall. This can easily be achieved by using strips of EASYbond along the edges.

The mass-spring system is created by following these three steps:

1. Place vibration isolation strips on the walls to make the floor free from contact with the walls.
2. Install a seamless combination of EASYmass and EASYbond on the subfloor. Begin by placing the EASYmass mass plates first, followed by the EASYbond vibration isolation.
3. Place a wooden finishing floor on top of this.

Floor Insulation

Are you considering making a floor with sprung battens or in another way? In addition to the solutions mentioned earlier, we also offer other user-friendly materials for cavity insulation. EASYpol polyester wool and Cyclin are suitable options for this purpose.