Dry build

Dry build floors are screeds constructed from ready-made board materials. No water is involved, hence the name ‘dry build’.

This method is a solution for buildings with a timber frame structure. The relatively lightweight board materials are ideal for limited load-bearing capacity. The most common materials are gypsum fibre boards from Fermacell, Knauf Brio and Estrich.

In addition to boards that are milled manually, there are also pre-milled boards. These come with a significant price tag, but are the answer when speed is required. Manual milling is cheaper and has the added advantage that the underfloor heating design can be adapted to the project.

The video shows a time-lapse of the entire installation process. Before work can begin, the floor must be level enough. Sometimes the wooden boards need to be removed and new floor elements of OSB or underlayment boards laid from the joists.

Fermacell floor elements are 25 mm thick, Knauf Brio elements 23 mm. Variants with insulation are also available, but the recommendation is to insulate the wooden structural floor from below for a good insulation value.

One day after the floor elements have been glued and screwed, the screws are removed again — the milling blade specially designed for these elements cannot withstand them. Once the underfloor heating system is installed, it is filled and pressure tested. No leaks? Then the grooves are filled with gypsum-based repair mortar.