Screeding Begins

Christian worked alone while Brad stayed home taking care of two sick little girls.

He screeded most of the bathroom floor and a strip of the porch floor.  A barrier prevented the screed from reaching the shower drain area, which would require special work by Brad.

Note thickness of the screeding

Shower drain section not screeded.  Note slope of floor.

The screed is a simple mixture of sand, cement, and water. It varies in thickness from about 50mm (2") to less than 25 mm in order to achieve the desired floor levels.  The hob separating the shower from the rest of the bathroom was required because the shower drain corner was at the highest point of the floor and the shower section had to be leveled separately.

This morning both Brad and Christian are at work.  I wish that I could recover from colds as fast as Brad's children can.  Brad has done a lot of work preparing the shower drain and they hope to complete the screeding by the end of this day.  There will be no work tomorrow, and just as well, because I will be at Fremantle tomorrow to receive an honour that I have agreed to keep confidential until the announcement is made at a special dinner and presentation.  I will be back Friday with 16 sq meters of wall tiles.  Christian will work alone waterproofing the shower walls and on Saturday the laying of the floor tiles will begin.  Another advantage to tomorrow's lay day is that it will give the time for the screed to cure and harden.  That is a slow process this time of year.  At 9 PM last night the screeding that Christian had done that day was still  soft like a sponge.

Screeding finished

First time in 30 years no cracks in floors

... By lunchtime Brad & Christiaan had finished their work and left.  Christian will return on Saturday, Brad will return on Monday.