Cracked red screed ??

[White Room]

Based on your description it could be a magnesite screed... Don't see them often these days. If it is it will be red right through (some were green) and they were used up to about 25years ago especially in old council properties. They don't stick to concrete hence they can delaminates and crack. You will find it almost impossible to stick anything cementitious to it and most primers will fail to work as well. Best thing to be done if it is magnesite is break it out and reinstate it with something else.

In about 43 years in the game i have never seen these screeds laid...

 

[Stef]

Based on your description it could be a magnesite screed... Don't see them often these days. If it is it will be red right through (some were green) and they were used up to about 25years ago especially in old council properties. They don't stick to concrete hence they can delaminates and crack. You will find it almost impossible to stick anything cementitious to it and most primers will fail to work as well. Best thing to be done if it is magnesite is break it out and reinstate it with something else.

Alan I had one of these a few years ago in an old council property, it was a really dark green almost black & had a few cracks in it, I gave it a couple of whacks with a hammer & it all lifted out in sections.
Cleaned up the floor & levelled it out with renovation screed.
At the time I thought it was a tar like substance.

 

[Andy Allen]

Got loads of them round our way on the council estates. They look and smell like tar..

 

[Ajax123]

Alan I had one of these a few years ago in an old council property, it was a really dark green almost black & had a few cracks in it, I gave it a couple of whacks with a hammer & it all lifted out in sections.
Cleaned up the floor & levelled it out with renovation screed.
At the time I thought it was a tar like substance.

Yep that sounds like magnesite. They were generally either green or red. I beleive they were actually banned or at least fell from grace about 25 years ago.they were generally used in council properties but I have seen one or two in private builds.

 

[Perry]

You that old Mark? Have seen it before in a shop in Oxford Street dug it up. If I remember it was about 40mm thick.

 

[Stef]

Yep that sounds like magnesite. They were generally either green or red. I beleive they were actually banned or at least fell from grace about 25 years ago.they were generally used in council properties but I have seen one or two in private builds.

Alan what was this actually used for at the time?

 

[Andy Allen]

Did pikey's used to lay floors in council houses..lol

 

[Stef]

Did pikey's used to lay floors in council houses..lol

It couldn't have been pikeys Andy it was at least 10mm thick.

 

[Ajax123]

Alan what was this actually used for at the time?

It was used as a simple levelling screed. It was one of the first thin screeds available. If you have a moisture meter (electronic style) it will show up as off the scale wet cos it is conductive. That is one of the identifying tests.

 

[Stef]

Cheers Alan, I was raking my brain & I'm more than certain that years ago we tiled a bathroom floor with such a floor. [emoji35]

Never ever heard a thing more about it so I'm assuming that it was ok but on reading this then I'm not so sure... [emoji26]