screed

[shamble]

How long does it take to dry? I've had one builder say it takes 1 week per centimetre, another saying the whole lot should dry over one weekend. Who's right?!

is it concrete, or "self levelling?"

how thick will it be?

You don't want it to dry fast, you want it to cure.

My builder has told me ours will take 3 weeks to dry!

Depends on depth/type etc. At 40mm, some can take foot traffic after 48 hrs & heavier loads after 5-7 days though it won't be fully dry, it'll continue to dry at approx 1mm/day.

Depths over 40mm dry at 1.4mm/day.

I've got no idea how thick or what type, sorry We're looking at having our flooring taken up because of leaky pipes, screed removed and replaced. Our builder has said it'll be done on a Friday and be dry by the Monday. A builder who lives near us looked appalled and said it'd take weeks. I'm worried the builder we're planning to hire will lay our new flooring too soon on the screed and everything will go horribly wrong.

OK, but you can't have an answer until you know how thick it is, and if it is concrete or something else.

You can lay new flooring on damp concrete if you put a damp proof membrane on the concrete. It will then (over a very very very long period) soak up into the walls. This is possible but not desirable.

If it is concrete and is dried over a weekend, that is too quick for it to cure properly, and it will not be hard and strong, but weak and powdery. Having dried without curing, it will never get stong and hard even if you wait a hundred years.

thank you, that's really helpful and a little bit worrying. will talk to builder in more detail and may come back!